King Ranch Casserole
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Are you ready to try the best chicken casserole ever? This King Ranch Casserole features tantalizing Tex-Mex flavor mixed with cheesy and creamy layers.
While it may have its roots in Texas, this King Ranch Chicken Casserole is a beloved dish everywhere in the South. It’s bound to show up at any potluck you attend, but it’s easy to see why. It’s cozy, comforting, and oh-so-delicious, with creamy Tex-Mex layers sandwiched between corn tortillas and lots of cheese. Sounds like Southern comfort food heaven, right?
Another reason this is the best chicken casserole ever is that it requires minimal prep and makes the ideal family-friendly weeknight dinner. You can even make it the night before and store it in your fridge to pop in the oven right before supper.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken (I used )
- Diced tomatoes
- Chopped green chilies
- Cream of chicken
- Cream of mushroom
- Shredded cheese
- Corn tortillas (or you can use pieces of if you prefer)
- Chopped onions
- Spices: chili powder, pepper, salt, and garlic powder.
Pour a little bit of oil in a large skillet, about two tablespoons.
Add in your onions…
and saute those, stirring often, until browned a bit.
Then dump in your chilies, cream soups, drained diced tomatoes, and shredded chicken.
Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder.
and stir.
Cook this on medium heat until heated through and bubbly – usually just a few minutes.
Tear half of your corn tortillas up into little pieces and layer them in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
Spread half of your over the and sprinkle with half your .
Add the rest of your corn tortillas, all torn up. Then glob the rest of your chicken mixture over that and smear it around…
and more cheese!
Lots of folks make their King Ranch casseroles in three layers, but I just do two. If you wanna do three go right ahead. Whatever cranks yer tractor. Two does it for me!
Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges and your stomach is growling from the smell. Top with some chopped when you’re ready to serve.
HELLO DINNER!
Yum di di dum dum yum yum yum!!
Storage
- Casserole leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
- You can freeze the entire unbaked casserole for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then cook as instructed above. Alternatively, cooked casserole servings will last in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- In this casserole, you can use any kind of chicken, including boiled chicken breast, canned chicken, or whatever leftover chicken you have in the fridge. Today I used rotisserie chicken and it was fantastic, but I also sometimes buy a 10-pound bag of leg quarters and boil them until done. Then I shred all of the chicken and freeze in small portions to toss in casseroles, dumplings, and stews.
- You can use any combination of condensed soup varieties. Go for only cream of mushroom or chicken, or use other flavors like cream of celery or cream of onion.
- If you’d like your King Ranch Casserole to have a little crunch, substitute the corn tortillas for crushed tortilla chips or Doritos.
- Instead of cheddar cheese, sprinkle your casserole with Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese instead.
- You can also add more veggies to your chicken mixture, like green bell pepper.
- For another creamy layer addition, serve your with a scoop of .
- If too spicy, substitute for for a less heated option.
Recipe FAQs
Why is it called King Range Chicken Casserole?
While its name comes from King Ranch, one of the country’s largest ranches, there’s actually no direct connection between this Tex-Mex casserole and the ranch.
Can I make this casserole the night before?
Yes! You can assemble this casserole in a the night before, store it in the fridge, and then bake it when you get home.
Can I use fat-free cream of chicken or cream of mushroom?
Yes, you can use fat-free versions. If you are watching your fat intake for health reasons I actually strongly recommend it. Just always check with your health professionals if you are making any substitutes due to health.
What do you serve with King Ranch Chicken Casserole?
While this casserole is a meal in itself, you can serve it alongside other Southern favorites, including cornbread, corn salad, fresh green beans, and three-bean salad. You can also serve it with a simple refreshing salad like this Greek cucumber salad or some tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole.
