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Dinner is a breeze with this Crock Pot Chicken and Rice Recipe. The tender chicken and cheesy rice make an amazing meal your family will go crazy for.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice in a crock pot with a wooden spoon in the middle of it.
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Crock Pot Chicken and Rice Recipe

We absolutely love this tasty and creamy chicken and rice crock pot recipe. Everything gets tossed into the crockpot and dinner will be ready when you get home.

My kids go crazy over this dish and they love when I make it. It is so cheesy and delicious.

We make this meal frequently because it is so very simple and everyone enjoys it so much. Once I find something everyone will enjoy, it makes dinner time much easier.

Give this easy slow cooker recipe a try. It is so yummy and budget friendly.  You will love to slow cook this meal!

Overview of this cheesy chicken and rice in a black crock pot.

Crock pot cheesy chicken and rice is sure to impress the entire family!

Throw this chicken and rice in crock pot and be prepared for a great dinner! It is comfort food in every single bite.

The cheese blends together with the rice for the best flavor. The kids really like this dish and ask frequently for cheesy rice as they call it.

If you want to add something green to this meal, try serving these Delicious Roasted Green Beans. Another good side is steamed broccoli.

Learn how to steam broccoli in the microwave for a quick and easy side dish.  This recipe is so good that the kids don’t even seem to mind eating their veggies when paired with this tasty dish.

Can you put rice in a slow cooker with chicken?

Yes, definitely! I have love cooking the rice right in the crock pot for this recipe. I have found that brown rice works best as it’s less likely to be over cooked in the crock pot.

Overview of this crock pot chicken and rice recipe in a black crock pot.

This is one of our favorite slow cooker chicken and rice recipes!

Your family will love this amazing meal. Make sure you check out our page for all our easy crock pot recipes too.  Plus, if you are short on time you might want to try our Instant pot Chicken and rice recipe.

Ingredients needed to make crock pot chicken and rice.

Ingredients for Chicken and Rice crock pot:

  • Chicken Breasts
  • Minced Garlic
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Onion
  • Chicken Broth (See Chicken broth substitutes)
  • Cream of Chicken Soup (You can make homemade cream of chicken soup.)
  • Brown Rice – I recommend brown rice for this recipe as it is more hearty and less likely to over cook in the crock pot. I have tried this recipe with white rice before and the rice generally gets overcooked and turns mushy.
  • Shredded Cheddar Cheese

How do you cook chicken and rice in a slow cooker?

  • Place the chicken broth, garlic, salt, pepper, onions, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and uncooked brown rice in a crock pot. Stir to thoroughly combine all the ingredients.
  • Cover and cook on high for 3.5-4 hours until all the broth in the crock pot is absorbed by the rice.
  • Stir in the shredded cheese after the cook time. Cover and let the heat from the meal melt the cheese.
  • Serve warm once the rice is tender and blended with the cheese.

Variations to Try!

  • Try cream of mushroom in the casserole.
  • Make homemade cream of chicken soup.
  • Substitute chicken thighs.
  • Add frozen vegetables to the rice mixture.
  • Add another ¼ cup shredded cheese to the rice when finished cooking.

Chicken and Rice is simple to make!

Another time saving tip is to use a small food chopper or food processor to quickly and easily chop the onions in this recipe. If you do not have one of these, I highly recommend them.

They are such a time saver and you can get the veggies really fine. I usually just chop the entire vegetable and freeze what I don’t need.

It’s so nice to be able to just take the diced onion out of the freezer for recipes.This is how I meal prep. It’s so quick and easy and helps get dinner on the table fast.

Learn  how to freeze onions and also how to freeze peppers to save so much time in the kitchen!

You need a crockpot for this Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice.

I really like this crockpot.  I use this all the time and it’s great.

My favorite feature is that you can lock the lid down. This is awesome for when you need to take the crockpot somewhere.

I often use the slow cooker to take dishes to potluck events and this feature is amazing! There are several others on sale here.

Another favorite is this programmable crock pot  for when I am am not at home all day. I love coming home to a nice meal ready and waiting!

