Mains · Tex-Mex
King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Texas potluck royalty: tortillas, chicken, peppers and two cheeses baked in a spicy, creamy sauce.
- Hands-on
- 20 min
- Hands-off
- 1 h 5 min
- Total
- 1 h 25 min
- Makes
- 10 servings
- Serves
- 10
The oven heats while you tear, chop and mix (about 15-20 minutes). Bake 45 minutes covered plus 15 uncovered, then a 5-minute rest so it's easier to scoop. Recipes list 15 min active, 1 hr 15 min total.
Oven 180 °C · 160 °C fan (350 °F)
Pan 23 x 33 cm baking dish (US: 9 x 13 in baking dish)
- easy
- potluck
- freezer-friendly
- make-ahead
- texas
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Written for one 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) dish. For half, use a smaller dish and start checking a little earlier; go by bubbling edges and the 74°C (165°F) centre rather than the clock. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) baking dish · large mixing bowl · cutting board and knife · foil · instant-read thermometer · oven mitts
Contains: milk · wheat
Method
Heat the oven, butter the dish
Turn the oven on to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F, gas 4) and rub the 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 in) dish with about 1 tbsp butter.
Mix the sauce
In a large bowl, stir together both cans of soup (cream of chicken and cream of mushroom), the can of tomatoes with chiles and their juice, 2 tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 475 ml (2 cups) chicken broth until smooth.
First layer
Scatter in half the torn tortillas (from 16), then half the chicken, half the diced onion, red and yellow pepper and jalapeño, half of each cheese (85 g / 3/4 cup Cheddar and 85 g / 3/4 cup Jack) and half the sauce.
Second layer
Repeat with the rest of the tortillas, chicken, vegetables and cheese, and finish with the rest of the sauce on top so the tortillas are covered.
Otto tried this firstOtto leaves tortilla corners poking out of the sauce. They bake into hard, dry chips. Push them under so the sauce covers them.Bake covered
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Ready when: Steaming under the foil, the sauce is bubbling at the edges, and the onion and peppers have softened.
Uncover and finish
Take off the foil (steam will rush out, so lift it away from you) and bake for 15 minutes more. Let it stand for about 5 minutes before serving.
Ready when: Bubbling all over, including the middle, and a thermometer pushed into the centre reads at least 74°C (165°F).
Swaps
- Instead of Cheddar and Monterey Jack: 1 lb (450 g) processed cheese loaf (such as Velveeta), cubed, half stirred into the sauce and half on top Same oven, dish and 45-minute bake.
- Instead of corn tortillas: cooked lasagna noodles, layered the same way A lasagna-style variation.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- Freeze it unbaked: assemble in a foil-lined or foil-topped dish, freeze until solid, lift the block out, wrap it in cling film and keep frozen. To cook, unwrap, put it back in the 9 x 13 in dish, thaw it overnight in the fridge, then bake as written. Frozen cooked-poultry dishes keep best quality 4-6 months.
- Storage
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days.
- Reheat
- Reheat until steaming hot in the centre, 74°C (165°F).
Good to know
- Serve it with a green salad.
- Want enchiladas instead? Roll the chicken and vegetables in the tortillas, pour the sauce over and top with cheese.
Safety
- A casserole needs to reach 74°C (165°F) in the centre. Check with a thermometer, especially if it went in cold from the fridge.
- Handle a store-bought rotisserie chicken like other cooked food: use it or refrigerate it within 2 hours of buying.
- Wash your hands after cutting the jalapeño and don't touch your eyes; the oils sting.
- Lift foil away from you: trapped steam burns. The full dish is heavy and very hot, so an adult should move it in and out of the oven.
- Condensed soups usually contain wheat and milk, and some contain soy; check the labels.