11 Easy Crockpot Chicken and Rice Dinners

These easy crockpot chicken and rice dinners are the meals I fall back on when I have chicken, a bag of rice, and no plan.

From a creamy chicken and rice casserole to a chicken and wild rice soup, a crockpot fried rice, and an arroz con pollo that tastes like it took all afternoon, they cover most of the weeknights in a month.

Here are the eleven we make!

Rice in a slow cooker is a timing question more than a recipe question, and every entry below says whether the rice cooks in the crock or gets made on the stove and stirred in.

When it cooks in the crock, it goes in for the last hour or so, and it’s long grain white or converted rice, because brown rice and quick rice both misbehave.

1. Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole

Chicken breasts, cream of mushroom soup, broth, and rice, and it’s the casserole half the country grew up on, made in the crock so nobody has to watch it.

The chicken shreds into the rice at the end and the whole thing comes out creamy and mild, which is exactly what my kids want.

A bag of frozen peas added near the end makes it a full dinner.

It’s on the table every other week in winter.

2. Chicken and Rice with Peas

A lighter take on the casserole above, with chicken thighs, rice, broth, carrots, and peas and no canned soup.

The thighs stay juicy through the cook and the rice picks up all of the chicken flavor from the broth.

Add the rice for the last hour on high, and stir once so the bottom doesn’t stick.

A squeeze of lemon at the end brightens the whole crock!

3. Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice

Chicken, rice, broccoli, and a lot of sharp cheddar in a creamy sauce, and it’s the crockpot version of the broccoli cheese casserole from every potluck.

The broccoli goes in near the end so it stays green, and the cheese gets stirred in off the heat.

Use a good sharp cheddar, since a mild one disappears into the rice.

4. Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Chicken breasts, a wild rice blend, carrots, celery, onion, and a creamy broth, and it’s the soup I make on the first cold day of the year.

Wild rice holds up to a long cook better than white rice does, so this one can go in with everything else at the start.

The cream and a little flour slurry go in at the end to thicken it.

Crusty bread, and it’s dinner.

5. Chicken Fried Rice

Diced chicken, rice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and frozen peas and carrots, and it’s the takeout dish that turns out to work in a slow cooker.

It won’t have the wok char, and the rice comes out softer, and nobody at my table has complained.

Scramble two eggs in a skillet and stir them in at the end with sliced green onions.

A drizzle of sesame oil on top, and it’s a Friday night dinner!

6. Healthy Chicken and Rice

Chicken breasts, brown rice, broth, and a mix of vegetables, with no cream and no canned soup, and it’s the one I make when the week needs a reset.

Brown rice does work here because the recipe accounts for the extra time and liquid it needs.

Season it well, since without the cream there’s nothing to hide behind.

It portions into containers for lunches through Thursday.

7. Arroz con Pollo

Chicken thighs, rice, tomatoes, peppers, onion, and a pinch of saffron or turmeric for the color, and it’s the Latin chicken and rice that makes the house smell wonderful.

The thighs go in skin off and cook on top of the rice and vegetables, and the rice takes on the color of the tomatoes and spices.

Green olives and a handful of peas stirred in at the end are the classic finish.

A wedge of lime on every plate.

8. Curry Chicken and Rice

Chicken, rice, coconut milk, and curry powder, and it’s the mildest curry I make, which is why the kids eat it.

The coconut milk keeps the rice creamy and the chicken tender, and the curry powder is easy to dial up or down.

Add the rice for the last hour and keep an eye on the liquid, since coconut milk thickens as it cooks.

Cilantro and a spoonful of yogurt on top.

9. Mexican Chicken and Rice Bowls

Chicken breasts cook in salsa, black beans, corn, and taco seasoning, and the rice cooks separately and goes in the bottom of every bowl.

Because the rice is on the stove, this one can go all day on low without any rice worry at all.

Shredded cheese, avocado, and sour cream, and everyone builds their own.

The chicken mixture freezes well, so I double it.

10. Honey Sesame Chicken with Broccoli and Rice

Chicken pieces in a honey, soy, garlic, and sesame sauce with broccoli added at the end, served over rice made on the side.

The sauce gets thickened with a cornstarch slurry in the last half hour, and the broccoli goes in with it so it stays crisp.

Sesame seeds and green onions on top, and it beats takeout on price by a wide margin.

11. Chicken Burrito Bowls

Chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and rice that cooks in the crock at the end, and it’s the whole burrito bowl in one pot.

The rice goes in for the final hour on high with a splash of extra broth, and it comes out fluffy and seasoned.

Lime, cilantro, and a little cheese on top, and it’s the dinner my teenager asks for after practice.

The leftovers wrap into a tortilla the next day.

Notes on Rice in a Slow Cooker

Long grain white rice and converted rice are the two that behave, and they go in for the last hour on high or the last ninety minutes on low with about two cups of liquid per cup of rice.

Brown rice needs more time and more liquid and works only in recipes written for it, and instant rice turns to paste, so it stays out of the crock.

When a recipe says to cook the rice separately, do it, since the chicken can then go all day and the rice takes fifteen minutes on the stove or in a rice cooker while you set the table.

Stir the rice once when it goes in so it isn’t sitting in a clump on the bottom, and then leave the lid alone.

A 6-quart slow cooker is the right size for all of these, and the casseroles want it no more than two-thirds full so the rice cooks evenly.

Use a liner for the creamy casseroles, because rice and cheese stuck to the crock is the worst dish in the house.

Chicken thighs are more forgiving than breasts in the longer recipes, and breasts are fine in anything under four hours on low.

I shred the chicken with shredder claws right in the crock and stir it back through the rice, and a thermometer settles the doneness question in the shorter cooks.

More Crockpot Chicken on the Site

The crockpot meals with chicken breast that don’t dry out post covers the timing that keeps the breasts in these recipes tender.

My crockpot chicken alfredo pasta is the same creamy chicken idea over pasta in place of rice.

And the quick crockpot dinners with ten minutes of prep post has more meals that start with a bag of chicken and end with almost no dishes.