Teriyaki Chicken and Rice Casserole
I had never thought to make a casserole using Asian ingredients, but then I came across a few versions of this Teriyaki Chicken and Rice Casserole recipe and I couldn’t wait to try it. I love teriyaki, and this recipe makes really thick, flavorful sauce. A serving of this dish really filled me up because it’s chock full of healthy, satisfying ingredients like vegetables, chicken breasts and brown rice. I also decided to add pineapple because it’s something I’ve always loved in fried rice and it pairs beautifully with teriyaki sauce. A serving of this Teriyaki Chicken and Rice Casserole is just 321 calories or 7 WW Points! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
Looking for more delicious and filling casseroles to serve your family this winter? Try favorites like my Bubble Up Chicken Pot Pie Casserole, Beef Enchilada Quinoa Bake, Eggplant Parmesan Casserole, Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole, Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Bake, Bubble Up Pizza Casserole, Deep Dish Sloppy Joe Casserole and so many more in the casseroles section of my recipe index!
Teriyaki Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- ¾ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 32 oz frozen mixed vegetables, look for the un-sauced stir fry or Asian varieties that only include zero-point veggies for WW
- 1 cup drained canned pineapple tidbits or chunks, packed in juice or with no added sugar
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350.
- Combine the soy sauce, the ½ cup water, the brown sugar, honey, ginger, olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan and cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove lid and cook for one minute once boiling.
- While waiting for the sauce to come to a boil, stir together the corn starch and 2 tablespoons of water in a separate dish until smooth to form a slurry. Once the sauce is boiling, add the slurry to the saucepan and stir in to combine. Cook for another minute until the sauce starts to thicken and then remove from heat.
- Lay the raw chicken breasts flat in a 9x13 casserole dish and pour about a cup of the sauce over top of the chicken. Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes until breasts are cooked through*. Remove the dish from the oven and shred the chicken right in the dish using two forks.
- *While the chicken is cooking, steam or cook your frozen vegetables according to package directions.
- When the chicken is shredded and the vegetables are cooked, add the vegetables, pineapple and rice to the casserole dish with the chicken. Add most of the remaining sauce, reserving a bit to drizzle over the top when finished. Stir everything together in the casserole dish until well combined. Return the dish to the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, drizzle with the remaining sauce and serve.
Notes
7 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com) adapted from Homemade Hooplah and Oh Sweet Basil
This is already going onto my meal plan for next week! Looks amazing and has all of my favorite things. Thanks for sharing!
Looks Good! Do you think it would freeze well?
I belong to a widows group about 30 of us once a month we bring a covered dish I will make this thanks for the recipe
Emily do I cover the chicken when I bake it?
Nope!
I made this last week and the whole family loved it. Very filling and tasted awesome.
Do you cook the rice before you bake it?
Hi Shannon, yes, the ingredients specify cooked rice 🙂
I made this last night- delicious and very filling. This could serve more people easily. We will be having leftovers tonight! :-). this one’s a keeper
Do you need the Corn Starch ?
Yes, definitely. It takes the sauce from thin liquid to a thick sauce.
How many millimetres are in a US cup?
Sorry that should say milliletres
http://www.metric-conversions.org/volume/cups-to-milliliters.htm
My husband does not care for pineapple. Is there something you recommend to substitute or will it still be as good without it?
You can leave it out, it dds a little sweetness but it’s not necessary.
Hi Emily,
I’ve made a lot of your recipes, but this one is now my absolute favorite. My husband recently broke his ankle and needed surgery, so I’ve been busy taking care of him on top of making meals and working. This recipe is exactly what we needed — easy and super delicious. Thank you!
I’m so happy you loved it! Hope your husband feels better soon <3
I made this recipe last night and my husband and kids LOVED it!!! It was delicious 🙂 Emily, thanks again for another great recipe!! Love your site 🙂
Thanks Nancy, I’m so glad it was a hit with the whole fam! 🙂
Emily, I was very disappointed. The grated ginger saved it from tasting just like a Jack-in-the-Box teriyaki bowl. I really was hoping for a more rewarding meal. I’ll try something different next time.
