Tex Mex Chicken Casserole
This Tex Mex Chicken Casserole recipe takes less than 10 minutes to put together, and is perfect for an easy weeknight meal that feeds a crowd!
You know those times when you feel too tired to cook? This is one of those recipes where I can always muster the energy to whip it together, even when I don’t feel like cooking.
It demands so little, and it’s easy, delicious, and full of texture.
Plus, you can make a big batch for the whole family and heat up the leftovers for dinner on any other night of the week. I love leftovers.
You can think of this recipe as a big nacho bake, of sorts. But with less cheese, more salsa, and a casserole-like texture. It’s definitely comfort food and one of the most easy dinners on this blog.
It won’t and is not supposed to have the crispness of a tray of nachos, but rather the nachos soak up the salsa and take on a more tortilla-like texture that makes for a hearty bite.
You also gets bits of corn, black beans, scallions, and gooey cheese to tie it all together, and a sprinkling of taco seasoning to enhance the tex mex flavors that go so well in dishes like this.
Let me show you how simple it is to put together this Mexican Chicken Casserole.
Step by Step Overview:
Start with a handful of crushed tortilla chips:
This is an instance where you want to use the thicker, more robust tortilla chips. Xochitl makes my absolute favorite tortilla chip, but thin ones like that will get too soggy and flimsy.
Now we’re going to add a bunch of supporting ingredients.
First, some canned black beans that have been rinsed and drained. Also, some yellow corn kernels.
Next, add diced chicken breast.
I use my slow cooker to cook batches of chicken breasts to be used for stuff like this. Here’s the post with instructions for Crockpot Chicken Breast.
However, you could also pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and use that instead.
Now add salsa, Mexican shredded cheese (ideally a blend of cheddar cheese and monterey jack cheese), scallions (aka green onions), and taco seasoning. The taco seasoning gives you a bit of that ground cumin and other flavors you’d expect from Mexican food.
Stir the chicken mixture all together in a large bowl, taking care not to crush the chips too much:
Then put it in a casserole dish:
Cover it with foil and bake in a 400F preheated oven for 30 minutes:
Covering with aluminum foil is important for keeping the moisture inside, and it prevents us from having to add olive oil, chicken broth, or any other extra moisteners.
Once your tex-mex chicken bake is thoroughly heated through, you can serve it garnished with scallions, sour cream (a must), avocado slices, chopped fresh tomato, fresh cilantro, or whatever else you’d like.
While this recipe definitely serves as the main dish, you can add sides like Mexican Street Corn Salad with Black Beans or Corn Avocado Black Bean Salad. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations
This is a great recipe for playing with the ingredients you use. Next time feel free to change things up in the ways suggested below:
Rice – Instead of tortilla chips, you could make this a rice casserole instead. Use leftover Mexican Rice in place of the chips.
More heat – There are many different ways you can make this more spicy. You can add a can of green chiles, add some cayenne pepper, or use a spicier salsa. Fresh cracked black pepper is another milder way to add heat.
Peppers – Add sauteed red bell pepper or green pepper, or hot peppers like jalapeños or other fresh green chile peppers.
Recipe Tips and FAQ
Place in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or, cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap. It’s important to keep it from drying out.
Instead of a baking dish, you may also cook this in a large and wide dutch oven, and simply cover with the lid during baking.
More Favorite Dishes with Mexican Flavors:
- Steak Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Carnitas
- Huevos Rancheros
- Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Beef
- Chicken Fajitas
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Tex Mex Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 oz tortilla chips broken into large pieces (2 cups)
- 1 cup corn canned or frozen
- 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed (can do pinto beans too)
- 3 cups cooked chicken breast diced
- 2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese
- 3 cups your favorite salsa (I like Frontera)
- 1 bunch scallions sliced
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- sour cream for garnish (optional)
- avocado slices for garnish (optional)
- fresh chopped tomato for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine the tortilla chips, corn, black beans, diced chicken, cheese, salsa, scallions, and taco seasoning. Stir it all together very well, being careful not to crush the tortilla chips too much. Taste the mixture and adjust seasoning if necessary (and keep in mind this will taste wetter than when it comes out of the oven).
- Pour the entire mixture into an 8×12 or 9×13 casserole dish, and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then serve with your favorite garnishes (like avocado slices, sour cream, fresh chopped tomatoes, scallions, etc). Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated in April 2019. Originally published February 2014.
27 Comments on “Tex Mex Chicken Casserole”
Anyone try with Doritos!
Excellent, big hit with friends at school. Making double recipe for birthday lunch tomorrow.
Do we have to pan fry the chicken first?
Chicken must be cooked before you make the casserole.