I also like to use crock pot liners to make clean up a breeze. These are worth every penny and save a ton of time.

Close up of a wooden spoon scooping out a serving of this chicken and rice from the crock pot.

You can also use a Casserole Crock Pot:

You can use a traditional style of crock pot but we also really like to use one of these casserole crock pot styles.It is perfect for casserole style slow cooker recipes.

I bought mine on Amazon,and I love it. It is perfect for the Holidays and really year round.

Plus, it is just so pretty. We can still enjoy all our favorite casserole recipes without ever turning the oven on.

Chicken and rice crockpot recipe easy to make!

You only need 2 chicken breasts for this recipe so it is very frugal friendly. The rice and cheese really stretch the meat and make it easy to feed a big family.

I love meals that are easy on my grocery budget, taste amazing and only take a few minutes to prepare.  Life is so busy and most of us are running from work and school to activities and more. Take out is so tempting on those crazy busy days.

Now, you can just toss everything in the crockpot and make this amazing recipe. You will love coming home to dinner ready and waiting.

Print this Chicken and Rice Slow Cooker recipe below:

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Crock Pot Chicken and Rice Recipe

4.98 from 2045 votes
Get dinner on the table fast with this Crock Pot Chicken and Rice Recipe. The tender chicken and cheesy rice make an amazing meal your family will love.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings 6
Cuisine American
Course Main Course
Calories 424

Equipment

  • 1 Crockpot I really love this Crockpot! I use it all the time!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place the chicken, garlic, salt, pepper, onion, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and brown rice in the crock pot. Stir to thoroughly combine all the ingredients.
  • Cover and cook on high for 3.5-4 hours until the rice has absorbed all the chicken broth in the crock pot.
  • Stir in the shredded cheese. Cover and allow the heat from the meal to melt the cheese (5-7 minutes).
  • Serve warm and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

  • I recommend brown rice for this recipe instead of white rice as it’s more hearty and able to handle the longer cook time from the crock pot.  I do not recommend white rice for this recipe as it will likely turn too mushy.
  • If the mixture is too thick, gradually stir in more chicken broth at the end of the cook time until the meal is the consistency that you prefer (¼ cup at a time).
  • Refrigerate the leftovers in an air tight container for up to 5 days.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 424kcal, Carbohydrates 42g, Protein 23g, Fat 18g, Saturated Fat 9g, Trans Fat 1g, Cholesterol 68mg, Sodium 1455mg, Potassium 442mg, Fiber 2g, Sugar 1g, Vitamin A 486IU, Vitamin C 10mg, Calcium 308mg, Iron 2mg

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About the Author

Hi, I’m Carrie. Welcome to Eating on a Dime!

I’m on a mission to help you cook delicious meals without busting your budget. Together we are going to cook real food… for real families!

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I don’t like sloppy rice, which is why I avoid Rissotto and I have cooked something similar to this from another recipe and have avoided similar since. Except a couple of weeks ago I made something related and cooked the rice separately – in a Rice Cooker incidentally – and mixed all together afterwards and was happy with the result.

    Silly question cos I think I shall repeat that excersie here BUT is there any reason why, e.g. does the taste of the recipe depart from suggested, why it should not be a similar outcome?

    I know this may seem a silly question but I am not an intuative cook and can only follow a recipe and I have lots of imagination but NONE associated with cooking.

  2. 5 stars
    Once again I have this in my crockpot. It’s such a great and easy recipe.. sometimes I add cream cheese and homemade ranch(. The kind u buy in the packets but made from scratch), I’ll put a couple of tablespoons in it, very tasty. I make it from scratch because it is cheaper, better and a whole lot less salt. Thanks again for such a tasty great meal

  3. 5 stars
    Just made this tonight, it was a winner in our house! Even the kids liked it. We will definitely be adding it to our rotation.

  4. How does this meal freeze? I’m looking for some easy meals that can be frozen and reheated later.

  5. 5 stars
    Wow this crockpot chicken and rice was excellent! So easy and quick to put together. Very creamy and flavorful. If you have not tried this you need to it’s a keeper!! The only thing different I did was add some mushrooms to it.

