Poppy Seed Chicken Rice-a-Roni Casserole – a fun twist to a classic dish! Super easy to make and tastes amazing!! Can make ahead and freeze for a quick meal later! Chicken Rice-A-Roni, cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, garlic, onion, sour cream, poppy seeds, melted butter, and Ritz Crackers. Everyone cleaned their plate and went back for seconds! GREAT weeknight chicken casserole.
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Pin This RecipeEasy Chicken & Rice Casserole
This Poppy Seed Chicken Rice-A-Roni has quickly become a favorite at our house. It is super easy to make and tastes great! Chicken Rice-A-Roni, cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, poppy seeds, garlic, onion, melted butter, and Ritz Crackers. One bite and you will be blown away! Comfort food at its best! I ate two big helpings of this casserole for dinner last week. You must give this a try ASAP!
How to Make Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole with Rice
This casserole is super easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. Start with preparing a box of Chicken Rice-a-Roni according to the package directions. In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice with sour cream and cream of chicken soup. Stir poppy seeds, garlic powder, onion powder, chopped chicken, salt, and pepper. Spread the chicken mixture into a baking dish. In a small bowl, combine melted butter and crushed crackers. Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the casserole and bake in the oven.
Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Chicken Rice-a-Roni: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-chicken-rice-roni/
- I used rotisserie chicken for the cooked chicken in this casserole. You can use any cooked chicken that you have on hand. Chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or chicken tenderloins all work great.
- Here is our recipe for Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken: https://www.plainchicken.com/slow-cooker-rotisserie-chicken/
- Feel free to add some vegetables to the chicken mixture. Broccoli or spinach works great.
- This casserole is also delicious with some grated parmesan cheese mixed in. YUM!
- Can use low-fat sour cream and cream of chicken soup for a lower calorie dish.
- Can Poppy Seed Chicken Rice-a-Roni Casserole be made in advance? Yes! You can assemble the casserole ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight. You may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time if baking the casserole straight from the refrigerator.
- Can Chicken Rice-a-Roni Casserole be frozen? Yes! Assemble the casserole and cover the dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Place the dish in the freezer and freeze. The casserole will keep up to 3 months in the freezer.
- To bake the casserole after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
What to Serve with Chicken Rice-a-Roni Casserole
We ate this casserole for dinner and had the leftovers for lunch during the week. The leftovers were just as good, if not better reheated! My favorite part of the whole casserole is the buttery Ritz crackers topping. Don’t skip it. It makes the dish!
We usually serve this with some green beans or asparagus. This is also great with a green salad and a roll. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this twist on a classic casserole:
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Poppy Seed Chicken Rice-a-Roni Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1 box chicken flavor Rice-A-Roni
- 1 (10.5-oz) can cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 cups cooked chopped chicken (or 1 whole Rotisserie Chicken)
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
- 1½ cups crushed Ritz crackers
- ¼ cup melted butter
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Prepare Rice-A-Roni according to package directions.
- Add soup, sour cream, onion powder, garlic powder, poppy seeds, and chicken. Stir to combine.
- Spread rice mixture in a lightly sprayed 9×13 pan.
- Combine crushed Ritz crackers and melted butter. Sprinkle on top of the rice mixture.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
Notes:
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Chicken Rice-a-Roni: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-chicken-rice-roni/
- I used rotisserie chicken for the cooked chicken in this casserole. You can use any cooked chicken that you have on hand. Chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or chicken tenderloins all work great.
- Here is our recipe for Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken: https://www.plainchicken.com/slow-cooker-rotisserie-chicken/
- Feel free to add some vegetables to the chicken mixture. Broccoli or spinach works great.
- This casserole is also delicious with some grated parmesan cheese mixed in. YUM!
- Can use low-fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurt and low-fat/healthy choice cream of chicken soup for a lower calorie dish.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-cream-of-chicken-soup/
- Can Poppy Seed Chicken Rice-a-Roni Casserole be made in advance? Yes! You can assemble the casserole ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight. You may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time if baking the casserole straight from the refrigerator.
- Can Chicken Rice-a-Roni Casserole be frozen? Yes! Assemble the casserole and cover the dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Place the dish in the freezer and freeze. The casserole will keep up to 3 months in the freezer.
- To bake the casserole after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed.
- Store leftoversin an airtight container in the fridge.
Steph
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We just finished eating this…it was uber YUMMY!!! 😀 I read that veggies could be added, so I mixed in the 5 oz. package of baby spinach that I had in the refrigerator and we really enjoyed the texture and flavor that it created. I kept the Rice-a-Roni on low heat and stirred the baby spinach into it until the spinach wilted, then I added everything else and mixed really well, then transferred to the baking dish. This recipe is very similar to the Poppy Seed Chicken that I grew up eating and still make, but the addition of the rice mixed into it was extra yummy! Thank you for sharing this with the rest of us <3
Fabulous! With all going on in the world, this is the ultimate comfort food!