Dave
Sorry to hear that Dave, I’ve gotten such great feedback on this recipe! Sounds like it wasn’t for you.
Does the 3c cooked brown rice mean that it should measure to 3c after cooking it, or 3c before cooking?
It’s three cups of cooked rice, so after cooking 🙂
This was very good, but seems way more complicated than it needs to be. Rather than pre-cooking the chicken, cooking the vegetables separate, etc. next time I will probably do this: Cut the chicken into thin strips and cook in a wok with some of the sauce. Set Aside. Toss the veggies in the wok with some sauce until cooked. Mix the chicken back in, toss in the pineapple. Then toss in your cooked rice with the remainder of the sauce and serve. Much quicker and easier, plus you don’t have to use the oven and it would still taste exactly the same.
When I put in all the calories, fat, fiber, protein, etc into the new calculator on the website, it came out to 10 Smart Points per serving. I know the app and the website have been a bit glitchy since the switch, but other recipes have been working.
Hi Megan, inputting the nutrition information will give you different results than using the WW the recipe builder (which is what you should use for recipes) because the recipe builder no longer counts the points for fruits and vegetables. That’s why there is a discrepancy! This recipe is & SP in the WW recipe builder because the vegetables and pineapple are now free in recipes :).
When I put this into my recipe builder (makes it easier to track when I put it in myself), it comes to 10sp. The pineapple and stir-fry (or mixed) veggies do not come up as free. I don’t see an option for drained pineapple. I even used Splenda brown sugar to try to cut back a little more. Am I doing something wrong?
I use no sugar added canned pineapple (I believe it’s in splenda water) so I count it as fresh pineapple. If you use a frozen veg mix that is heavy on vegetables that DO have points (peas, corn, etc) then you may get a different number of points.
The cornstarch mix turned into rubbery chunks when I combined with boiling sauce and would not dissolve. Can you please let me know if this is normal? If not, what can I do to prevent this from happening again in the future.
Hm, that is definitely not normal, I’ve never seen or heard of that happening before! Sorry to hear that. The cornstarch should be dissolved into the water before you transfer the slurry into the sauce. Hope that helps and that you’ll try it again!
How do you dissolve corn starch when it’s a 2 tablespoons/2 tablespoon ratio? I literally do it with my students in science class and I don’t get how it’s supposed to dissolve with that ratio?
I just stir it together
You have to add cornstarch powder to a cold liquid and dissolve first or it will turn to chunks in hot liquid. Also, to the commenter who does this with students, it will dissolve in that ratio; if you’re making oobleck or a more scientific non-Dr. Seuss mixture, you need more cornstarch than water.
Hi Emily I’m going to make this meal this week sounds delious just one question that you’ve probably answered many times since changing point system I’ve tried to build a recipe so that I have it any time I want to track and it came up with 12 sp with 8 servings. Then I tried using ni with what you added this also came up with higher points, I am from UK and I tried to convert cups into tablespoons as near as I could would love to have this meal for 7 sp but struggling. Only got 10 pounds to loose so every point counts lol…any help greatly appreciated krystiexx
Inputting the nutrition information will give you different results than using the WW the recipe builder (which is what you should use for recipes) because the recipe builder no longer counts the points for fruits and vegetables. If you use a frozen veg mix that is heavy on vegetables that DO have points (peas, corn, etc) then you may get a different number of points even if using the recipe builder.
Hi Emily!
