Cheesy Crockpot Chicken and Rice

This Slow Cooker Crockpot Chicken and Rice is the perfect, healthy one-pot meal for weeknight dinners. Simply dump your ingredients in the slow cooker and let it do the work. This dish has chicken (chicken breasts, thighs, or drumsticks), brown rice, veggies, and cheese.

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One-pot meals are what everyone is looking for! This is a wonderful dish that is healthy and loaded with veggies and protein. Everyone will love it! It’s very similar to a casserole and has everything you need for a balanced meal.

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

I like to use my Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup in this recipe. The canned stuff is typically loaded with fat and excess sodium. Check your labels. I have often seen, modified food starch, which is a processed ingredient that helps thicken up the soup. They also often include vegetable oil, sugar, and flavoring. Flavoring basically means something has been added to alter the natural flavor.

What Type of Rice to Use

You will have to use long-grain brown rice. Do not use Minute Rice or any quick-cooking rice. It will turn into mush in the slow cooker. White rice cooks fast, a lot faster than chicken, so it doesn’t make sense to cook the two together. The same goes for Minute Rice.

If you want to cook white rice, I recommend you cook it on the stove or in a pressure cooker separately. My Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice recipe includes instructions for how to cook white rice in the pressure cooker.

You should always rinse the rice first before using it. This will rinse away dirt and excess starch. I like to use a mesh strainer and ensure the water runs clear while rinsing the rice.

Using brown rice also makes the dish a little more healthy. Brown rice is a whole grain. It contains all parts of the grain, including the fibrous bran, the nutritious germ, and the carb-rich endosperm. It’s chewy and takes a while to cook due to its tough bran exterior.

White rice has part of the bran and germ removed. These are the most nutritious parts of the grain, which leaves white rice with very few essential nutrients. White rice is softer and tends to cook faster.

You can read more about The Difference Between Brown Rice and White Rice here.

What Type of Chicken to Use

I like to use skinless chicken breasts. You can use whatever you like such as chicken thighs with no adjustment to cook time.

How to Make Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Detailed measurements and full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Spray the bottom of the slow cooker with cooking oil spray.
2. Add chicken broth, cream of chicken, and chopped onions to the slow cooker.
3. Top with the chicken breasts and sprinkle the spices and seasonings throughout.
4. Slow cook.
5. Open the pot and remove the chicken and shred or slice into cubes.
6. Return the chicken to the pot along with frozen vegetables and shredded cheese.
7. Place the lid on the pot and slow cook until the veggies are soft and the cheese has melted.

Cook Time/How Long to Cook

This is not a set it and forget it recipe where you will let it cook all day and then transfer to Warm setting. The longer the rice sits on the Warm setting, the mushier the texture will become. Rice isn’t something that can remain on heat for long without becoming mushy. For dinner, I like to make this dish in the early evening so that it’s ready by dinner time using the High setting.

In general, you want to cook the rice and chicken until the liquid evaporates, but you should keep a close eye on the rice and monitor the texture. I’ve made this recipe with 2 different Crockpot models and both yielded slightly different results because it’s apparent one gets hotter than the other.

The same will likely apply to you. After the dish has been cooking for 2 hours I check the texture of the rice. If the rice is soft and the liquid hasn’t fully evaporated, remove the lid from the pot and allow the dish to stand for 5 minutes. This will help evaporate the liquid.

Most times when I check in at 2 hours there’s a small amount of liquid left and the rice still isn’t soft enough. I continue to cook it for an additional 30 minutes or until soft.

Other Vegetables You Can Substitute

• Mushrooms
• Asparagus
• Peas
• Snap Peas
• Spinach

How to Store Leftovers

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge tightly sealed for 3-4 days.

Freezer Tips

Leftovers will last tightly sealed in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge.

More One Pot Meals

Slow Cooker Chili Mac and Cheese
Leftover Taco Meat Bowls
Leftover Turkey Chili
Instant Pot Gumbo
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Southern Chicken Spaghetti
Air Fryer Parmesan Crusted Chicken

More Slow Cooker Crockpot Recipes

Sugar Free Apple Butter
Slow Cooker Crockpot Chili Mac and Cheese
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip
Slow Cooker Crockpot White Chicken Chili
Pulled Pork Sliders
Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
Slow Cooker Crockpot Gumbo
Crockpot Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup
Slow Cooker Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

More Chicken Recipes

Air Fryer Chicken Sandwich
Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
Ranch Chicken Wings
Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
Air Fryer Spatchock Chicken

Check out my Instant Pot Brown Rice if you prefer to cook the rice separately.