This is another recipe in my deep box of recipes from various Amish cooks. Famous Amish Chicken and Rice comes from an Amish woman, Emma Hilty, in Kansas and sounds very tasty, a wonderful mix of seasonings and crunch. This is a comfort food classic.
So if you are angling for a hearty, early autumn supper, this is one that is worth sampling! By the way, there is an ingredient in the recipe that says "chicken flavoring"....honestly, I'm not 100 percent sure what that means. I'm sure some of our more experienced cooks will know. I was thinking maybe bouillon but I'm not sure. You can also by McCormick's powdered "chicken seasoning", but I am not sure if that is what that means. Anyone have any ideas?
❓Famous Chicken and Rice FAQ
Rice has not traditionally been a big part of the Amish diet, since it is not easily grown in a garden. Rice usually requires large, flooded fields in tropical climates. Still, rice ships well and can be sold in large quantities in Amish bulk food store, so rice has slowly caught on among the Amish over the past half century. Rice can be used to stretch out a meat supply or bulk up soups, stews, and casseroles.
Recipes like this are actually a dime a dozen on Amish farms. But, that doesn’t make them any less delicious. To me, when I have dinner at an Amish home there’s nothing better than spooning out a heaping piling plate for this type of casserole. It’s literally got a little bit of everything in it. So that’s one common way to eat supper in an Amish home, the other way is just sort of buffet style. Food will be put out on the countertop or table top, various dishes of various things and people just go through and pile their plates. Man, it’s been a while since I’ve had dinner in an Amish home and I’ll have to partake in that soon.
The recipe card below was given to me by an Amish woman years ago. She is from the Adams County, Indiana community. Processed foods like Velveeta cheese, lunchmeat and Mountain Dew are more popular there than in other Amish settlements.
Famous Amish Chicken and Rice
So, let's get to the recipe. This is a wonderful, saucy, cheesy-rice-y bundle of deliciousness. By the way, this recipe calls for Velveeta cheese and I am sure it would be super with that saucy cheese. But my parents, who made this recipe, are not big Velveeta cheese fans so they used shredded cheese in its place and it did fine.
By the way, why is this recipe "famous?" Because it appears in almost every Amish cookbook. Just an easy, basic family favorite!
You could mix some diced onion or celery into the mixture to add some crunch and flavor. Some parsley flakes would add some color. Feel free to add some fresh thyme or other herbs to tailor to your taste.
Pack the casserole dish with chicken and you'll have a protein-filled supper. which is pretty much the purpose of this meal.
You can use white rice or brown rice with the recipe. Even purple rice if you can get your hands on some. The kids get a kick out of the purple rice and the flavor is pretty much the same! The whole family will like this casserole.
This meal really is great as a stand-alone plate-piler, but this time of year it'd pair well with some corn on the cob, broccoli, green beans, or fresh fruit.
🐔 Famous Chicken and Rice Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked rice
- 1 /4 cup melted butter
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons chicken flavoring
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 4-5 cups of chicken (boneless)
- 12 ounces Velveeta cheese
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 /4 cup melted butter
- 1 package Ritz crackers (crushed)
📋Chicken and Rice Instructions
- Put cooked rice into a 9 X 13 greased pan.
- Mix next 7 ingredients and cook until thickened.
- Pour over rice
- Put cooked chicken on top of sauce.
- Melt Velveeta a little and stir in sour cream and put on top of chicken.
- Top with crushed Ritz crackers that are mixed with the melted butter.
- Bake at 350 until heated through, about 30 mins.
- Delicious!
🍚Amish Rice Recipes
Rice is a popular dish among the Amish even though it really doesn't have European roots.
Rice with a Tex-Mex twist
This is a classic among the Amish of Beeville, Texas
The Bishop's Sour Cream Rice Bake
Delicious!
German Baptist Chicken Rice Soup
A warm autumn classic!
🖨️Printer-Friendly Famous Amish Chicken and Rice
Famous Amish Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 4 cups rice
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons chicken flavoring
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 5 cups chicken boneless chunks
- 12 ounces Velveeta You can use shredded Cheddar as a substitut
- 2 cups sour cream
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 package Ritz crackers crushed
Instructions
- Put cooked rice into a 9 X 13 greased pan.
- Mix next 7 ingredients and cook until thickened.
- Pour over rice
- Put cooked chicken on top of sauce.
- Melt Velveeta a little and stir in sour cream and put on top of chicken.
- Top with crushed Ritz crackers that are mixed with the melted butter.
- Bake at 350 until heated through, about 30 mins.
Cindy
Can this be made on the top of the stove or in a crockpot? Also can the recipe be cut in half? Enjoy your recipes and articles. Look forward to your reply. I can't wait to make.
Thank you
Cindy
Kevin
Cindy, the recipe card doesn't say anything about that...but I would think a Crockpot version or stovetop version would be delicious and definitely doable!
Cindy
Thank you for your quick reply. Will let you know how it turns out
I think I m going to half the recipe
Thank you
Cindy
Betsy
Sounds yummy. I would say powdered chicken broth or bouillon for the chicken flavoring.
Kay
Kevin, I buy a powdered "chicken broth" from my local Amish food store. It is very similar to chicken bullion.
To Cindy . . . . I think this would be easy to make 1/2 a recipe. But I think you would lose the good crunch of the Ritz cracker/butter topping if you didn't bake it in an oven.
Kevin
Kay, superb point about losing the crunch if you don't bake it....
Sharon McAlvain
Does the pg of Ritz Crackers mean a box or a sleeve?
Kevin
A sleeve, Sharon...sorry for the delay in responding!