  6. 5 stars
    Hello, I tripled the recipe and the rice is still hard after 6 hrs. I keep adding more broth but it’s not helping. HELP !

  7. Hello! Curious why the cheese is added after cooking. I made the mistake of adding it in the beginning. Hoping it doesn’t throw anything off.

  8. 5 stars
    Great recipe. I have made it twice and enjoyed every last bite of it. So many times I try a new recipe and never make it again. Not this one, it’s easy and very tasty. The only thing I did different was I added cream cheese to it. It’s was absolutely delicious. Thank you for a great very easy delicious meal. And budget friendly.

  9. 5 stars
    Hi,
    How well would this freeze to save for later? I’m trying to do some meal prepping.

  10. 4 stars
    Changes: I didn’t use regular rice. I used 2 packages if knorr’s chicken flavored rice blend. Because of this, instead of adding it at the start of cooking, I waited until about 30 minutes before it was done. Started at 8:30am, added rice at 12:30pm, added cheese at 12:45pm, done at 1pm.

    Reasons: I didn’t have regular rice haha I totally thought I did… but nope!

    Results: As it turns out, the above change was a great decision. We really liked it and the only complaint I had was that my mom said it didn’t have enough cheese.

    Tips: I prepped this the night before and put it in the fridge. I threw it in the crockpot before I left for work so my mom would have an easy lunch for my kids. Highly recommend. Made things much easier for lunchtime.

  11. Love how easy this is… I purposely made extra for lunch the next day…It is Soo flavorful, my daughters voted this into our rotation ?. The only thing I do is add some garlic powder just to up the flavor a bit… Thank you Soo much for all the work you do to help us all get dinner on the table!!! ?????

  12. 4 stars
    So far so good it’s cooking right now it’s been in the crock pot since 2pm it’s 6pm and rice is still crunchy it’s been on high the whole time going to give it an hour to two hours and see how it is then

  13. Can you use regular chicken broth instead of the cream of chicken you mentioned? If so, how much?

  14. 5 stars
    AAAAMAZZZING!!!! My whole family LOVES this ADDICTING chicken and rice recipe. I make it every week! My son wants me to make it everyday but I don’t want him getting sick of it, lol.

  15. I would like to use white rice. Maybe just add it in the last two hours of cook time? What do you think?

  16. 5 stars
    My husband and I thought that this was really good! I’ll definitely make again! Thanks for the recipe!

  17. 5 stars
    Like new dinner options to use my instant pot. Made dinner so must easier if I cook almost everything at one time.

  18. Hi, Can I follow this recipe for 6 servings but double the chicken? I’d like to use about 2 lbs chicken but keep the other amounts the same. Do you think that’s ok? TIA 🙂

  19. 5 stars
    Love this recipe the only thing I do different is at the 2 hours mark I shred the chicken and at the rice and broccoli then.

  20. 5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe! I used it as a base for a 1 1/2 qt Crock Pot for one. I halved the the broth, rice. I used 3/4 can of cream of ckn soup and 8oz of chicken. After that I went out on my own! ?
    This will make dinner and one left over meal. Can’t wait until it’s done!

  21. 5 stars
    I cooked as directed. But used Ben’s Long Grain Rice instead of regular white rice. And used a can of Campbell’s Chicken and Mushroom Soup. Rice took about 30 minutes to cook and came out perfect. Great flavor! And hubby loved it!!

  22. 5 stars
    My family loved this! I added a little diced celery and carrots but followed the recipe for everything else- delicious!

  23. 5 stars
    I am not a fan of brown rice so I used white. Bad idea. Was basically mush when it was done. Taste was pretty good though. I should have read reviews first. Next time I will not put the rice in right away.

  24. 5 stars
    We enjoyed this. It was super easy to throw together and it cooked 3 1/2 hours in my crock pot. We had some homemade pintos on the side and they paired will with the dish. Thanks for sharing!

  25. We just had this tonite and it took longer than 3.5 to 4 hours for the rice to get done. I had to add more liquid and turn it on high for another 1.5 hours and still had slightly crunchy rice. Next time I’ll either use white rice or cook the rice separately and add in after the chicken us done.