I wanted to let you know that I made this a few times and what my feedback was on this dish! This dish is delicious and is WAY better than anything teriyaki that I have ever tried store bought. It took me FOREVER to find a frozen vegetable mix that I really liked. The first time I used one pound of broccoli and then got a mix with carrots, baby corns, and snap peas. The carrots didn’t cook right (which was partially my fault, as i tried to steam them instead of cooking them in the microwave). The second time I used different veggies and no carrots and it was better. The third time though I used one pound of fresh broccoli, a half a pound of fresh sliced carrots, and a half a pound of a fresh red pepper/green pepper/onion (sliced) mix that I found at Wegmans. I also used one cup of fresh pineapple. I steamed all the vegetables and I added the pineapple as you suggested. It was a little more labor intensive by I feel like it was SO worth it! The husband was on the fence about this one until he tried it with all fresh ingredients and finally he approved. I love all of your recipes and definitely see where your version is slightly less labor intensive but if you have the time the next time you want to make this one I would totally suggest trying the fresh! Thank you for all you do Emily!!
I’m so glad you liked it and made it work for you!
Also, when I used all fresh veggies and omitted the ones such as the peas and corn that used points, my recipe came to about 1 1/2 cup servings for 7 points!
Ah, I forgot people might be using veggie mixes that included veggies that have points, good catch!!
Made this tonight and it was soooooo yummy! My 9 year old even ate seconds! It’s a keeper!
I’m so glad!
Emily, I love to cook, and when my husband passed away recently, I vowed not to become a Hamburger Helper person now that I’m cooking only for myself, so I’ve begun to collect recipes that adapt well to a smaller number of servings. (Not all recipes divide that well.) Tonight I very successfully adapted this recipe to make 2 servings instead of 8. It worked so well. I was able to divide the measurements easily enough by converting cup measurements to tablespoons, and using a microwaveable cup of Minute Ready-to-Serve Rice and a small can of pineapple chunks, it didn’t leave me with a lot of unuseable leftover ingredients, which often happens when I downsize a recipe. I’m not a big vegetable fan, so instead of the vegetable mix, I used sauteed mushrooms, onions, chopped artichoke hearts, and a handful of dried cranberries, so it was a little different result, but still, so good. This is definitely a keeper in my new collection!
I’m so glad you were able to adapt it to suit your needs!
Looks great! I’m wondering , like Ali, if you think this would freeze well (I make meals for my elderly parents’ freezer). Thanks so much!
I’ve never frozen it so I really can’t say. I hope another reader can answer!
It’s actually 8 points
I made this tonight and it’s delish! I have a question about the vegies…I read the other comments and it sounded like sugar snap peas and baby corn might be extra points, but when I look them up on WW website they say zero? or are there other vegies I need to watch out for that might be a mix?
I am new to WW and was running out of ideas for dinner! I found your site and this was the first recipe I tried! Yummy!!!! ❤️. I have bookmarked this site!
I’m glad you liked it Brittany!
Thank you for the recipe! I made this for my family today. It was a big hit. I was so surprised at how moist the chicken was. Will be my new go-to for neighbors having new babies, sick, etc when I want to bring them a meal too.
Awesome, I’m so happy you loved this!
Im having a hard time finding serving sizes for the my fitness pal section. I see a lot of serving sides for smart points but I don’t do weight watchers. I use my fitness pal. Can you add portion sizes
Hi Danielle, the serving sizes are the same no matter what you’re tracking! The servings dont change for calories/points. Serving info is listed on every recipe directly underneath the recipe title in the recipe section of each post. For casseroles I generally just list the number of servings and just cut the dish into that many pieces. Hope that helps!
I used fresh steamed veg but otherwise as directed. Loved it! Especially the sauce. I will make it again anytime I need an asian glaze. A+
Trying to make this ahead of time- do you think this would be ok to make, freeze, then re-bake? If so, how long would you re-bake after frozen?
New to cooking so would love any tips on prepping food and freezing
id like to know the answer to that also i have a frozen one and not sure how to reheat. reheat from frozen with the top off or thaw and the heat thru? did you ever get an answer??
Corn starch should always be dissolved in cold water and then added to hot mixture and cooked.
I’ve been making “fried rice” cauliflower dishes lately and my and I both love them. I think I’ll give this recipe a try substituting the rice with riced cauliflower. I’ll get back and will let you all know.
