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An easy and wholesome comfort food casserole made with wild rice, chicken, butternut squash, a little parmesan, and cozy spices like thyme and sage. Healthy food meets comfort food in the most delicious way!
This is cold-weather comfort food at it’s finest. This is your winter dinner go-to. This is a wholesome comfort food casserole. This is Healthy Chicken Wild Rice Casserole.
So – what have we got going on here, exactly? A bunch of real, wholesome, good-for-you ingredients like butternut squash, wild rice, chicken, onion, a lil parmesan cheese and a handful of spices. Yummo.
But the real superstars are the wild rice + the butternut squash.
Look at those gorgeous super star foods. Easy on the eyes and the tummy!
There are so many things I love about this casserole but if I absolutely had to pick one? It would be the fact that everything about this tastes like comfort food while actually being super healthy.
I mean, you can argue me on the cheese, but c’mon. It gives a beautifully crunchy texture to the top of the casserole when popped in the oven for a few minutes. How can you say no to that?
I think we need to go back and talk about that squash a little bit more. Look at that golden-orangey goodness!
When you sauté the squash, it takes on an almost caramelized flavor that is just The. Best.
I discovered this by a happy little accident when I started to almost burn the squash while cooking it ? So obviously, this recipe is super user-friendly. I almost burnt part of it and it still turned out amazing. Total pro over here, people. Healthy chicken wild rice casserole is the perfect way to kick off this winter/holiday season on a nutritious note.
With that said, I’m off to work on a gingerbread cookie recipe – because balance ❤
Happy eating, friends!
If you love cozy, comforting casseroles that also pack a little bit of nutritional punch, make this Cheesy Pasta Bake with Sausage and Peppers next!
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Healthy Chicken Wild Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- About 2 cups of butternut squash, cubed
- 1 cup wild rice, measured when uncooked
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp sage
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive Oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook rice according to package directions and set aside.
- While the rice is cooking, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Toss with the thyme, sage, salt and pepper. Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until done (about 5-7 minutes). Remove from pan and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate.
- Add the diced onion and butternut squash to the pan with another tablespoon of olive oil. Add a pinch of salt + pepper. Cook about 6-8 minutes, until squash is a little tender - but not fully cooked.
- Add the chicken, wild rice, and 1/2 cup of parmesan to the squash/onion mixture and stir to combine. Add the entire mixture to prepared dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Add the remaining parmesan cheese to the top of casserole and bake about 5 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Note: You can easily double this recipe! I made a smaller batch because I'm only feeding Grant + myself, but it doubles well. You can also adjust the cheese amount up or down depending on how much you like cheese!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this last night, and it was delicious! Even my picky 15-year old said she liked it. I did add a lot more cheese than the recipe calls for, but other than that I followed it pretty exactly. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Allison! Glad you and your kiddo enjoyed the casserole. 🙂 I always end up adding more cheese too haha!
Very good! I live in an area that wild rice grows so I love to try new recipes with it. I did add some quartered Brussels sprouts because I can’t get enough of them.
That sounds like a great addition, Kathy! Glad you liked this recipe.
I love love wild rice! The texture is so good and it has a nice nutty taste. This recipe is a must try!
Thank you!
Delicious casserole! I have yet to try wild rice. I’m going to add it to my to do list because I am getting a bit tired of regular white rice.
Wild rice is the best! I don’t really like white rice so it’s a great alternative for me 🙂
Life is not lived well without that “balance”, haha. I love the sounds of this healthy comfort food! I will have to give it a whirl and see how my fanily likes it. I am always on the prowl for delicious healthy meals.
Thanks so much!! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Usually when recipes start with “healthy” I worry about them being tasteless. But this one really looks amazing! Great week-night dinner on those busy days.
Thank you! I am not about that tasteless “healthy” food, haha!
I’m loving the butternut squash/wild rice combo! This dish is like perfect comfort food!
Thank you! 🙂
Love the wild rice close up! Makes me want to buy some right now and make your dish. I adore chicken and rice as a Sunday meal, unfortunately shops are already closed so can’t try that for tomorrow. But I will save it for another Sunday in the future. 🙂
Thanks so much!! 🙂 Hope you love it!
There’s nothing wrong with a little cheese! Or a lot of cheese… 🙂 I don’t use wild rice nearly as much as I should, and this dish looks super delicious. I have a sweet potato that I need to use, and this would be a great way to do it
I bet this would be great with sweet potato!! 🙂
I love coming across beautiful recipes that I know will be equally delicious if I leave the meat out… this is one of those recipes for sure! 🙂
Definitely!! You could also add in some extra veggies if you want! Sweet potato comes to mind 🙂