  26. Yes, both of those would be a good substitute. Come back and let us know how you liked it.

  27. Trying to use our stove less and am looking forward to making this next weekend!

    Have you ever substituted the Cream of Chicken for Cream of Mushroom by chance???

  28. You can, or if your slow cooker allows, you can leave it on warm until you are ready to eat.

  29. Can I cook on low for a longer amount of time I kinda need a put in the crock pot and leave recipe and chicken and rice is one for my daughters favorites

  30. Since you tripled the recipe, the cooking time would be longer in order for the rice and onions to cook completely through.

  31. I need some advice on what I’m doing wrong on this! I followed this to the T… Literally followed each step and I have it currently cooking (08/26/22) for the full 4 hours… I go to stir it to dish it up and its still full of liquid and my rice hasn’t even cooked!! Everything else has cooked but my brown rice is still rock hard and hasn’t even started to make a point to cook!!
    I followed with 3x portion because I want to make this stretch for at least 2 days maybe 3… I had plans to bowl up some for my husband and it wasn’t ready!! The onions are still raw, rice uncooked and I’m ticked!!
    I’ve added half a bag of frozen veggies to add some filler but it won’t cook!! My slow cooker is working because its hot and everything else cooked.. I have it going for another hour but still wondering if I did something wrong!?

  32. 5 stars
    Very good! I added couple tbsp of butter at the beginning. I saw there wasn’t any alteration in the recipe for minute rice. I added minute rice (2 bags) the last hour and then added a little milk at the end and it was perfect.

  33. Yes white rice works great. I would add it half way. You can also use instant rice and just add it an hour before it is done.

  34. 4 stars
    I want to make this recipe, but I don’t have any brown rice. I was thinking. Maybe use white rice, but instead of adding it in the beginning, add it perhaps an hour after it starts cooking. Do you think this will prevent it from being mushy, yet will the rice have enough time to cook? I also will be using chicken leg quarters. I will be leaving them whole. Do you foresee any problems?

  35. Yes if you do not want to cook the rice in the crock pot I would reduce the broth to 1 cup.

  36. If you cook the rice separately, I suggest reducing the chicken broth in the crock pot.
    Otherwise it’s rather soupy.

  37. can you do this with shredded chicken? maybe put the whole chicken breast in and shred at the end?

  38. 4 stars
    Made this tonight with thighs. It was very tasty, but I thought it was a little mushy, more like thick soup, but my husband liked it. Might use slightly less broth next time. I didn’t have chicken broth on hand, so I used low-sodium vegetable broth.

  39. Thank You Elisa for your input
    I have 15 pounds of Jasmine white rice
    and do not want to go buy some brown rice

  40. 3 stars
    Made this for dinner last night with white rice since it was all I had at the moment. It did come out mushy but it was still edible for dinner. This evening I took those leftovers and made a chicken and rice soup that turned out delicious. Thank you for the recipe ?

  41. 5 stars
    Great recipe! My whole family loved it. I’ll definitely be making again. The only thing I will adjust is to half the pepper and add some extra chicken, but those are personal preference. My toddler found it a little spicy with the tsp. of pepper.

  42. Looks great and I’ve made this before… just not in a crockpot! Wanted to share this faster way: Mix together 4 chicken breasts cooked and cubed (leftover chicken or turkey works great!), 1 cup diced onions, 6 C chicken broth), 21 oz cream of chicken, 2 tsp minced garlic, salt and pepper. Bing to a boil and stir in 5 C instant white rice. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit 5-10 minutes, stir and top with shredded cheese.

  43. So simple to make! Tastes delicious, cooked quickly, and was inexpensive. There was plenty of it and I didn’t need to double the recipe for my family, I served it with a side of broccolini!

  44. Super easy and Delicious!! Loved it the 2X portion was perfect! I needed a little more flavor and added some Tony’s ??

  45. 5 stars
    Wife loved it, which is always what I’m looking for. Reading other comments, I also added a packet of ranch mix in the beginning. Also, about an hour before getting done I added fresh broccoli. It was awesome!

