Mexican Chicken Casserole

This Mexican chicken casserole is absolutely packed to the brim with incredible flavors and mouth-pleasing textures. A creamy filling of shredded chicken, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, and cheddar soup is layered between crispy tortilla chips and melty Mexican cheese, giving you a bit of everything in every bite. It’s the quick and easy, family-friendly one-dish recipe you’ll want to make over and over again!

What I Love About This Recipe

• This incredible (and incredibly easy) chicken casserole features 6 layers of the most delicious ingredients for tons of Mexican-inspired flavor. Black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, whole kernel corn, chili powder, cheddar soup (or fiesta nacho cheddar soup!), green chilies, sour cream, tortilla chips… It’s like a giant dish of deconstructed nachos.
• Since this casserole starts out with already-cooked chicken, it’s perfect for using up any leftover chicken you might have on hand. I also like to just grab a rotisserie chicken from Costco on really busy days – it’s so easy to shred it up and throw it in here. If you’re not in the mood for Mexican chicken, try making your casserole with taco-seasoned ground beef, carnitas, or skip the meat entirely and double up the beans. We love a versatile recipe!
• The crushed tortilla chips give the casserole a really lovely crunchy texture that plays off the creamy filling, tender meat & veggies, and ooey, gooey melted cheese so nicely. You won’t feel like you’re just eating spoonfuls of mush!
• Not only do the tortilla chips give the dish a nice texture, they can be a great source of added flavor. Use hint of lime tortilla chips or even nacho cheese or cool ranch Doritos to switch things up!

Chef’s Tips

• The chicken starts out already cooked and shredded, so you’ll need to prep that first. If you want to cook chicken specifically for your Mexican chicken casserole, I highly recommend either this 3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken or my best ever shredded chicken. You can even throw in a little bit of chicken taco seasoning for more oomph.
• You’ll be tempted to dive in as soon as you take the Mexican chicken casserole out of the oven. Resist! Seriously. Give it at least 5 minutes – 10 if you can stand it – to rest and cool a little. There’s a lot of heat in all those layers, and if you burn your tongue you’ll miss all the flavor you’ve been waiting for. Plus, you’ll give the layers time to set up a little, so it won’t fall to pieces when you serve it.
• You’re in total control of the heat here, so dial it up or down as you need to. I don’t find this casserole to be particularly spicy, but you might be more sensitive. Reduce the chili powder if you need to, or halve the amount of green chilies, or stick to cheddar soup instead of fiesta nacho cheese soup. If you love heat, though, feel free to add more! Throw in some diced jalapeños. Be a little heavy-handed with the chili powder. Add a little habanero or hot pepper cheese to the Mexican cheese blend. Don’t be afraid to play around with the ingredients to find your favorite flavor combo!

Recipe By: Cheryl Malik

5 from 5 votes

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Prep 15 minutes minutes

Cook 30 minutes minutes

Rest 10 minutes minutes

Total 55 minutes minutes

A creamy filling of chicken, fire-roasted tomatoes, black beans, corn, and cheddar soup are sandwiched between layers of crushed tortilla chips and shredded Mexican cheese for a casserole that's full of rich flavors and delightful textures.

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12 servings

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Equipment

• Oven
• neutral-flavored cooking spray
• 9×13 casserole dish
• large mixing bowl
• Silicone spatula

Ingredients

For the Chicken Filling

• ▢ 1 10.5-ounce can condensed cheddar cheese soup or condensed fiesta nacho cheese soup
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups sour cream
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon chili powder more or less to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• ▢ 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken see Notes
• ▢ 1 15-ounce can black beans drained, rinsed well
• ▢ 1 15.25-ounce can whole kernel corn drained
• ▢ 1 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• ▢ 1 4-ounce can diced green chilies

For the Casserole Layers

• ▢ 1 ½ cups crushed tortilla chips any brand, any flavor
• ▢ 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
• ▢ 1 ½ cups crushed tortilla chips any brand, any flavor
• ▢ 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Serving Suggestions (All Optional)

• ▢ fresh cilantro chopped
• ▢ sour cream
• ▢ tortilla chips any brand, any flavor
• ▢ lime wedges

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
• Lightly spray casserole dish with neutral cooking spray, making sure to coat bottom and inner sides of dish. Set casserole dish aside.

