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Creamy chicken and rice casserole with ritz crackers.

Old Fashioned Chicken Casserole (with Ritz Crackers)

The perfect comfort food casserole! This is great for a family dinner and is a southern classic.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Dinner
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ cups cooked chicken
  • 2 cups rice cooked (1 cup uncooked, just cook before recipe. This will yield about 2 cups cooked rice)
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • ¾ cup celery diced
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 8 oz water chestnuts diced
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste I use Tony's cajun in place of salt
  • 1 stick butter melted
  • 1⅔ cups colby jack cheese shredded
  • 1 sleeve Ritz Crackers crushed

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Mix all ingredients, except for the ritz crackers and butter into a casserole dish. I mixed mine right in the casserole dish to save on clean up. You can mix this in a bowl before if you want! Once mixed, taste seasonings and adjust as needed. I ended up adding more Tony's seasoning and some cayenne pepper because I love things spicy, feel free to omit the cayenne if you don't like spice.
  2. Place casserole in the oven uncovered for 35 minutes. While the casserole is baking crush up a sleeve of ritz crackers. Melt your stick of butter in a bowl and add in crushed ritz crackers. Stir to combine until ritz cracker crumbs are coated in butter.
  3. After 35 minutes, pull the casserole out of the oven. Sprinkle the shredded cheese first in an even layer. Next add the ritz/butter mixture evenly and smooth it over top. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
  4. Once casserole is done, remove from the oven and serve! We added Tobasco on top and it was divine. Enjoy!