Leslie’s Casserole–an easy Crockpot or Instant Pot recipe with chicken, rice, mushrooms, water chestnuts, cheddar and more.
Leslie’s Casserole
This easy chicken with rice, vegetables and cheddar is a great crockpot meal for a Sunday supper. I loved the addition of and crunchy water chestnuts. I was going to leave them out but at the last minute put them in. I’m sure glad I did! With the soft chicken and rice it was nice to have a crunchy element.
This recipe was adapted from a stove/oven on Food.com. The author stated, “This is my favorite dish to bring to families- for new babies, sick friends, etc. It makes so much, you have plenty to feed your family and the family you are feeding. This is a Southern Living recipe from a while back.”
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Butter
- Onion
- Celery
- Mushrooms
- Water chestnuts
- Rice-A-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice
- Water
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Sour cream
- Sharp cheddar cheese
Steps
Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the butter and let it melt. Add in the onion, celery and mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker.
Stir in the water chestnuts, rice a roni with seasoning packet, water and chicken thighs. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
Stir in the sour cream. Sprinkle the cheddar on top…
and let it melt. Serve and enjoy.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a green salad, sliced strawberries and cornbread.
- I used my 6 quart Ninja slow cooker. This slow cooker has a “stovetop” function so I am able to do the saute step directly inside the slow cooker.
- Each slow cooker cooks differently so you may need to adjust the cooking time.
- If you’d rather you *can* use chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins however they won’t be as moist and tender as the thighs. Another option is to use rotisserie chicken.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with mushrooms are Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff and Slow Cooker Cheesy Pesto and Mushroom Chicken.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Leslie’s Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
An easy Crockpot or Instant Pot recipe with chicken, rice, mushrooms, water chestnuts, cheddar and more.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 rib of celery, diced
- 4 ounces mushrooms, quartered
- 1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained and sliced
- 1 (4.3) oz box Rice-A-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice
- 2 cups water
- 16 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the butter and let it melt. Add in the onion, celery and mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the water chestnuts, rice a roni with seasoning packet, water and chicken thighs. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
- Stir in the sour cream. Sprinkle the cheddar on top and let it melt. Serve and enjoy.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the butter and let it melt. Add in the onion, celery and mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the water and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in the water chestnuts, rice a roni with seasoning packet and chicken (don’t stir). Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the sour cream. Sprinkle the cheddar on top and let it melt. Serve and enjoy.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
More chicken and rice recipes…
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A dump-and-slow cooker chicken rice casserole that’s made from scratch. It’s creamy, almost risotto-like. Plus it’s an emergency meal because it’s effortless but it doesn’t sacrifice flavor!
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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.
I love your recipes and every one of them I tried are delicious. What bothers me is that there is so much fat in most of them such as butter, cheese, cream cheese, heavy cream and on and on. Can you suggest substitutes for your older patients who need a healthier diet?
I will try to share what I know. You can always substitute lower fat items like low fat cream cheese, low fat sour cream, etc. You can also simply cut down on the amount used. If I saute items in butter you can use olive oil instead to saute. You can use evaporated milk instead of heavy cream.
would like to try this recipe but I don’t like the rice and was wondering if you can use something else
please can I use chicken thighs only
Hi Justin, this recipe uses boneless chicken thighs. Are you asking if you can use bone-in thighs?
Since this recipe is pretty much rice based I would not try to make it without the rice. Perhaps you’d like to try a crockpot potato and chicken recipe instead? https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/recipes/?fwp_method=slow-cooker&fwp_ingredient=chicken-dishes%2Cpotatoes