Pantry Clean-out Challenge: Delicious Rice-A-Roni Casserole Recipe

I have recently realized how much stuff I have in my pantry that I need to use up, so I am issuing myself a challenge.

I am going to go through all of my cabinets, take out all the food I have accumulated in there and make a huge pile, and then make as many meals as I can based solely on what I find there and in my fridge and freezer.

I love pantry meals because they allow me to feed my family without spending extra money and going to the store unnecessarily. Let’s get started!

This is the stockpile I have put together after cleaning out all the shelves of my pantry. There is quite a lot of stuff here, and I am hoping to make six or seven meals out of it, but I have no doubt that I can make five at the very least.

What do I have here? There is some taco stuff, a hamburger helper, Rice-A-Roni, a can of cream of mushroom soup, a can of mixed vegetables, a bag of egg noodles, corn muffin mix, a can of cream of chicken, black beans, three big cans of chicken from Sam's Club, a can of tuna, diced green chilies, pinto beans, a jar of pasta sauce, a can of sliced mushrooms, fire roasted tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and part of a box of lasagna.

I also have several bits of things in my fridge and freezer that I am going to be using, as well as some random things like a little bit of French fried onion leftovers, a bit of Basmati rice, and one lone cup of nacho cheese sauce.

Tonight, I am making a two person serving of a Rice-A-Roni casserole. I am going to use that cheddar and broccoli Rice-A-Roni and some butter that it requires, add cream of mushroom with roasted garlic and a can of chicken and use these French fried onions for the top.

First, I sprayed my casserole dish. You could go ahead and follow the box directions of the Rice-A-Roni but I decided not to do that as I did not want to dirty more dishes.

Instead, I poured out the rice in the bottom of the casserole dish and then added the canned chicken breast that I had first drained. I broke up the larger chunks of chicken with my clean hands.

Next, I added in the cheddar and broccoli seasoning packet. I wanted the casserole to be creamy, so I added in cream of mushroom with roasted garlic.

I did not bother mixing it all up since I was adding water anyway - 2 1/4 cups, as per the package instructions.

Finally, I gave it a little stir to get the rice all mixed in but without worrying about it being perfect, and baked the casserole at 425 F for 20-30 minutes.

The casserole came out smelling absolutely amazing, and I could not wait to try it. It was super delicious and so comforting. The little chunks of mushroom in the cream of mushroom soup definitely added a depth of flavor, and it is so creamy. Depending on your appetite, this could be two or three servings.

If you have a box of Rice-A-Roni laying around, or just plain regular rice, add a can of cream of mushroom soup and a can of chicken as well as some crunchy topping and you will not be disappointed.

Pantry clean-out

I am going to keep improvising recipes until I am done with this stockpile from my pantry, so stay tuned. What would you make with the ingredients I listed in the beginning? Share your ideas in the comments and perhaps I will give them a try!

Next up, learn How I Do My Super Easy Sheet Pan Meal Prep.