Hi Beth,
How did it turn out? I was wondering about using riced cauliflower as well.
I made this on Friday night 🙂 It was great! My boyfriend loved it, too! I ate leftovers for breakfast on Saturday morning and I took some for lunch today, too. A bit work intensive, but worth it!
If you use fresh vegetables instead of frozen, any idea approximately how many cups?
Sorry, I’ve never made it that way 🙂
I made this over the weekend and thought it was good, but next time I would probably double the sauce and maybe add some sriracha. It was a little bit bland for me. Otherwise good!
Made this for dinner last night and just had leftovers for lunch. It taste just a good today!!
Made this tonight. I had been craving Chinese, and this seemed like it would be the perfect fit, and it was very good! I followed the recipe word for word, and it turned out perfectly! I shared it on my Facebook page. Thanks for sharing!
Is this 7 points on the new weight watchers plan? I put it into the calculator based on your nutrition information and it’s giving me 10 smart points. Thank you.
Hi Ann, I think this response form my FAQs can help!
I ran the nutrition information you posted through my points calculator and it doesn’t match the SmartPoints value you listed for the recipe – which one is right?
One of the changes Weight Watchers made in the switch to SmartPoints is that the recipe builder no longer counts the values of 0 SP fruits and vegetables when determining the final SP value for a recipe. Therefore, the SPs you get from the recipe builder may not match the SPs you get from running the nutrition information through the Weight Watchers SP calculator, because the nutrition information will contain the calories, etc from the fruits and vegetables.
Hey Emily!
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed this recipe! The recipe even made it into onto a clip on my youtube channel. Thanks so much for the ideas!
This recipe is fantastic! I made it a few weeks ago and am already craving it again 🙂 Makes a great lunch!
We really like this recipe! My kids love it, my husband loves it and I have already taken to a few postpartum friends who have also enjoyed it! I keep shredded chicken and cooked brown rice in my freezer so this recipe is a snap to come together.
Can i make this with white rice? And would the points change?
I found it too salty with 3/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce.
I made this tonight and it was very good. I used regular mixed vegetables, rather than the asian style, as we do not like the peppers and onions in the asian style. This was very good. I was worried when I smelled the sauce because it smelled and looked like the sauce in frozen asian dishes, which are nasty, however this was way different. The pineapple added a nice, sweet touch also. Very good, will definitely make again.
I am making this for supper tonite. Hope my husband likes this .
Hi there! I was wondering if you had a calorie break down for just the sauce? Like 49 calories per tbsp or whatever it may be. I LOVE this sauce and am looking to just drizzle it over chicken, veggies, and riced cauliflower to keep calories even lower. Thanks!
I made this dish tonight and have to say, it was amazing! I am for sure adding this to my recipes to make again! The chicken turned out perfect, and the sauce was so much better than anything you can buy in stores!! It will be a great dinner to throw together for my hubby to enjoy on a night that I work. Thank you for this.
I’m so happy you loved it, thanks for letting me know!
Very tasty recipe. I love that it’s healthy yet enjoyable and satisfying. My 8 year old had one bite and asked for me to pack it for tomorrow’s lunch. Thank you for sharing!
Glad it was a hit!
Too much soy sauce so too salty. Didn’t care much for this.
Highly recommend using low sodium soy sauce. I did and it was still a bit salty so if you use regular soy sauce I’m guessing it would be overly salty. Also if using frozen veggies, microwave them less than recommended time so they don’t turn to mush when you finish baking in the casserole
Can I use white, cooked rice for this?
Sure!
Made this tonight and loved it. I’m thinking I could probably toss the chicken and some unthickend sauce in the crockpot to cook. Then thicken the sauce and shred the chicken, add the veggies and pineapple and let it go a while longer. Stir in the hot cooked rice at the end. Then maybe I wouldn’t dirty up as many dishes.
I love pineapple in anything, I’m going to try cooking the rice in the pineapple juice & water mix & see how that tastes
Love this recipe!! It was a hit with my family.
