A Texas classic that’s easy to make anywhere.
Go to any potluck supper in Texas – or really, just about anywhere in the South – and someone is sure to show up with King Ranch Chicken Casserole. With its combo of chopped chicken, cheese, tortillas, and spicy tomatoes in a creamy sauce, this dish is a sure-fire hit.
The other reason this casserole is such a winner is that it’s amazingly easy to make. The key ingredient is Rotel, a zesty blend of chopped tomatoes and chili peppers in a can. You can choose from several levels of spice, depending on how hot you like it.
So all you have to do is fry up a chopped green pepper and onion, then mix that with your cubed chicken, Rotel, and a couple of cans of cream soup. Once that’s heated through, layer it in a baking pan with corn tortillas and cheese, and pop it in the oven. When it comes out, the cheese will be melted over top of everything, so every serving will come out hot, gooey, cheesy, creamy, and spicy. It’s everything you could ask for in a casserole, all in one pan.
How to make King Ranch Chicken Casserole
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In skillet melt your butter then add your pepper and onion and cook for a few minutes until tender.
- Add in your soups, Rotel and chicken and stir until combined and heated through.
- In a 9″x13″ pan layer 1/3 of your tortillas, then 1/3 chicken mixture, and 1/3 of shredded cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers, finishing with shredded cheese.
- Bake in oven for 40 minutes until cheese is melted.
Looking for more yummy Easy Casserole Recipes?
Looking for more free recipes? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
- 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
- 10 oz can rotel any spice level
- 2 cups cooked cubed or shredded chicken
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 14 corn tortillas cut into 1" pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In skillet melt your butter then add your pepper and onion and cook for a few minutes until tender.
- Add in your soups, Rotel and chicken and stir until combined and heated through.
- In a 9"x13" pan layer 1/3 of your tortillas, then 1/3 chicken mixture, and 1/3 of shredded cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers, finishing with shredded cheese.
- Bake in oven for 40 minutes until cheese is melted.
Video
Save this recipe for later! Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your recipe box!
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
MJ says
Can you sub flour tortillas for the corn tortillas or would it be too soggy?
Corey says
I think flour tortillas should work out just fine! Let us know how it works for you. I hope you love the recipe as much as we do 🙂
MJ says
It doesn’t indicate what size tortillas. There are small, medium and large ones. I don’t know how many to use. I bought medium size ones.
Dan says
The goal is to have enough to cover the dimension of the dish for each layer with torn pieces of tortilla shells. A package of 8 large should be sufficient for a 9×13 dish.
Glenda says
Our “senior” class at church made 4 pans of this for our “18-20s” class and they kept coming back for more! Big hit!! Delicious!
I have had this basic recipe for years with one difference…reg. Doritos crunched up.
Kimberly M. Collins says
I think flour would get soggy. You can use tortilla chips. I would go for corn tortillas honestly.
Angelina says
What can be used instead of Tortillas? No one in our family cares for them, nor for Taco shells, either. This casserole sounds yummy, otherwise.
emily says
Perhaps rice…?
Kimberly M. Collins says
Yum. That would be good.
Corey says
Yes, I agree with Emily, would rice work for you?
Angelina says
Thanks Emily & Corey, rice is a great suggestion. I never thought of that.
Alps says
I use crushed up Fritos and put them on bottom & top rather than the tortillas. The family loves it
Corey says
That sounds like a yummy idea!
Melva says
I use pasta noodles. Use sparingly, but turns out great.
Tina Gordon says
Made this last night, it was so good everybody loved it very easy to make
Loretta says
This sounds like a recipe I would really like to try. Do you think this could be frozen since there is only 2 of us?
Corey says
Yes, I would suggest freezing individual servings to grab and thaw out as needed.
Christine says
This is so good and I did freeze it but what I did was leave out the tortillas because they become mushy when defrosted, just add them when you reheat.
Melva says
Cut the recipe to 1/2 then you’ll only have to eat on it twice, its so good.
B says
By green pepper do you mean green bell pepper? Or jalapeno?
Corey says
Bell Pepper. I’ll clarify that in the ingredients.
Amanda M says
One Tex Mex dish my hubs enjoys! Could this be made in a crock pot?
Corey says
So happy you love guys love it! I haven’t tried this in the slow cooker yet.
Melissa says
I live in Canada and can’t find Rotel. Is there anything you can think of I could use to replace the Rotel? I was thinking diced canned tomatotes.
Corey says
Yes, regular diced tomatoes will work. And you can also add in some green chiles to your diced tomatoes.
Kelli Cook says
I used have this recipe in my file box. But lent it to someone. So, came to Family Fresh Meals to locate a good version. I’ll be making it this weekend. Sound perfect.
Wendy says
It was a hit! I’ll make it again. I had a moment when I realized a guest was mushroom adverse. I skipped the mushroom soup & added flour to the onion & green peppers to make a rue & then heavy cream – whew! Everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing.
Debbie says
I make this recipe often..Hubby loves it! Your recipe is easy to follow and pretty simple. We aiting for it t to finish in to he oven to right now😁
MILDRED POOLE says
can you use flour tortillas
Corey says
I haven’t tried that yet, but I think that should work out just fine.
JM says
Do you add water to the soups? Or just mix in straight from the can?
Corey says
Straight from the can 🙂
C Greback says
This is an old recipe I had forgotten. It is delicious & easy. I add more onion but it’s great as is!! Thank you for reminding me of this crowd pleaser!