For the Chicken Filling

• Add 1 10.5-ounce can condensed cheddar cheese soup, 1 ¼ cups sour cream, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and freshly cracked black pepper to large mixing bowl. Stir ingredients together until fully incorporated.
• Add 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken, 1 15-ounce can black beans, 1 15.25-ounce can whole kernel corn, 1 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and 1 4-ounce can diced green chilies to mixing bowl. Gently stir all ingredients together until fully incorporated and well coated in soup mixture. Set bowl aside.

To Assemble the Casserole

• Line bottom of lightly-greased casserole dish with 1 ½ cups crushed tortilla chips. Spread tortilla chips out to cover bottom of casserole dish in one even layer.
• Divide chicken mixture in half. Top layer of tortilla chips with one half of chicken mixture, gently pressing chicken mixture out into single, even layer, covering bottom of dish completely. Set remaining half of chicken mixture aside.
• Sprinkle 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend evenly across top of chicken mixture, breaking up any clumps or especially thick areas.
• Top cheese layer with remaining 1 ½ cups crushed tortilla chips, spreading chips out evenly to completely cover cheese layer.
• Top tortilla chips with remaining half of chicken mixture. Gently press chicken mixture out to cover chips completely in one even layer.
• Top chicken mixture with remaining 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, sprinkling cheese evenly over top of filling.

To Bake the Casserole

• Once all layers have been assembled, place casserole dish in preheated oven. Bake casserole, uncovered, 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, check casserole. Continue baking, checking casserole every 2 to 3 minutes, until top layer of cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Once cheese has melted, carefully remove casserole dish from oven and set aside. Let casserole rest 5 to 10 minutes or until cooled slightly.
• Once casserole has cooled slightly, portion casserole into preferred number of servings. Top each serving with fresh cilantro and sour cream if desired, and serve warm with whole tortilla chips and lime wedges for extra flavor.

• Heat Levels: I don’t find this dish to be spicy or hot at all, but your palate will differ! Adjust the amount of chili powder in the filling as needed if you’re particularly heat sensitive. You may also want to reduce the amount of diced green chilies.
• Chicken: This is a great way to use up leftover chicken, but you can also use rotisserie chicken or cook and shred chicken specifically for your casserole. Check out my recipe for the best shredded chicken ever – it works beautifully in this dish!
• Fire-Roasted Tomatoes: I recommend using the liquid in the can of tomatoes rather than draining them. That liquid will give the filling more flavor, plus it’ll help the filling stay moist and creamy.
• Diced Green Chilies: If your tomatoes have a lot of liquid, you may want to drain some or all of the liquid from diced green chilies to keep the filling from being too wet. Otherwise, use the liquid from can of chilies along with the liquid from the tomatoes.
• Crushed Tortilla Chips: Try not to crush the chips too much. The smaller and more pulverized the pieces are, the less crunch you’ll get from them.
• Storage: Let the casserole cool completely, then cover the dish with plastic wrap or an airtight lid. Refrigerate leftovers and enjoy within 4 days. Note: the tortilla chips will lose their crunch over time and are best the day the casserole is made.
• Reheat: You can reheat individual servings in the microwave or the oven, or reheat a large portion of the dish in the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F and bake until the casserole is just warmed through.

Click for Nutrition Info

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 417calProtein: 22gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 906mgPotassium: 370mgTotal Carbs: 36gFiber: 5gSugar: 3gNet Carbs: 31gVitamin A: 546IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 214mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition Disclaimers

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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