One of the best parts of having a house (aside from no longer needing to store my pots and pans underneath the bed) is hosting friends for impromptu dinners. As my girlfriends will tell you, if you stop by after work for a quick drink but linger past 6:30 p.m., I will attempt to feed you. Most recently, this Teriyaki Chicken Casserole has been my dinner bait of choice. One whiff of the juicy chicken, crisp veggies, and rice baking together in a sticky homemade teriyaki sauce, and my pal immediately decided to stay.
For me, the best dinner recipes are the ones that hit on as many of the following categories as possible:
- Crowd-pleasing
- Easy to make
- Include every food group in a single dish
- Freezer-friendly
- Healthy
- Dirty as few dishes as possible
- Taste great leftover
This teriyaki chicken casserole nails every one the above, and it landed me extra time with a friend. KEEPER.
About This Teriyaki Chicken Casserole
A few months ago, I discovered the joys of homemade teriyaki sauce (used in fan-favorites like Teriyaki Chicken). Unlike most pre-made teriyaki sauces that are loaded with excesses sugars and fillers, the one I used to make this casserole is made of simple ingredients, mostly sweetened naturally with honey, and comes together in fewer than five minutes.
Once the teriyaki sauce is ready, the rest of the teriyaki chicken casserole nearly cooks itself. The chicken and teriyaki sauce bake together in the casserole dish until the chicken is fall-apart tender and the sauce is thick, sticky, and the sort of thing I frequently burn my tongue tasting right out of the oven.
From there, the veggies and rice are stirred right into the casserole dish with the chicken (no separate bowl required). The dish is returned to the oven for a few minutes to heat it through, whatever teriyaki sauce you didn’t already devour gets poured over the top for good measure.
Stay for dinner?
More Teriyaki Recipes
Tools Used to Make This Recipe
- 3-quart casserole dish
- Mini whisk (I swear by this thing!)
Teriyaki Chicken Casserole
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Ingredients
For the chicken casserole:
- 3 cups cooked brown rice about a heaping 3/4 cup uncooked brown rice—see recipe notes below
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, trimmed of excess fat (about 2 small/medium breasts)
- 32 ounces frozen mixed stir-fry vegetables
- 1 cup shelled edamame or additional mixed vegetables, thawed if frozen
- Green onions optional for serving
For the teriyaki sauce:
- ¾ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x13-inch (3-quart) casserole dish with cooking spray. If necessary, cook the brown rice.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the soy sauce, 1/2 cup water, rice vinegar, honey, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. While you wait for the sauce to boil, whisk the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water together in a small bowl to create a slurry. Once the sauce is boiling, add the slurry, then stir to combine. Cook for 1 additional minute, until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat.
- Arrange the chicken breasts in a single layer in the prepared casserole dish. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the top, then bake the chicken for 30 to 35 minutes, until cooked through. Remove the dish from the oven and shred the chicken in the dish with two forks.
- While the chicken cooks, steam the vegetables according to package instructions. Add the vegetables, brown rice, and edamame to the dish with the shredded chicken. Add all but 1/4 cup of the remaining sauce. Stir together, then return to the oven and bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, drizzle with reserved sauce, and sprinkle with green onions. Enjoy warm.
Notes
- 1 cup of uncooked long grain brown rice yields 3 1/2 to 4 cups cooked. Thus, if you cook 1 full cup of rice, you will have a little extra leftover, which you can save for a different recipe or go ahead and mix into the casserole anyway—just know that the proportions of rice to chicken/veggies/sauce and nutrition info will be different. If using white rice, 1 cup uncooked long grain white yields about 3 cups cooked.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- If reheating in the microwave, I recommend topping your serving with a small splash of water or chicken stock to keep it from drying out.
Nutrition
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We liked this better than traditional stir-fry, which I can never get quite right. It makes a huge amount, so next time I would halve the recipe and it will still make 2 meals for our family of 3.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Claire! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Can whole casserole be frozen for future use? Making meals for sick family member. If so what do you recommend as cooking time?
Hi Jamie! You can freeze the cooked casserole for up to 3 months. I recommend letting it thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating it in the oven at 350 degrees F until warmed. I hope this helps!
Hi! I love your site and recipes! Can I use shredded chicken in this instead of whole chicken breast? Thanks!
Hi Claire! I’ve only tested the recipe as written so it would be hard to say. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!
Great recipe, the whole family loved it – thanks!
Hi Tracy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Hi! When I x3 the recipe (am making for a huge crowd!), it says to use half a cup of water to begin with, and the sauce making, so when do I add the extra cup of water? Maybe the water didn’t update… I also feel skeptical that two tablespoons of water will mix well with 9 tablespoons of cornstarch. Thanks!
Hi Kate! Sometimes the amounts don’t update in the directions (sorry this is a plugin issue that I can’t correct on my end). So for the sauce you’ll be adding all of the water, the 3x amount is 1 1/2 cups when making the sauce. For the cornstarch you are whisking together 2 tablespoons of water for every 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. When you hit the 3x button it says 6 tablespoons cornstarch, not 9, so that means you’ll be using 6 tablespoons water. Hope this helps!!
This was not good. The ingredient of Edamame was the problem. Edamame is not to be eaten shell and all. Even the photo shows the shiny little green seeds. Therefore, I spent an hour trying to remove the seeds. I finally gave up and substituted frozen green peas.
Hi Carolyn, I’m sorry to hear you had trouble. I am not sure if you saw in the ingredient list but it says “1 cup shelled edamame” so no shells included. You can buy them shelled normally in the frozen food section (which helps the process). Also in the photo you see the snow peas (not whole edamame). This would be included in the ingredient that says “32 ounces frozen mixed stir-fry vegetables”. Hope this helps!
Much too salty.
I’m sorry to hear the recipe wasn’t to your taste, Heidi. I know it’s disappointing to try a new recipe and not enjoy it. I (and many other readers) have enjoyed it, so I really wish they would’ve been a hit for you too! I’d try a different brand of soy sauce or reducing the amount. Hope this helps!
Terrible. Too much soy sauce.
I’m sorry to hear the recipe wasn’t to your taste, Kathy. I know it’s disappointing to try a new recipe and not enjoy it. I (and many other readers) have enjoyed it, so I really wish they would’ve been a hit for you too!