King Ranch Chicken Casserole

King Ranch Chicken Casserole recipe – MY FAVORITE meal!! Chicken, cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, salsa, chicken broth, onion, corn tortillas, and cheese. Use a rotisserie chicken for quick assembly. Makes a great freezer meal. Everyone cleaned their plate! Even the picky eaters!!

scooping chicken casserole from baking dish

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Mexican Chicken Casserole

This King Ranch Chicken Casserole just might be my favorite chicken casserole. Tortillas, chicken, creamy Rotel sauce, and tons of cheese. All of my favorite flavors. I look forward to making this and having leftovers all week. This is comfort food at its best. Now, this isn’t fancy; It is just darn good! Serve this casserole with some black beans and rice for a perfect Tex-Mex meal!

What is King Ranch Chicken? 

King Ranch chicken is a popular Tex-Mex casserole. Its name comes from King Ranch in Texas, one of the largest ranches in the United States. Despite the name, the casserole wasn’t actually created at King Ranch. It is not known who created the recipe or how it got its name.

chicken casserole in baking dish topped with lettuce and tomato

How to Make King Ranch Chicken

This casserole is super easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. In a large saucepan on medium-high heat, combine cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, salsa, garlic salt, and onion flakes. Stir until warm, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cut corn tortillas into quarters. Place half of the tortillas into the baking dish. Top the tortillas with cooked chicken, shredded cheese, and half of the sauce mixture. Repeat layers. Top the casserole with shredded cheese and bake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbly.

Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions

  • I use rotisserie chicken in the casserole. You can use any cooked chicken that you have on hand. Chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or chicken tenderloins all work great.
  • Our favorite store-bought salsas are Mateo’s, Kylito’s, Pace Picante Sauce, and Pace Restaurant Style Salsa. I find them at Walmart.
  • You can use any cheese that you enjoy. Cheddar cheese, Monterey jack, pepper jack all work great.
  • Can substitute flour tortillas if you prefer.
  • Here is our recipe for Homemade Cream of Chicken souphttps://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-cream-of-chicken-soup/
    • You can use any condensed soups that you prefer. Cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, or cream of celery all work fine.
    • Use gluten-free condensed soups for a gluten-free casserole.
  • Feel free to add chopped onions and bell peppers to the casserole.
  • Can King Ranch Chicken Casserole be made in advance? Yes! Assemble the casserole and cover the dish with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate. Let the casserole come to room temperature before baking.
  • Can King Ranch Chicken Casserole be frozen? Yes! Assemble the casserole and cool completely. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze. When ready to bake, thaw and bake as directed.
  • Can King Ranch Chicken be made in the crock pot? Yes! Assemble the casserole in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW or HIGH until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbly.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
plate of king ranch chicken casserole

What to Serve with Chicken Casserole

This casserole is a family favorite. We make this at least once a month. It is delicious! We like to top the casserole with some lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, and sour cream. We serve this with some tortilla chips, salsa, Mexican rice, and beans. I’ll take this casserole over the Mexican restaurant any day!

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scooping chicken casserole from baking dish

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Yield: 8 people
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
King Ranch Chicken Casserole – MY FAVORITE!! Chicken, cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, salsa. chicken broth, onion, tortillas and cheese. Use a rotisserie chicken for quick assembly. Makes a great freezer meal. Everyone cleaned their plate! Even the picky eaters!!!

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
  • In a large saucepan on medium-high heat, combine the cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, salsa, garlic salt and onion flakes. Stir until warm, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  • Put half of the tortillas in the bottom of the pan, top with half of the chicken, then sprinkle with one cup of cheese. Pour half of the soup mixture over the top, and then repeat the layers. Tortillas, chicken, cheese, and soup mix. Top the casserole with the remaining cup of cheese.
  • Bake for 45 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browned slightly.

Notes:

  • I use rotisserie chicken in the casserole. You can use any cooked chicken that you have on hand. Chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or chicken tenderloins all work great.
4 jars of salsa on the countertop
  • Our favorite store-bought salsas are Mateo’s, Kylito’s, Pace Picante Sauce, and Pace Restaurant Style Salsa. I find them at Walmart.
  • You can use any cheese that you enjoy. Cheddar cheese, Monterey jack, pepper jack all work great.
  • Can substitute flour tortillas if you prefer.
  • I suggest using Unsalted Cream of Chicken Soup in this dish to control the sodium.
  • Feel free to add chopped onions and bell peppers to the casserole.
  • Can King Ranch Chicken Casserole be made in advance? Yes! Assemble the casserole and cover the dish with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate. Let the casserole come to room temperature before baking.
  • Can King Ranch Chicken Casserole be frozen? Yes! Assemble the casserole and cool completely. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze. When ready to bake, thaw and bake as directed.
  • Can King Ranch Chicken be made in the crock pot? Yes! Assemble the casserole in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW or HIGH until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbly.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Steph

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plate of king ranch chicken casserole with text overlay

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Comments

  1. As it’s just my husband and me, I halved the recipe and cooked it in an 8×8 dish. I added about 1/3 cup of sour cream, a little more chicken broth, plus 1/2 tsp cumin, and decreased the cooking time a little. Delicious!

  2. I have not made your recipe. However, we prefer flour tortillas. I see you list using flour tortillas as an option. How many and what size of flour tortillas would you use? Thanks in advance for your help.

  3. Mmmmm, this is really good! I made this tonight for dinner and we’ll have the leftovers tomorrow. My family really enjoyed this meal. It was easy to put together and cooks in the oven nicely. I didn’t have any mexican cheese so I just used regular sharp cheddar. Try this one out, it tastes great!

  4. Made this the other night. Awesome!! Hubs doesn’t care for spicy foods, loved this! Used flour tortillas instead of corn. Since it made a 13×9 casserole and it’s just the two of us, I froze what we didn’t eat in individual portions for work lunches. Thanks for an easy, yummy recipe.

  5. If I was to make this for a freezer meal, would I bake it and let cool before freezing? Or layer together and freeze?

  6. I tried this tonight and my husband loved it!!!in the future, I will cover with tinfoil while back baking, as the top portion got a little hard, but this is all personal preference 🙂 great recipe!!

  7. I've not had this in years … and it's so delicious. I'll have to make it soon, and then I'll eat to much of it ….. 🙂 Pinned.

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