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King Ranch Chicken Casserole

King Ranch Chicken Casserole has layers of corn tortillas, cheddar cheese, and a creamy chicken mixture. So much flavor and spice in this easy to make casserole.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole topped with avocado on a plate.

 

This classic Texas casserole is pure confort food and is great for feeding a large crowd. It’s like a Tex-Mex lasagna, but easier to make.

HOW SPICY IS THIS KING RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE?

The spice for this casserole comes from 3 sources. There’s a jalapeno, chipotle chili powder, and a can of Rotel tomatoes. As is, it has a fairly small degree of spice if you use a regular can of Rotel tomatoes and your jalapeno is on the milder side. If you want to up the spice level, use 2 jalapenoes and a can of “Hot” Rotel tomatoes. You can also serve it with Cholulu Hot Sauce.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole in a baking dish

 

King Ranch Chicken Casserole is easy to make with condensed cream of chicken soup and rotisserie chicken. You’ll need about 4 cups of diced, cooked chicken which is about the amount of meat on a rotisserie chicken. You could poach or bake some chicken instead.

Two cans of condensed soup and sour cream make this a super creamy casserole. Two cups of shredded cheddar cheese adds lots of cheese flavor.

If you don’t like to use canned soup in recipes, just look up a recipe for a homemade condensed chicken soup.

This casserole doesn’t take long at all to assemble and then only needs 30 minutes to cook in the oven. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days and can be reheated in the microwave.

A serving of King Ranch Chicken Casserole on a plate with baking dish in background

If you love Tex-Mex flavors, you are going to love this casserole. It is extremely cheesy, creamy, and good.

Try These Other Delicious Casseroles:

King Ranch Chicken Casserole topped with avocado

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

King Ranch Chicken Casserole has layers of corn tortillas, cheddar cheese, and a creamy chicken mixture. So much flavor and spice in this easy to make casserole.
 
PREP: 15 minutes
COOK: 30 minutes
SERVINGS: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 cups cooked, diced chicken
  • 2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup or 1 can condensed cream of chicken and 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup.
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 12 corn tortillas, torn into quarters
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • sliced green onions, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
    Add onion, bell peppers, and jalapeno and cook 5 minutes.
  • Add garlic and cook 1 more minute.
  • In a large bowl, combine chicken, condensed chicken soup, chicken broth, Rotel tomatoes, sour cream , cumin, chipotle chili powder, dried oregano, and onion/pepper mixture.
    Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Lightly grease a 9x13-inch pan. Cover the bottom with half the tortilla pieces.
  • Spread half the chicken mxture on top of the tortillas.
  • Sprinkle half the cheese on top.
  • Repeat layers.
  • Place in oven for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions (optional).

Nutrition

Calories: 424kcal
Course: Dinner, Main Dish
Cuisine: Southern
Keyword: chicken casserole

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King Ranch Chicken Casserole with avocado and sour cream on top

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6 thoughts on “King Ranch Chicken Casserole”

  1. I made King Ranch ground beef n Italian sausage using this recipe. It was not spicey enough for the family, sonI added hot pickled jalapeno nachos. Was wonderful.

  2. This was quite spicy and turned out well! I was a bit concerned there might have been too much liquid in the chicken mix, but with all the tortilla quarters, it was just the right amount. The only thing I changed from the ingredients was to use one red pepper instead of one half red and one half green because I hate to waste those extra halves (if I have nothing else I can use them in).

  3. Excellent recipe. I replaced the chipotle chili powder with smoked paprika and used a combination of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.

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