  46. 4 stars
    This recipe is definitely a keeper. You cant mess it up. I didn’t have half the ingredients and had to improvise. I had a cranky toddler who was not excited about going to the grocery store. I didn’t have any chicken broth. Used water and a package of taco seasoning. No onion. Used minced. No brown rice. I used white rice and added it cooked at the end. No cream of chicken soup. Used nacho cheese fiesta as I thought that would go well with the taco seasoning. Also no shredded cheese but i did have half a jar of queso Blanco which I added at the end. Served with the half bag of tortilla chips I found hiding in the pantry. My family loved it. They requested it again next week. So make as written or get creative (desperate). You wont be disappointed!

  47. 5 stars
    This was a hit with the whole family!! I also only had white rice on hand and wanted my chicken shredded, so I made the following changes. I put 3 small chicken breasts in the crockpot with the liquids and seasonings. I cooked them on low for 6 hours while at work. I removed the chicken, shredded it, then returned it to the slow cooker. I increased the temperature to high, added white rice and cooked for about 45 minutes until the rice was done. Then, I added the shredded cheddar!! Delicious!!!

  48. Next time I would cut back on the salt. It was too salty for me. I didn’t add the chopped onion I used onion powder. Also will try with some kind of mixed veggies added.

  49. 5 stars
    This is really good and easy! I only had instant brown rice on hand, so I used half of the broth to cook it and put the rest in the Crockpot with the chicken, etc. I put the cooked instant rice aside and mixed in during the last half hour of cooking.

  50. I’m so sorry, I don’t recommend cooking this one on low as the rice might get too mushy.

  51. I do not recommend cooking this recipe on long as the rice will get too mushy when cooking.

  52. Yes, but minute rice will cook in 20 minutes in the crock pot so add in the minute rice for the last 20 minutes only of the cook time.

  53. How long should I cook this on low? I want to make this but usually work all day, but don’t want a yucky mess!!

  54. Can I cook this on low for 8 hours? I’ll be gone all day and would love to have it ready when we get home?!?

  55. 5 stars
    Delicious recipe, but I took a little different approach since I only had white rice and boneless, skinless thighs. I started by putting the chopped onion, raw chicken, and cream of chicken soup in the crockpot then added three near full cans of chicken broth and the seasoning. An hour before I was ready to serve, I added the white rice. Topped with cheese on the plates since some did not want the extra cheese.

  56. Just made this recipe a few days ago. It was easy to increase because we had more chicken and it made a great supper. Added a veggie and we were good to go. Left overs were very welcome. We will use this recipe often.

  57. 5 stars
    One of our go-to-recipes. Quick, easy, and you use ingredients you have on hand. Grandkids love it. Thanks for all the great tips and recipes.

  58. 5 stars
    Very good recipe. We added broccoli. Always popping in veggies wherever I can. I might try parboiled rice next time instead of brown rice.

  59. Can I cook this on low? I need something I can start at 9:30 and not eat until 5:30 or 6:00??

  60. I haven’t tested that yet so I’m not sure. I had trouble with white rice turning too mushy but I’m not sure how wild rice would work in the crock pot.

  61. I haven’t tried Quinoa yet in the slow cooker so I’m not sure. If you try it out, please let me know how it turns out!

  62. 5 stars
    I made this and used brown Basmati rice it was great! Wondering if I could try Quinoa next time…or would Quinoa get too mushy?

  63. I find that white rice has a tendency to get mushy when cooked in the crock pot and the brown rice does not. If you use white rice, I would cook it separately and then mix it in cooked once the chicken is cooked through.

  64. I’m confused. On the recipe it shows 8 plus hours, but in the directions it says 4 please clarify.

  65. I want to make this for someone who doesn’t like brown rice. Could I use white rice and maybe add it in a little later in the cooking process?

  66. Yes, you can cook the right separately and just mix it into the crock pot right before serving. All of the other ingredients are the same.

  67. I’ve made this recipe many times and love it, but I made it the old way with adding the rice after cooking. Are all the ingredient amount the same for that way?