Here are other casserole recipes you may enjoy:
Cabbage Casserole Recipe Oven or Slow Cooker
Cornbread Casserole Recipe Simple and Savory
Sloppy Joes Casserole Deep Dish Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 4 ounce can diced green chilies
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes drained
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 12 - 14 corn tortillas six-inch
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Place oil in a large skillet. Add onions and saute over medium heat until onions are lightly browned.1 onion, 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Add rotisserie chicken, cream soups, chilies, tomatoes, and all seasonings. Stir and cook over medium heat until bubbly.2 cups shredded cooked chicken, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 4 ounce can diced green chilies, 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Tear tortillas into small pieces. Place half of the torn tortillas in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Top with 1/2 of the chicken mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Top with remaining tortilla pieces, remaining chicken mixture, and remaining cheese.12 - 14 corn tortillas, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned around the edges.
The stars at night, are big and bright… ~clap clap clap clap~…
I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think,
all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read,
and all the friends I want to see.
– John Burroughs
Submitted by Steaksmom Submit your quote here!
You are so hilarious (being from Georgia) I too thought perhaps Texas would be a little different. Well all I had heard was how hot it was going to be. I have to tell you – it was a dry hot, we have a humid hot. It wasn’t very hot to me…
I saw this recipe in a cookbook while we were visiting San Antonio and it looked really good. I’ll have try it since you said it was good!
Oh and your kids are so cute freezing stuff!
Welcome to the family, Christie. We Texans are lovely, warm and generous folks. Glad to count you among them. My roommate in college made something like this, (late’70’s) and I had never heard of King Ranch Casserole at that point. The roommate’s sister named it Chicken Crap. Original huh? Well, we made it with Rotels and tortilla chips. Very yummy either way. Bring the kids and come to Six Flags, Sea World, the Alamo and enjoy your newly adopted home. K
I’m jumping on the welcoming wagon! As a native Texan, I invite you to come spend some time at our beaches too. Dallas and the South Texas Coast are two completely different countries. LOL
KRC is one of our favorite dishes. The King Ranch is just “down the road a ways” from where I live. We eat it over rice or just dip some chips while watching a game.
Come on down for a visit. I think you will like what you find. ;o)
Hey! Anyone who can summon up a “reckon” is welcome here in Texas. Ya’ll do have to promise to drop by and “set a spell” now and then to be officially adopted though. If you like down home Texas cooking, you might check out the site attached to the recipe for “Frito Pie” which I’m including. Served at little league games and birthday parties, pre-game celebrations for Texas football season, and backyard bashes, it’s a great little recipe to know about. For kids, take an individual serving size package of fritos, cut the side open the long way, open it a bit and spoon chili on top of the fritos. Add some gooey cheese and give that kid a plastic spoon. Oh Boy! Here’s the recipe for a casserole:
http://www.texascooking.com/features/feb2004fritopie.htm
Another proud native Texan welcoming you to the Great State of Texas!
Thank you so much for all you do here on your website. Love the recipes and helpful hints. In fact, many of your southern recipes sound just like those that have been handed down in my family.
My ancestors are from Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama so I feel a kinship to all southerners. Most native Texans have ancestors who migrated here from the South and that is the reason that many of us talk just like you!
Hope you can come back here again some day. Texas is known as the Friendly State.
Sending a big wave and a hug from Central Texas!
Sandy
Hey Christi,
Yeah for King Ranch casserole. My roots too are Alabama/ Tennessee and Texas (lived near Fort Hood yrs ago)& kinfolks there in Texas now. My Texas niece years ago came to visit and will never forget us making King Ranch casserole in Tennessee. Always tell people to think of a Tex Mex type lasagna. Yum yum. Have made it with either the corn or the flour tortillas. King Ranch is a real place i understand…….somewhere out there in big ole Texas. Love when you are driving in and start seeing those long driveways with the entrance marked with the ranch brand. What are those called anyways? You know you are really in Texas…. and i am soon gonna see my Texas girls in Dallas area. Yee haw 🙂
Hey, the kids i know are doing that freezer toy thing too. all the containers have gone missing!! so funny.
This sounds so delicious! I lived in Texas for 4 years and never heard of this… I did, however, think it was going to be like a foreign land, like you did! LOL! My question about the recipe is: Does it freeze well? Wondering just in case I could freeze some for those days I don’t have time to cook!
Thanks a bunch!