Can I have the sodium content please?
Loved it! Is it freezable? I made way too much!
Loved it! Is it freezable? I made way too much!
I actually calculated this (according to nutritional value you listed) and per the WW app it’s 10pts a serving… Just so you can update.
Hi Rebekah, no need to update! If you read my FAQ section you’ll see there is often a difference between the SPs you get from the recipe builder and the ones you’ll get inputting the recipe’s nutrition info. That’s usually because the recipe builder does not count the points of zero point foods like fruits and vegetables whereas nutrition information obviously does. Hope that helps you understand. Thanks!
Emily, I love all of your recipes I have tried so far, I definitely credit you and your culinary brilliance with helping me lose 131 lbs so far on WW. Your recipes keep things fresh. I wanted to make this dish and I was wondering what you think about making it with cauliflower rice instead of the brown rice, it would save marginally on points, but I wanted to use those extra points for an egg roll, make things really feel like an indulgent take out meal. Your suggestion/tips would be greatly appreciated. I typically make cauliflower fried rice once a month, I steam first and then heat up in a pan to rid of extra moisture before flavoring. Thanks for all you do.
Honestly, it’s kind of hard for me to give instruction on that because I haven’t tried it. I think it would probably work out well as long as the cauliflower rice doesn’t release a lot of additional water. Please report back and let me know how it worked out!
Fabulous meal, did add the pineapple and done extra water chestnuts. Thanks for a fabulous meal
Could I use riced cauliflower?
Made this tonight. Changed it up a little. Added the an extra bag of frozen broccoli. Eliminated the pineapple and added extra chicken breast. Family didn’t know it was even a weight watchers recipe
This looks amazing – how much sauce does this end up making? Thinking of substituting a store bought teriyaki for time-sake (though I’m sure it won’t be quite as delicious!)
Great recipe. Just getting back into WW and this was perfect and a hit with the family. Thank you!
Do not use fresh pineapple! Everything tasted great separately and then I combined all ingredients and put back in the oven for 15 min…. and when it came out it smelled delicious and yet the chicken would disintegrate in your mouth. Had to throw the whole thing away as it as not edible. The only thing I can think that would have ruined it was the bromelain, the enzyme that digests proteins, found in fresh pineapple.
Do you think steak would work well in this recipe?
Great recipe, easy and delicious! Will definitely make it again!
I’m so glad you liked it!
Emily, how many servings are in this casserole?
Hi Megan, the serving info can be found directly under the recipe title in the recipe section of the post!
Hi, I just put this recipe in my recipe builder and it came out 4sp with white rice and 5sp with brown rice. Not sure if I missed something. Don’t want to under count if I’m missing something.
Made this tonight it was delish! Thank you for the recipe.
How much fresh grated ginger in place of the dried ginger?
There is no mention of teriyaki in this recipe. This is sweet and sour sauce you make.
Homemade teryaki uses soy sauce + mirin and/or sugar. Sweet and sour has tomato sauce or ketchup combined with rice vinegar, soy sauce, pineapple juice etc.
there are lots of Teriyaki recipes that add pineapple though.
Hi Emily, could I precook the chicken in the crock pot. If yes, would I put the sauce in the crock pot or add it later? Would I drain any liquids at any point? I’m just curious because of the additional liquid when Crockpotting.
I’m wondering the same thing! 🙂
Hi Sharon,
I’ve never done that before, but I wouldn’t add the sauce to the crockpot. I would just cook the chicken separate and add the sauce and cooked chicken after.
This recipe was great and quick. I followed the instructions word for word. I made my rice in the instant pot; my husband doesn’t like brown rice and didn’t notice Yaayyyyy.
can this be done in the instant pot?
I BELONG TO A WIDOWS SUPPORT GROUP I MADE THIS TO BRING A COVERED DISH WAS 25 LADIES WOW NOTHING WAS LEFT MADE IT IN A 9/13 PAN NEXT COVERED DISH WILL BE IN NOV. THEY ASKED ME TO MAKE IT AGAIN
Can I use pre-cooked chicken? Does it impact flavor?
