Dutch Oven Creamy Chicken and Rice
Three cans of condensed soup, rice, and chicken, baked under coals until the rice gives up.
- calories
- 470
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 43
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 75 min
- total time
- 85 min
- water
- 710 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Boneless chicken breasts | 4 | cooler item, keep cold until it goes in the pot |
|---|---|---|
| Cream of mushroom soup | 1 can | |
| Cream of celery soup | 1 can | |
| Cream of chicken soup | 1 can | |
| White rice | 1 1/2 cups | long grain, not instant |
| Water | 3 cups | |
| Dry onion soup mix | 1 packet |
Method
- Build a fire and burn it down to coals, or light a chimney of briquettes. You want about 25 coals total for a 12-inch oven.
- Cut each breast in half the long way so the pieces are thin. Thick pieces will still be raw when the rice is done.
- In the dutch oven, stir the three cans of soup, the rice, and 3 cups of water together until there are no lumps of condensed soup left.
- Lay the chicken on top of the rice. Do not stir it in. Scatter the onion soup mix over everything.
- Lid on. Set 8 coals under the oven and 17 on the lid, which holds around 350F. Bake 75 minutes.
- Lift the lid every 20 minutes. If the rice looks dry or is catching, add a half cup of water and refresh any coals that have gone grey.
- Done when the rice is soft and the chicken pulls apart with a fork.
Condensed soup is the whole engine here. Undiluted, it is thick enough to hold rice in suspension so the grains cook evenly instead of settling into a scorched layer on the bottom. Three different cans is not fussiness, it is depth: mushroom brings the body, celery the vegetal note, chicken the salt. The onion soup mix on top seasons downward as it melts.
This one stays a car-camping recipe. Cans are heavy and raw chicken needs a cooler, so there is no honest way to shrink it into a pack. What you get for that weight is eight servings out of one pot and no strainer, no second burner, no dishes beyond the oven. Watch the water, not the clock. Rice absorbs at its own pace and a dry pot goes from fine to burnt in about ten minutes.
Packing
The cans, rice, and soup mix are shelf-stable and can live in the food bin all trip. Only the chicken needs the cooler. Bring lid lifter, gloves, and a long spoon.
Variations
- Swap the chicken for two foil pouches of chicken stirred in at the end if you have no cooler. Cut the bake to 40 minutes.
- A can of drained mushrooms or a handful of dried onion adds something to chew on.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/creamy_chicken_rice-1245.asp