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This 5-ingredient chicken wild rice casserole is one of my go-to comfort food dinners. It’s creamy, satisfying, and so easy to make with simple pantry staples. Best of all, it is WW friendly — a lighter way to enjoy classic casserole flavor without a lot of fuss.
Rod loves this casserole, and I appreciate how effortless it is — perfect for busy nights when I don’t have the time or energy for lots of prep. I usually toss together a quick green salad while it bakes, and we’ve got a complete, family-friendly meal on the table with very little effort.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Just 5 ingredients: With a box of rice mix, a can of chicken, green beans, cream soup, and almonds, dinner is on the table fast.
- WW friendly comfort food: Creamy and satisfying without being heavy, this casserole is a lighter way to enjoy classic flavors.
- Family approved: Rod loves it, and it’s simple enough that everyone at the table will dig in.
- Pantry staple friendly: No special shopping trips required — most ingredients come right from the cupboard.
- Easy to adapt: Swap in fresh or leftover chicken, different veggies, or your favorite cream soup for endless variations.
Ingredients and Easy Swaps
- Wild rice mix – I usually use a boxed long grain and wild rice mix (like Uncle Ben’s), but any brand will work. You can also use about 2-½ cups of cooked rice — brown, white, or a wild rice blend. Just be sure to season it well.
- Chicken – canned chicken keeps this recipe quick and easy, but leftover rotisserie chicken, cooked turkey, or even ham or shrimp also work.
- Green beans – canned green beans are traditional here, but thawed frozen beans work great too. You can also substitute lightly cooked broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, or asparagus.
- Cream soup – I like cream of celery soup in this recipe, but cream of mushroom or cream of chicken would be just as good.
- Sliced almonds – these add crunch and flavor. You can swap in cashews, walnuts, chopped celery, or water chestnuts for a different texture.
How Many Calories and Weight Watchers Points in Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole?
According to my calculations each serving has 226 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
6 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Gather your ingredients…
Step 2: Cook the rice. Prepare the wild rice mix according to the package directions in a medium pot with a lid.
Step 3: Combine the ingredients. When the rice is done, stir in the chicken, green beans, cream of celery soup, and almonds until everything is well mixed.
Step 4: Transfer to baking dish. Lightly coat a pie plate (affiliate link) or casserole dish (affiliate link) with nonstick spray. Spoon the mixture into the dish.
Step 5: Bake. Place in a 350°F oven and bake until bubbly and heated through, about 20–30 minutes.
Step 6: Serve. Remove from the oven and serve warm, ideally with a simple salad or side of vegetables.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Save time: Cook the rice a day ahead and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the casserole.
- Moisture matters: If using fresh or frozen veggies, be sure to drain them well so the casserole doesn’t turn watery.
- Boost flavor: Stir in a little garlic powder, onion powder, or poultry seasoning to deepen the flavor if you’re using plain cooked rice.
- Make it creamier: For a richer casserole, top with an extra sprinkle of cheese before baking.
- Leftovers: This casserole reheats well — cover with foil and warm in the oven at 325°F, or microwave (affiliate link) individual portions.
Serving Suggestions
This creamy chicken wild rice casserole makes a filling meal on its own, but pairing it with lighter sides keeps the meal balanced:
- Fresh salad: My Orange Spinach Salad is bright, refreshing, and ready in minutes.
- Simple vegetables: These Parmesan Broiled Tomatoes add a pop of color and flavor without much effort.
- Fruit on the side: A sweet, light option like WW Easy Orange Delight Salad is a perfect finish.
- More greens: My Arugula Salad with Sunflower Seeds and Parmesan has just a handful of ingredients but delivers big flavor.
If you’ve made this Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Casserole, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Creamy 5-Ingredient Chicken Wild Rice Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 package (6 ounces) long grain wild rice blend (I use Uncle Ben’s which makes 2.5 cups cooked rice)
- 1 can (10 to 12 ounces) chicken breast, drained
- 1 can (14 to 15 ounces) green beans, drained
- 1 can (10.75 ounces) reduced-fat cream of celery soup (or cream of chicken or mushroom)
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds (I used chopped cashews)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a pie plate (affiliate link), or casserole dish (affiliate link), with nonstick spray and set it aside.
