chicken and wild rice casserole

Chicken and wild rice casserole

I share a ton of recipes here on Half Baked Harvest, but I don’t often share more traditional, homey ones like this wild rice casserole. It’s odd because my family loves traditional food. Meaning lots of chicken and rice, tacos, and pasta… basically anything on the more bland side of the dinner spectrum. While I do share those types of recipes, normally I’ll put some kind of spin on them. I love flavor, nothing bland over here!

• Course: main course
• Cuisine: american

This chicken and wild rice casserole is cozy, healthy, filling, and all things delicious. Best part? It's all made in just ONE pan. 

•  prep time 15 minutes
•  cook time 1 hour
•  total time 1 hour 25 minutes
•  servings 6 servings
•  calories 489 kcal

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• kosher salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 6 ounces cremini mushrooms
• 2 ounces wild mushrooms
• 1 Honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme, plus more for serving
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 6 ounces cremini mushrooms
• 2 ounces wild mushrooms
• 1 Honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme, plus more for serving
• 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine or more chicken broth
• 2 cups wild rice
• 1/2-1 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Melt the butter and olive oil in a large, oven safe skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring often until the onion is soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic, the cremini mushrooms and the wild mushrooms, cook another 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are caramelized. Stir in the apples and thyme and cook another minute longer. 
3. Pour in the 2 cups chicken broth and the wine and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the rice and chicken, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 45-55 minutes or until the rice is cooked, if needed, add the remaining 1/2-1 cup broth if the rice feels a little hard still. Remove from the heat and stir in the spinach. 
4. Sprinkle the cheese over top the rice and transfer to the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and serve with fresh thyme. Enjoy!