King Ranch Chicken Casserole Recipe (2024)

Y'all, this is the best dinner ever for those busy weeknights and the days when you have more month than paycheck!

🗝️ Key takeaways

• This family friendly comfort food has been a favorite for over 70 years.
• Since there's just 10 minutes of prep time it's perfect for busy back to school weeknights.
• You can assemble it ahead, make it ahead, freeze it... it's truly an easy, versatile recipe.

There are a lot of versions of the classic King Ranch chicken casserole recipe but the original is quick, easy, and has stood the test of time.

Chicken, Rotel tomatoes with chiles, and onion are mixed with a creamy, rich sauce and layered in a casserole dish with corn tortillas and a generous amount of cheese.

It's one of those easy recipes you find at church suppers and neighborhood block parties.

This Tex-Mex casserole freezes well, travels well, and disappears fast whether it's on the family table or at a potluck - you can't really ask for more than that.

🧾 Ingredients

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• chicken breast (cooked, leftover chicken, or rotisserie chicken)
• butter
• yellow onion
• red or green bell pepper (or both)
• Rotel tomatoes
• cream of chicken soup
• cream of mushroom soup
• corn tortillas
• Cheddar cheese

📖Variations

• You can use Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack instead of the Cheddar.
• This works with turkey leftovers or pork leftovers, too.
• You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breast.
• Substitute tortilla chips for the corn tortillas.
• Use ground beef or leftover taco seasoned beef instead of chicken for a different Tex-Mex twist.

🔪 Instructions

1. Preheat oven and prepare a baking dish according to instructions in recipe card below. In a large skillet saute onion and bell pepper in butter.
2. Remove from heat and stir in soups, Rotel, and chicken.
3. Layer with the cut up tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Repeat layers.
4. Bake. Top with a little fresh cilantro before serving.

Slow cooker instructions

Yes! You can make this easy King Ranch Chicken casserole recipe in a slow cooker! It's just as yummy with layers of corn tortillas, gooey cheese, and creamy chicken filling!

1. Spray the inside of the crockpot with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Mix the soups, rotel, veggies, and cooked chicken.
3. Layer the tortillas, soup mixture, and cheese in the crock pot.
4. Set on low for 4 hours. Uncover the last 30 minutes of cooking time.

🥄 Equipment

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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.

• 7 x 11 casserole dish
• large iron skillet

🎥 Video

Click on the image to watch me make this easy King Ranch Chicken recipe from start to finish with extra tips! (Video opens in a new tab).

🥫 How to store leftover King Ranch Chicken

You can assemble this traditional King Ranch casserole a day or two ahead of time and bake when you're ready.

Let the leftovers come to room temperature and then cover with plastic wrap or put in an airtight container and refrigerate promptly. They'll be fine for 4 or 5 days.

Freeze for longer storage.

To freeze

Casseroles like this King Ranch chicken are a life saver for busy people. I like to make a double batch and freeze one for those times when my life is spinning out of control OR someone from church needs dinner.

Let cool to room temperature. Wrap the casserole dish in plastic wrap then in aluminum foil and freeze.

You can freeze this for up to 6 months with no problem and, full disclosure, I once found one in the freezer that was over a year old and it tasted fine.

To thaw- let thaw overnight in the refrigerator, remove aluminum foil and plastic wrap, and bake according to instructions.

💭 Things to know

Expert Tip: Give the aluminum foil a good spray with nonstick cooking spray before covering the casserole. It will keep the melty cheese from sticking.

• Use reduced sodium soups to lower sodium in this recipe if you need to. It will still taste great.
• Save time by using shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken.
• Try frozen green bell peppers or the diced bell peppers and onions in the produce section of the store. This will save you time.
• Assemble this on Sunday night and keep it in the refrigerator. You'll just need to pop it in the oven for a quick meal on the busiest weeknight. Better yet double the recipe and freeze one for another time.
• Manufacturer's have downsized! I've had to downsize the size of the pans - if you've been making this recipe for awhile you may notice that the pan is smaller.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

🍽️ Serve with...

Looking for what to serve with this King Ranch casserole recipe? I've got you!

• Salad
• Tortilla chips and honeydew salsa
• Cowboy caviar
• Southern green beans (leave out the potatoes - there's enough carbs!)
• Texas sheet cake
• White Texas sheet cake
• Pecan pie with cinnamon ice cream
• Mmmm.... Ranch style beans - straight out of the can and warmed up... Just like mom used to make.

Here are some more of my favorite comfort food casserole recipes!

• Tamale pie is a comfort food classic and it's so easy to make.
• We love this one pot taco spaghetti.
• Next time try making your own pizza with this beer pizza dough.
• Or make this super easy taco pizza in less than 15 minutes!

📞 The last word

Traditional King Ranch chicken with Rotel is absolutely the ultimate comfort food just the way Mom made it...It's not too spicy nor too bland.

It's creamy and full of gooey cheese - tastes kind of like chicken enchiladas but SO much easier. Next time try this classic creamy chicken spaghetti with Rotel!

It's so easy to make - you can even make it ahead of time. Book mark this recipe - it's right up there with smothered chicken on the yum scale!

This is a 1950s Junior League kind of recipe. I don't think anyone knows where it got started but it's a classic type of mid-century casserole like the ever popular Monterey Chicken.

Definitely the kind of Rotel chicken casserole I grew up on - and there were a lot of variations!

Hey, we also love this copycat Popeye's blackened chicken - don't miss out!

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

First published November 2008. Last updated August 1, 2023 for more helpful tips and information.

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