Chicken and Wild Rice in a creamy Parmesan sauce – easy and delicious! I love chicken and wild rice casserole, and this recipe is just like a casserole but everything is cooked on a stove top!
This Chicken and Wild Rice skillet is pure comfort food. And, so easy to make. The only time consuming part of this recipe is that you have to precook wild rice. As you know, wild rice cooks a long time, about 45 minutes, so plan accordingly. After the wild rice is cooked, the recipe is done very quickly.
The creaminess here comes from adding half and half and shredded Parmesan cheese, which makes this recipe gluten free (no flour added to thicken the sauce!)
Enjoy!
Chicken and Wild Rice in a creamy Parmesan sauce - easy and delicious! I love chicken and wild rice casserole, and this recipe is just like a casserole but everything is cooked in a skillet.
- 1 1/2 cups wild rice , uncooked
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion , small, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 pound chicken thighs , skinless and boneless, chopped into smaller slices
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- salt
- 2/3 cup half and half
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley , chopped
- Cook wild rice + 1/4 teaspoon and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a large pot of boiling water according to the cooking instructions on the package (usually, wild rice cooks about 45 minutes, so plan accordingly).
- When wild rice is almost cooked, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add chopped onion and minced garlic, and cook on medium heat, stirring, until onion is translucent, about 1 minute.
- Add chopped chicken, sprinkle generously with salt, oregano, thyme, parsley, and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.
- When the wild rice is done, add cooked wild rice to the skillet with chicken and mix everything.
- Add 2/3 cup half and half, 1/3 cup chicken broth to the skillet with chicken and rice and bring to boil. Add shredded 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Stir, until the cheese has melted, on medium-low heat. Taste and add more salt if needed, about 1/8 teaspoon or 1/4 teaspoon more.
- Remove from heat, stir in 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley.
What is HALF & HALF? To make 1 cup of half and half, combine 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup regular cream (heavy, or whipping cream).
I made this in the instant pot today. I used bone-in chicken thighs and brown them on the stove. Then saute the onions, garlic and 1 tbsp of ginger. Added the rice with onions and saute for an extra minute. Then I put the rice mixture in the instant pot with the spices and parsley, I added 2.25 cups of liquid (1/4 c water, 2/3 c of half n half and 1 1/3 c of reduced sodium chicken broth). I put the chicken thighs on top, pressure cooked for 10 minutes, with natural release of 15 minutes. Then added parmesan cheese and frozen peas. Stir and Voila!!! Thanks for the recipe!
You are very welcome! I am glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for your tips about how to make this in an instant pot.
You can pre-cook wild rice (or any rice, for that matter) at your convenience, then freeze it in recipe size portions, in flat zipper freezer bags. Thaw package in warm water for a few minutes before adding to recipe.
That’s a great idea – it really saves time! Wild rice does take a long time to cook.
Can you add sliced veggies to the mix (carrots, celery). Any thoughts?
Yes, you can! I’ve added vegetables to this recipe. In fact here is a recipe you might like that is very similar to this one but with more veggies: https://juliasalbum.com/chicken-pot-pie-wild-rice/
Made it for dinner last night. Delicious!
Is there a dairy free to this?
You might try using coconut milk with dairy free cheese.
Made it tonight. Love the flavors. Great recipe for wild rice!
Glad you liked it!
This has become one of my go-to recipes! Love it, I tend to add a bit more cream and Parmesan cheese to make it even better!!
So happy to hear you’ve enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Per the rice. Are you using something like Uncle Ben’s Wild rice and just not using the flavor packet or are you using the small box of pure wild rice? I use the small box of wild rice and it is only the dark rice. Your picture looks like a blend of rices.
I use the wild rice that you can buy in bulk in many stores. I also often use Lundberg Wild Blend Rice.