Carolina Casserole

Carolina Casserole–Instant Pot rice with chicken, mushroom, vegetables and cheese. An easy and tasty weeknight dinner.

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Carolina Casserole

Sometimes the simplest dinners are the best. I love eating simple, basic foods like rice, chicken and vegetables. This casserole is easy to make. It has just a 3 minute pressure cooking time. It has good flavor. It’s also a one pot meal. The leftovers stay good and make a great lunch the next day.

This recipe comes from Our State magazine, which is a magazine dedicated to North Carolina, “Since 1933, Our State has shared stories about North Carolina with readers both in state and around the world. We celebrate the people and places that make this state great. From the mountains to the coast, we feature North Carolina travel, history, food, and beautiful scenic photography.” This particular recipe was featured in the August 1980 issue and was entitled “carefree casserole” since it’s likely that all of the ingredients are already in your cupboard or refrigerator, and you can easily have it ready in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Butter–or olive oil
• Mushrooms–white button, baby bella
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder–or granulated garlic
• Chicken broth–or water and 2 teaspoons of Better than Bouillon
• Converted rice–or long grain white rice, basmati rice
• Chopped cooked chicken–I used rotisserie chicken
• Frozen peas and carrots–or another type of vegetable
• Heavy cream–optional, but adds a bit of a creamy element
• Sharp cheddar cheese–or another type of cheese like parmesan

The Basic Steps…

Watch my YouTube video of this recipe…

• Heat the Instant Pot on the saute setting and saute the mushrooms in butter.
• Add in the seasonings, broth, rice, chicken and vegetables.
• Pressure cook.
• Stir in the cream and the cheese (you can let the cheese melt on top or stir it in).
• Eat and Enjoy!

Notes/Tips

• I served with roasted broccoli and cauliflower. You can also serve a green salad and a dinner roll along side this chicken and rice casserole.
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
• This recipe is gluten free.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Can I make this recipe with brown rice? Brown rice takes a lot longer to cook than white rice (22 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release). So if you want you can make this with brown rice but you’ll need to not include the frozen vegetables or chicken into the pot initially (stir in after pressure cooking).
• Other recipes you can make with heavy cream are Get Better Casserole and Love Machine Casserole.
• What is converted/parboiled rice? Don’t confuse converted rice (or sometimes it is called parboiled rice) with pre-cooked or minute rice. Parboiled rice has been processed in its husk by soaking, steaming, and drying. As a result, all the nutrients from the husk are absorbed into the grain before it’s removed. The starch content alters in the process, making cooked parboiled rice less sticky than regular white rice. The rice kernels aren’t clumpy and glued together instead they are more separated. I found a bag of parboiled rice at Walmart next to the normal long grain white rice. Sometimes I buy it at Winco in the bulk section. I have also found it in the orange box (Ben’s brand) next to other rices.

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.