Lone Star Chicken Casserole–a creamy chicken sauce with Rotel served over rice. An easy dinner you can make in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Lone Star Chicken Casserole
This is a different take on king ranch chicken casserole. Instead of tortillas I decided to use rice as the carb base. Skyler is always weird about what he terms “soggy tortillas” so I decided to just make the king ranch chicken sauce and pour it over a bed of rice instead of baking it with tortillas. It was an easy and yummy dinner that satisfied all of us!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Canola oil–or olive, vegetable
- Onion–yellow, white
- Celery
- Garlic powder
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs–frozen or fresh
- Kosher salt
- Rotel tomatoes–I used mild
- Cream of chicken soup–or cream of mushroom
- Hot cooked rice, for serving
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and swirl around. Add in the onion and celery and saute for 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic powder, chili powder and cumin.
Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
Add in the chicken thighs. Sprinkle the salt onto the chicken. Dump Rotel and cream of chicken over the chicken (try to keep cream of chicken on top of the chicken and not touching bottom of pot).
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Move chicken to a cutting board and chop it up. Stir the chicken back into the pot.
Serve chicken and sauce over hot cooked rice.
Notes/Tips
- Serve topped with shredded cheese and chopped cilantro.
- This recipe can be gluten free if you use gluten-free cream of chicken soup.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with celery are Amish Six Layer Dinner and Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup.
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.
Lone Star Chicken Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
A creamy chicken sauce with Rotel served over rice. An easy dinner you can make in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 3/4 cup diced onion
- 1 rib of celery, sliced or diced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 20 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs (frozen or fresh)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 (10 oz) Rotel tomatoes (I used mild)
- 1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup
- Hot cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the oil and swirl around. Add in the onion and celery and saute for 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic powder, chili powder and cumin.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in the chicken thighs. Sprinkle the salt onto the chicken. Dump Rotel and cream of chicken over the chicken (try to keep cream of chicken on top of the chicken and not touching bottom of pot).
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Move chicken to a cutting board and chop it up. Stir the chicken back into the pot.
- Serve chicken and sauce over hot cooked rice.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the oil and swirl around. Add in the onion and celery and saute for 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic powder, chili powder and cumin. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the broth, chicken, salt, Rotel and cream of chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Move chicken to a cutting board and chop it up. Stir the chicken back into the slow cooker.
- Serve chicken and sauce over hot cooked rice.
Notes
You can cook rice at the same time as the chicken using the pot-in-pot method. This technique involves placing rice in a separate heatproof container that sits on a tall trivet inside the Instant Pot, allowing both the rice and chicken to cook together without mixing. To do this, add 2 cups of white rice and 3 cups of water to a heatproof container that fits inside the Instant Pot (a stainless steel pan works well*). Then, add the chicken ingredients directly to the bottom of the Instant Pot. Place the container of rice on top of the chicken using a tall trivet* to keep it elevated. Secure the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook according to the recipe instructions. Once done, carefully remove the rice container—it will be perfectly cooked and ready to serve alongside the chicken.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
More Instant Pot recipes with Rotel…
Holy Casserole
Instant Pot or slow cooker sausage with potatoes, mushrooms, Rotel tomatoes, spinach and cream cheese.
Instant Pot Queso Chicken
An easy 6 ingredient dump and go chicken recipe that is cheesy and creamy and addicting!
Instant Pot Sausage Queso Dip
The classic Velveeta and Rotel dip with sausage made in the Instant Pot. A cheesy queso dip perfect for parties, game day and potlucks.
Instant Pot Queso Rotel Chicken
An easy dump and go recipe with flavorful chicken, rotel cheese sauce and creamy mashed potatoes. You’re going to love how this dish reminds you of your favorite dip!
*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.
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