Sure, you can use pre-cooked!
So, so good! I was looking for an Asian-flavored casserole, and this was perfect.
Hi, I just put this recipe in my recipe builder and it came out 4sp with white rice and 5sp with brown rice. Not sure if I missed something. Don’t want to under count if I’m missing something.
This was excellent! My husband is a very fussy eater and loved it, so happy to find a meal to put into the rotation. I followed the directions and cooked frozen Asian vegetables in a wok with sesame oil which made gave it an amazing flavor. Thank you so much!!!
Kg to lbs converter is a very smart and convenient system of formulas that is able to convert any value of kilograms to pounds and another way around. The basic idea of such a solution is to make people’s life easier and do not bother them with hard calculations.
Can you make this with rotisserie chicken as a substitute?
If you have to cook the rice shouldn’t you have put that in one of the steps I’ve never looked at the comments until after I made this whenever put this recipe on here need to add that if that apart of the recipe
I used regular soy sauce for this recipe. If you do that, you may want to use a tad less than called for and add some acidity like lemon juice to balance out the salt. Also added some more honey and ginger in there as well! Grocery store was sold out of brown rice, so I actually picked up some Fried Rice Riceroni. Soooooo yummy! May be a bit less healthy with the modification, but so worth it. Great find!
I found that the baked chicken didn’t shred very well, and the sauce didn’t do a great job sticking to the chicken during baking. The teriyaki flavouring was a little lacking for my tastes.
Both problems were solved with a crock pot and a little extra planning. Make the sauce without water+cornstarch and place in a crock pot with the chicken, then cook on high for 4 hours. The chicken coming out of the crock pot shreds like a dream, and then you can add all the sauce (now with chicken flavouring) into the casserole with the other ingredients.
The end result is properly shredded chicken and more teriyaki flavouring in the casserole.
Can you use fresh vegetables and pineapple?
My family hates chicken casseroles (which we have a lot because they’re easy.) But they love this one. Bonus – I was able to put this together while I was in a meeting at the same times. It’s that easy. I think it would be easy to switch up with different vegetables, fresh vs frozen or whatever is on hand. It’s the sauce that makes the dish. Thanks so much for sharing!
Fast and easy. I add more sauce and more rice, but this is definitely a family fav!
I put the recipe in the www builder / it came out to be 7 points on blue not 6 points
Has anyone tried to make this with cauliflower rice instead of actual rice?
My kids saw this coming out of the oven and couldn’t wait to eat it!! We all loved it! Very filling and delicious!
This was really good and will definitely be a repeat recipe for our family! I used fresh pineapple replaced most of the brown sugar with lakanto golden monk fruit and it took the PP from 7+ down to 3+
This dish was fantastic! I used a rotisserie chicken and organic minute rice. I will definitely be making this again!
I added some red peppers and scallions. The whole family loved it!
This was worth every dirty pan I had to wash!! Always enjoy your recipes, but this was outstanding…and Thank You for still sharing Smart Points info!
Emily-this one knocked it put of the park! I LOVE all of your recipes. We were headed up to the lake for the weekend and I wanted to make this for dinner upon arrival but realized bringing a 9×13 pan in the car for 2.5 hours wouldn’t work! I also wasn’t going to have time to do raw chicken because we wouldn’t arrive until after 7:00pm and my crew would want to eat! So…I deconstructed it and used a whole rotisserie chicken shredded! I put each component in its own container so all I had to do upon arrival was throw the frozen veggies in the microwave, mix it all up and throw into the oven for 20 minutes! Everyone LOVED it! Thank you for providing suck healthy, delicious recipes that are so easily adaptable!
Does anyone think this recipe might work with cut-up, par-cooked potatoes instead of cooked rice? Rice isn’t one of my points-free foods but potatoes are 🙂
I followed the recipe to a T.
Not a fan. Very bland.