Easy Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 cups rice
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, or more to taste
• 2 (10.5 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
• 3 cups water, or more as needed
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix (such as Lipton)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread rice into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 1 cup Cheddar cheese over the rice; season with black pepper and salt. Arrange chicken breast halves evenly atop the rice and cheese layers. Dot chicken breasts evenly with rounded teaspoons of cream of chicken soup. Pour 3 cups water over the chicken and finish by sprinkling onion soup mix evenly over everything.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Check rice for doneness; if water is already completely absorbed, add 1/2 cup more water to keep mixture moist. Continue baking until the chicken breasts are no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 30 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese over the dish.