  68. I’m so sorry for the confusion. We in the process of updating this recipe and I’ll update the post to make it more clear. We did cook the rice in the crock pot for this recipe. We used (uncooked) brown rice and cooked it on high for 3-4 hours. It was delicious! I hope you try it out and let us know what you think!

  69. Hi! This looks really delicious, but two things are confusing me … the text at the top of the page says this uses cooked rice added at the end, but the directions on the recipe card say to use brown rice and put it in at the beginning with everything else. Also, the beginning of the recipe card says the cook time is 8 hours and 30 minutes … but the recipe instructions on the card says cook on high for 3 – 4 hours. I am looking for a 6-8 hour cook on low (while at work) so thank you in advance for any clarification on whether that’s recommended, as I’d love to add this to my rotation.

  70. Tiffany – I’m so sorry for the confusion. We have updated this recipe and we cook the rice in the crock pot now! We love the easy of doing this. If you try it out, please let us know what you think! Thank you!

  71. Directions in the blog section and comment section contradict the actual recipe directions. Am I mixing everything including uncooked rice and then cooking it all for x amount of time? Or am I adding cooked rice at the end?

  72. Each chicken brings different amounts of liquid to a crock pot meal, so I’m guessing your chicken just released more liquid than mine did while cooking. Next time, if you use the same type of chicken, I would reduce the chicken broth by 1/2 a cup to help thicken it more.

  73. 4 stars
    Mine never thickened up (and I don’t use corn starch). We ate it out of a bowl and it was delicious. I’m wondering if it was because I used chicken thighs rather than breast. I also added canned, drained mushrooms and some herbs de Provence. It was very tasty, just not as thick as shown. It made enough for two dinners. Will definitely make it again.

  74. 5 stars
    I have made this recipe twice now and it is a keeper! The first time I followed the recipe as written and we really enjoyed it. The leftovers were great the next day for lunch. The second time I doubled the recipe, added peas & carrots, and sliced mushrooms, rice, and extra broth to make it a soup. Really good! This recipe is going into my monthly meal plan. Thank you!

  75. 5 stars
    I love chicken and rice but it never seems to work for me in the oven. This recipe is both easy and delicious and never comes out dry.

  76. I am so happy I found this recipe during a search today. I knew I had to make this for dinner and it was amazing. This will be just as awesome as leftovers. Thank you for sharing. Cheers***

  77. 5 stars
    I just made this! My husband doesn’t care for rice so I used penne pasta. Mine was thin too, but thickened when I turned off the slow cooker for about 15 minutes. It was amazing! Great flavor!

  78. 5 stars
    Just made this with brown rice, about 1 cup of cheese, and stirred in some chopped broccoli at the end. So delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

  79. Katie, if the recipe is too soupy, I mix 1/4 cup of cornstarch with 1 cup of water and mix it into the crockpot and cook on high for 30-60 minutes. This will thicken the recipe. Chicken brings more water to recipes sometime so this is a great way to thicken them. Thank you!

  80. I followed the directions to a t and it is like soup. How could I make this a normal chicken and rice consistency?

  81. I would add in fresh broccoli for the last hour of the cooking time in the crock pot and additional sauce wouldn’t be needed. Thank you!

  82. Yes, you can definitely make it with the cauliflower rice but I would mix it in right before serving so that it doesn’t get mushy. Thank you!

  83. Since I can’t have rice could I use cauliflower rice instead? Would love to make this

  84. 5 stars
    I added a dry ranch seasoning packet to my chicken!!! Amazing!!! Otherwise followed the recipe. Definitely a success in my house!

  85. Wendy – Yes, you can freeze leftovers but I would reheat on the stove top since it wouldn’t need to cook as long to warm it back up!

  86. 5 stars
    I’m making this for the second time this month. It is delicious! I double this recipe for our family of 6 so we have plenty of leftovers for lunches. Thanks for an easy, flavorful recipe!

  87. 5 stars
    Carrie thank you so much for the delicious recipes especially the Crock-Pot ones that you post I really appreciate him and so does my husband, children, and grandchildren.
    Sincerely,
    Debb Linke