- Cook the rice according to the package directions in a pot big enough to mix up the casserole.
- When the rice is done add the chicken, green beans, can of soup and almonds. Stir until well combined.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish.
- Bake until heated through and bubbly, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 6 PointsPlus (Old plan) Variations: No canned green beans? Use whatever lightly cooked vegetable you like best – broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, asparagus, or a combination. No canned chicken? Use whatever cooked protein you prefer. Shredded or chopped cooked chicken or turkey, ham or shrimp would work well. This is a perfect use for leftover rotisserie chicken. No Cream of celery soup? Use whatever cream soup you like best – mushroom, chicken, etc. No long grain wild rice mix? Use 2-1/2 cups of cooked rice of your choice (just be sure to season it well) No almonds? Substitute whatever nut you prefer. Or use chopped celery or water chestnuts instead.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Easy WW Friendly Chicken Recipes
If you enjoyed this creamy chicken wild rice casserole, here are a few more easy, WW friendly chicken recipes you might like:
- My Easy Slow Cooker Chicken & Gravy is pure comfort food—tender chicken in a rich gravy that’s perfect over mashed potatoes or rice.
- For something lighter but still satisfying, try my Skinny Chicken & Broccoli Casserole. It’s creamy, cheesy, and packed with veggies.
- My Chicken and Apple Stuffing Casserole combines tender chicken, sweet apples, and savory stuffing for a cozy fall-inspired dinner that’s WW friendly.
- And if you are craving pasta, my Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti Made Lighter is a WW friendly twist on the classic—cozy, family-friendly, and perfect for potlucks.
This is ridiculously basic but in a good way. Of course, I had to make subs for what I had on hand. I didn’t have cream soup so I googled a recipe and made a substitute. I also didn’t have a can of veg so I used a bag of frozen veggies I let thaw while cooking the rice. I made this to use up some pantry ingredients and to have meals ready to go for my husband while I’m out of town so I didn’t bake this. I tasted the combination and it’s very good. I’m wondering what the baking does for the dish as to me it tastes awesome as is. If I do bake some to have for lunch I’ll probably top it with crispy onions or crispy bell peppers (which I also have in the pantry…). Thanks for helping me use up a can of chicken and a box of rice!
Would Cauliflower Rice work for this?
Hi Charlene, I haven’t tried it with cauliflower rice but believe it would be fine. If you try it please let us know how it turns out for you. ~Martha
Question. I bought the Uncle Ben’s 8.8 8z Long Grain and Wild Rice with herbs and seasoning. In your recipe do you use the seasoning packet or just make the rice?
Hi Jean, I make it with the seasonings. ~Martha
Only change I made was water chestnuts instead of nuts, it was wonderful, thank you.
I forgot to add my stars.
I am fixing this one for a second time today. I was able to freeze individual servings and cook in microwave straight from the freezer. The next time I fix this meal I will add fresh mushrooms and maybe some zucchini.
I tried this after all so wanted to report back…MDH didn’t care for this at all and I thought it was ok. I’ve been eating the leftovers and they’re still just ok. I can’t think of what else I could add to this to give it more flavor…maybe garlic and some onion. But not sure I’ll try this recipe again.
I haven’t tried this recipe yet so my 4 stars don’t reflect our dining experience-sorry but I have a question about this recipe…I put it into WW recipe builder so I’d be able to track it once I make it & it came up 9 points for Green. ????? To make it more manageable for myself I omitted the almonds & added water chestnuts (I like a good crunch in my food) so got it down to 8 points. What am I doing wrong? Every recipe I have added to WW site I always end up with more points that you’ve posted on the recipe. Please any suggestions/information, etc will be greatly appreciated!
Hi Susie, In the WW Recipe Builder for the Green Plan I show the following: Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice Blend (14SP), 1-1/4 Cup Members Mark Canned Chicken Breast (4SP), Canned Green Beans (0SP), Canned Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup (5SP), 1/4 cup almonds (4SP) When these are totaled and then divided by the 4 Servings, the SP Value per serving shows as 7. It could be that you are selecting different brands or amounts of ingredients which could explain the discrepancies. Hope this helps. ~Martha
We really enjoyed this. I added mushrooms, asparagus and water chestnuts. I used cream of chicken because I had it. I sprinkled panko crumbs on top. I will make this again