King Ranch Chicken Breakfast Casserole – our favorite Tex-Mex casserole turned into a yummy make-ahead breakfast casserole! Bread, chicken, Rotel, cheese, cream of chicken, eggs, milk, and tortilla strips. I mean, how could this be bad?!?! Great for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner!
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Pin This RecipeSavory Breakfast Casserole
We are obsessed with King Ranch Casserole at our house. It is one of our favorite recipes! We love it so much that I came up with a way to eat it for breakfast! YUM! Bread, chicken, Rotel, cheese, cream of chicken, eggs, milk and tortilla strips. I mean, how could this be bad?!?!?!
I know some of you may be asking “Where is the Ranch?” It does have Ranch in the name after all. Fun fact, King Ranch is a place in Texas. It isn’t actually a flavor. I see no problem with adding Ranch dressing to this recipe, but that isn’t why it has Ranch in its name.
How to Make King Ranch Breakfast Casserole
This casserole is very easy to make. Start with cutting some french bread into cubes. Spread the bread in the bottom of a casserole dish. Top the bread with cooked chopped chicken, a can of Rotel tomatoes, and cheese. Whisk together eggs, milk, and cream of chicken soup. Pour that over the chicken and bread. Let the mixture soak at least 30 minutes and then top with tortilla strips and bake.
I used chopped up rotisserie chicken for the chicken in this casserole. Rotisserie chicken is my number one timesaver. I always pick up a couple on our Costco trips to use in casseroles like this one.
Can Breakfast Casserole be Made in Advance?
You can make this breakfast casserole the day before and bake it the next day. I wouldn’t add the tortilla strips until right before you bake the casserole to avoid them getting soggy.
What to Serve with King Ranch Chicken Breakfast Casserole
While this is called a breakfast casserole, we love this any time of the day. This chicken casserole is perfectly fine for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. We love to serve this with some grits and sweet rolls at breakfast/brunch and a salad or some black beans at lunch/dinner. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with the Tex-Mex breakfast casserole:
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King Ranch Chicken Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients:
- 8- oz french bread cubed
- 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
- 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
- 2 cups shredded pepper jack, divided
- 2 cups milk
- 1 (10.5-oz) can Unsalted Cream of Chicken Soup
- 8 eggs
- 1 (3.5-oz) bag tortilla strips
Instructions:
- Spread bread cubes in the bottom of a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Top the bread cubes with the chicken, drained tomatoes and green chiles, and 1½ cups shredded cheese.
- Whisk together milk, cream of chicken soup, and eggs. Pour over chicken and bread mixture. Cover and let soak 30 minutes to overnight in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Remove casserole dish from refrigerator and top with remaining ½ cup cheese and tortilla strips.
- Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until center is set. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.
Notes:
- I use a rotisserie chicken for the cooked chicken.
- I suggest using Unsalted Cream of Chicken Soup in this dish to control the sodium.
- You can buy it by the case at Amazon: https://amzn.to/49n4uZE
- Need Gluten-free Cream of Chicken Soup? You can buy it here: https://amzn.to/3MtqQ1s
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-cream-of-chicken-soup/
- If you are sensitive to heat, make sure to use a can of MILD diced tomatoes and green chiles.
- You can use any cheese you prefer in place of the pepper jack cheese.
Steph
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Cook or not before freezing for a freezer meal?
Either way is fine. I always freeze casseroles like this unbaked.
Recipe INGREDIENTS listing indicates 3.5 cups of cheese; INSTRUCTIONS account for only 2 cups (1½ + ½= 2 cups). Are only 2 cups of cheese used or have another 1½ cups of cheese not been addressed in the instructions? Thanks……am anxious to make this!
I see the ingredients listed as 2 cups of pepper jack cheese – I don’t see where it says 3.5 cups of cheese.
I see 3.5 oz of chips in the recipe. Sometimes in skimming the recipe I misread it! 🙂