This easy chicken dinner is fast to assemble and very flavorful—a total win for weeknight dinners. It's a complete meal in one casserole dish that's flavored with cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix. Cooking the dish tightly sealed without peeking ensures each bite is moist and perfectly cooked. Get our no-peek chicken recipe including tips for serving it.
What Is No-Peek Chicken?
No-peek chicken is a casserole made with rice, cream of mushroom soup, chicken thighs, and onion soup mix. The ingredients are layered into a baking dish and covered tightly with aluminum foil. It's baked until the rice is fluffy and the chicken is completely cooked. Don't peek until the dish is done or you'll let out the steam that helps keep it moist!
No-Peek Chicken Ingredients
To make no-peek chicken and rice, you'll need a handful of pantry staples.
- Rice: Choose long grain white rice for this no peeking chicken recipe.
- Water: Adding water to the canned soup is what helps cook the rice.
- Soup: Our Test Kitchen preferred the flavor combination of a can of cream of mushroom soup and a can of cream of chicken soup.
- Veggies: You can customize this dish with your favorite vegetables but we recommend chopped onion and bell pepper.
- Soup Mix: A packet of onion soup mix flavors this chicken and rice casserole.
- Chicken: For the most flavorful results, choose boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Green Onion: Once the casserole comes out of the oven, top it with sliced green onions.
How to Make No-Peek Chicken and Rice
This dump and bake casserole is incredibly easy to assemble. The key is layer in the ingredients.
- Combine the rice, water, canned soup, and vegetables.
- Sprinkle on the onion soup mix and gently stir to combine.
- Top with the boneless, skinless chicken thighs and tightly cover the dish with foil.
- Bake until the rice is cooked. When checking no peek chicken, take a small scoop of rice from the middle and squish it between your fingers or taste it for doneness. Sprinkle with sliced green onion and serve.
How to Serve No-Peek Chicken
This chicken casserole is great on its own but we like serving it with roasted vegetables and a green salad. It's also great with steamed carrots or broccoli.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a 3-qt. rectangular baking dish stir together rice, water, both cans of soup, onion, and bell peppers. Sprinkle onion soup mix over rice mixture. Stir to incorporate.
In a 3-qt. rectangular baking dish stir together rice, water, both cans of soup, onion, and bell peppers. Sprinkle onion soup mix over rice mixture. Stir to incorporate.
- Season chicken with seasoned salt. Place chicken over rice mixture. Tightly cover dish with foil.
Season chicken with seasoned salt. Place chicken over rice mixture. Tightly cover dish with foil.
- Bake until rice is tender and chicken is fully cooked (175°F), about 1 hour 15 minutes, keeping tightly covered. If rice is not done, cover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, covered. Top with green onion and serve.
Bake until rice is tender and chicken is fully cooked (175°F), about 1 hour 15 minutes, keeping tightly covered. If rice is not done, cover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, covered. Top with green onion and serve.