This Cheesy Chicken Bacon and Rice Casserole is so delicious and easy to prepare. It’s perfect for busy weeknights, but it would also make a great breakfast or lunch!
Cheesy Chicken Bacon and Rice Casserole
This dinner makes me so happy. It’s pure comfort food in a skillet, so you might want to make it asap for your family. You are likely to have most of the ingredients in your pantry which is always nice! I honestly use my cast iron skillet on a weekly basis. They run about $20 bucks!
This is a nice and thick rice dish that is hearty and rich. I like to top mine with a few dashes of hot sauce, oh baby it’s good! Hope you enjoy friends 🙂
Easy Chicken Casserole Recipe
Let’s render the bacon. I chose the applewood smoked bacon, highly recommend it!
Nice and crispy 🙂
You guys are going to be pros at making roux, I’ve been using my cheese sauce so much lately.
Whisk in the flour, salt and pepper then slowly whisk in the chicken broth.
Once the chicken broth is nice and thick, add your cheese. Mix until smooth.
Add a few dashes of hot sauce. Any of your favorite brand works.
Give a nice stir.
Once your bacon fat is drained from skillet, add 2 tablespoons back to pan and add your cooked rice.
Add 2 cups cooked shredded chicken.
Time to add the cheese sauce baby!
Give a nice mix.
Add a little more cheese on top.
Like so.
Now…add that cooked, crumbled bacon to the top and place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, until cheese is melted.
Ahhhh, there we go 🙂 Enjoy!
Tips for Making this Cheesy Chicken Casserole
*Rotisserie chicken works great in this recipe and saves cooking time.
*Pre-cook your bacon or use microwave bacon for extra time saving.
*Add your favorite chopped vegetables to the rice, any of your favorites taste great! I’d give them a quick saute before adding.
Cheesy Chicken Bacon and Rice Casserole
Equipment
- Stove
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound Applewood Smoked Bacon
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1-2 tablespoons Hot Sauce
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 4 cups steamed white rice
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Render bacon, drain and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon drippings.
- Place butter into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted whisk in flour, and pepper until smooth and bubbly. Slowly whisk in chicken broth. Increase heat to high whisking broth until thickened. Reduce heat to low and stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Stir in hot sauce. Reduce heat to a simmer and set aside.
- Place reserved 2 tablespoons bacon drippings back to cast iron skillet. Stir in cooked rice. Add chicken and cheese sauce, mixing to combine. Top with 1 cup cheddar cheese then top with crumbled cooked bacon. Place under oven's broiler for 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Welcome to my online kitchen! Picky Palate is where youāll find family friendly recipes along with the best Disney eats, tips and copycat recipes! 
Made this tonight. It was delicious! Family favorite.
So glad to hear it Courtney!
Is that day old COLD steamed rice, or just-steamed, hot rice? My husband shared this recipe on Facebook, so apparently that means I need to make it, LOL! Thank you.
Would using Hormel bacon pieces work instead of cooking bacon?
This looks super tasty. I don’t like cheddar so I might try it with Mozz… do you think it would work the same?
What size cast iron skillet are you using for this recipe?
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It is snowing here in Colorado and I was looking for a recipe with ingredients I already had! I used left over chicken – btw it is very easy to shread even leftover chicken in your stand mixer! What a perfect recipe for a snowy evening! I did what some other people did and made it in a casserole dish. Thanks for a great dinner!
Just made this. My husband loved it!!! I didn’t have cheddar so I used Mexican and it was so good! Next time I will use cheddar and maybe a little more hot sauce!!! Tum! Thanks!
I love your Cheesy Chicken and Rice Skillet Dinner with Bacon but may I suggest using cauliflower rice instead in this ( Here is how to make it recipe.http://www.delightedmomma.com/2012/03/cauliflower-rice.html) Your recipe will still taste good and your kids will get extra veggies which if your kids are like mine is a miracle.
Made this for the family tonight, and it was a hit! It’s definitely going into the “make again” category. Thanks for a tasty, and time-saving dinner. Love your site by the way š
So, this dish was delish. And as a result, your cheese sauce is now my go-to cheese sauce recipe. Just made it to add to last nights leftover whole wheat noodles and made a fab mac and cheese. But now I want the bacon and rice skillet….dinner this week, for sure!!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
se ve buenĆsimo!!!! gracias por compartir, que buena idea la receta paso a paso con fotos!!!!!!
Made this tonight and used 2 ready rice pouches. Start to finish only took about 30 mins including cleanup! As usual u do not dissapoint!! Soooo delish and so easy! Thanks for yet another new family favorite!
I have got to purchase a cast iron skillet! I keep telling myself I need one, but then I don’t ever buy one. That bacon on top looks to die for!!
I just made this recipe Monday evening and it was well received by the fam. There was even a little bit leftover for lunch the next day, which was even better. I felt like there were a lot of steps to putting this together, but it was well worth it in the end. This is a recipe I look forward to doing again. Oh and because I don’t have a cast iron skillet, I just layered everything into a 13 x 9 pan and put it in the oven for a few minutes to let the cheese melt.
Wow! I made this tonight and it was amazing! My whole family loved it. I am loving your website right now with all these quick and easy dinners with classic food that everyone loves. The cheese sauce with the rice was genius, I will definitely be making again! Thanks for posting!
I’m wondering if this could be made ahead of time, put in a casserole dish and the baked in the oven later? In the summer, I like to make dinner in the am put it in the fridge so I can just stick it int he oven when we get home from “playing”
You absolutely cannot go wrong with healthy doses of cheese and bacon in any dish!
I cannot wait to try this. We love all the ingredients and I know my crew will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!
OMG You should call this Crack cheesy chicken & rice w/bacon. Seriously. It was DELISH!! What’s not to love here?!? My son went back for THIRDS! He eats like a bird.
The ads say will not print…but 3 pages of paper were wasted on ads only..meaning they did print out. Just thought that you should know
BACON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love bacon, right after CHOCOLATE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!
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You make what could be an “ugly” casserole look good! I can’t wait to give this non-canned soup recipe a try!
Made it, loved it!! Everyone in the family enjoyed every bite! Thank you for posting this!!
You just can’t go wrong with bacon and cheese š This looks so comforting and decadent
Jenny, this looks amazing…and so easy to boot!
This looks so good! I love chicken and rice recipes!! š
So inexpensiveness all the ingredients that my hubby likes this is whats for supper
Thank you
Gayla š
This looks amazing!! So making this this for dinner one night š what size skillet did you use?
Trying this one for my picky 5 yr old grandson. Looks wonderful! Question: After I purchase a cast iron skillet how do I prepare it or cure it before use? I know uou are supposed to do something to a cast iron skillet before cooking with it…
There are usually directions that come with the skillet to tell you how to season it.
That bacon looks phenomenal!
This looks and sounds (and smells) amazing! I only hope mine comes out looking as good as yours. I’m making it right now! Smell the bacon in the air.
This looks so mouthwatering, Jenny! The perfect weeknight meal – quick, easy and super flavorful!
What kind of cheese do you use? Sharp, mild, also is there also a certain brand of cheese you perfer?
Can’t go wrong with all that cheese and bacon…YUMMY!!!!
This is the perfect dinner! I love the simplicity of cooking in the skillet. I can’t wait to try it out!
Tobasco-y chessey sauce with rice, chicken and bacon, you’ve got to be kidding me. This looks like a dream in a skillet! Pinch me. YUM!