This casserole is not only pretty much the only casserole in my repertoire (sorry, Midwestern friends), but it is literally the sole reason I buy cream of chicken soup. I found it online many years ago, before food blogging was really a thing, on the blog of a nice lady named ‘Bunny’. My affection for it may thus also have some deep-seated relationship with my affection for this book.

We eat this pretty frequently; it’s a good way to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it expands easily – there’s always plenty of rice and you can just toss another couple of breasts on top.

Southwestern Chicken and Rice Casserole

1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup white rice (uncooked)
1 cup chunky salsa
1 cup water
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or mexican blend)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix first seven ingredients in a bowl and pour into a greased 9×13 glass baking dish. Lay the chicken breasts on top and season with salt and pepper or a seasoning blend (we usually use Adobo). Cover with foil and bake for about an hour. Remove foil and stir the rice, and check to be sure it’s cooked through (if not, replace foil and return to oven and cook until it is – about another ten minutes). If your oven regularly runs hot, you may want to check it at 45 minutes; mine takes about an hour. Once the rice is cooked, stir and fluff it with a fork, then top the chicken breasts with the cheese and return to the oven for about ten minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

We serve ours with sour cream, tomatoes, scallions, and avocados, because I like toppings.