Gather all ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease sides and bottom of a casserole dish.
Stir chicken, water, rice, cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, and cream of mushroom soup together in the prepared casserole dish; season with salt and pepper.
Arrange butter evenly over the top of the chicken mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes
Combine cheese with fried onions, cover top of casserole with onion/cheese mixture
Cook 10 to 15 minutes
