No-Peek Crack Chicken and Rice – super easy dinner recipe! Chicken breasts, long grain rice, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, ranch dressing mix, bacon, and cheddar cheese. Mix everything in the baking dish, cover, and pop it in the oven. SO easy to make and everyone cleaned their plate! Even our picky eaters!!
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a bowl, whisk together cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, and 2 Tbsp ranch dressing mix. Stir in uncooked rice, 6 Tbsp bacon, and 1½ cups cheese.
Pour the rice mixture into the baking dish.
Place chicken breasts on top of the rice mixture. Sprinkle with remaining ranch dressing.
Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes.
Remove foil. Top the chicken with the remaining cheese and bacon. Bake for an additional 5 minutes.
Notes:
I mix everything in a bowl and transfer it to a baking dish. Feel free to mix everything right in the baking pan for less dirty dishes.
To avoid sticky rice, rinse your rice before adding it to the dish. Rinsing the rice removes excess start that causes the rice to plump and stick together.
After baking, remove the chicken breasts from the top of the casserole and stir the rice. This will help incorporate the liquid that has been released from the chicken. Place the chicken breasts back on top of the rice mix and add the additional bacon and cheese and bake.
I use boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer.
You can use bone-in chicken in this dish. Check for an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Can I use frozen chicken? I haven't made this with frozen chicken breasts, I would think that it would work fine. It may take longer to cook. Check the chicken for an internal temperature of165ºF.
Can I use brown rice? This recipe is formulated for long-grain white rice. Brown rice has different liquid content and takes longer to cook. I have not made this with brown rice, so I can not give measurements or cooking times.
Feel free to add some chopped broccoli florets to the rice mixture.
You can use any flavor of cream of condensed soup. Cream of Chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, or cream of celery soup are all fine.
I suggest using Unsalted Cream of Chicken & Mushroom Soups in this dish to control the sodium.