Fiesta Chicken Casserole is a Tex-Mex mix-and-bake dinner: cooked chicken, uncooked instant rice, a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, cream of chicken soup, taco seasoning, a splash of milk, corn and black beans, stirred together with Colby Jack cheese and baked under more cheese. It takes about 5 minutes to mix if your chicken is already cooked, bakes covered for 30 minutes in a 9×9-inch dish, and serves 4.
How to make it: Stir everything together in a large bowl with 1 1/2 cups of the cheese. Spread it in a greased 9×9-inch dish, top with the rest of the cheese, cover tightly with foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, until the center reaches 165°F. Let it sit 5 minutes and garnish with cilantro.
Why You’ll Love It
- Mix, dump and bake: one bowl, one dish, no stovetop.
- No pot of rice: instant rice goes in uncooked and cooks in the oven.
- Uses leftover chicken: rotisserie or leftover roast chicken is perfect.
- Bold Tex-Mex flavor: taco seasoning, tomatoes with green chiles, corn and beans.
Ingredient Notes: What’s in Fiesta Chicken Casserole
Each ingredient has a job:
- Cooked chicken: 4 cups, cubed or shredded. Rotisserie chicken, the rest of a roast chicken, canned chicken or chopped baked chicken breasts or thighs all work. It must already be cooked.
- Diced tomatoes with green chiles: one 10-ounce can, undrained (Ro-Tel is the usual one). No can on hand? Use a regular can of diced tomatoes plus a 4-ounce can of green chiles.
- Instant rice: 1 cup, uncooked.
- Cream of chicken soup: one 10.75-ounce can of condensed soup, for a creamy sauce. Cream of mushroom or cream of celery also work.
- Taco seasoning: 2 tablespoons of your favorite blend, or a homemade mix of chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne.
- Milk: 2 tablespoons, so there’s enough liquid for the rice to absorb. Water works too.
- Corn and black beans: 1/2 cup of each, drained and rinsed well. The beans are optional; pinto or kidney beans work too.
- Colby Jack cheese: 2 cups, grated. Cheddar, Monterey Jack or a Mexican blend also work.
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
- 1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
- 1 cup instant rice, uncooked
- 2 cups Colby Jack cheese, grated and divided
- 1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup canned corn, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
- Cilantro or parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)
How to Make Fiesta Chicken Casserole
1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly coat a 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. Mix the casserole. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, diced tomatoes with green chiles, rice, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, cream of chicken soup, taco seasoning, milk, corn and black beans, if using. Stir until everything is combined.
3. Fill the dish. Pour the mixture into the baking dish, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and cover the dish tightly with foil.
4. Bake covered. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and check that the center reaches 165°F on a food thermometer; if it does not, cover the dish again and bake until it does.
5. Rest and serve. Let the casserole sit uncovered for 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro or parsley, if you like.
Do I Need Instant Rice?
Yes, for this recipe as written. Instant rice is what lets the rice cook through in 30 minutes in the oven, using the liquid from the soup, the tomatoes and the milk. Regular uncooked rice, like long-grain white, won’t cook properly in that time.
Using cooked rice instead: swap the 1 cup of instant rice for 2 cups of cooked rice, or cook regular rice until just al dente and stir it in. Cooked rice gives a softer texture and needs about 10 minutes less in the oven. Either way, check the center for 165°F.
Keep the foil tight. The cover holds in the steam that cooks the rice. Spray the underside of the foil with cooking spray so the cheese doesn’t stick to it.
Drain the cans well. Rinse and drain the corn and beans so they don’t add extra water, but leave the tomatoes undrained.
Variations
- Other meat: ground beef, ground pork, cooked ground turkey or pork carnitas in place of the chicken. Cook ground meat first: 160°F for beef and pork, 165°F for turkey.
- More vegetables: sautéed onion, diced bell peppers, mushrooms or cooked broccoli.
- Smoky: add crumbled cooked bacon or a little smoked paprika.
- More heat: stir in seeded, chopped jalapeños, hot green chiles or a spoonful of hot salsa.
- Milder: use mild tomatoes with green chiles and a mild taco seasoning.
Make Ahead & Storage
Make ahead: Mix the casserole, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it, then bake it the next day. It will need longer in the oven straight from the refrigerator, so check for 165°F in the center.
Refrigerator: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour if it’s above 90°F) in shallow covered containers. They keep 3 to 4 days.
Freezer: Freeze it before baking with the cheese left off, or freeze baked leftovers, wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil, for up to 3 to 4 months. The creamy sauce may change texture a little. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or bake from frozen, allowing about one and a half times as long.
Reheating: Reheat covered in a 350°F oven, or single servings in the microwave, until they reach 165°F. Don’t reheat leftovers in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
Top each serving with sour cream, diced avocado, shredded lettuce or a squeeze of lime, and serve with tortilla chips for scooping, a simple side salad or cornbread. Leftovers make a good filling for burritos or a burrito bowl.
More Tex-Mex dinners: try easy chicken burrito casserole, cream cheese chicken enchiladas, one pot Mexican rice casserole or 8-can chicken taco soup. For more chicken casseroles, make creamy chicken rice casserole or Ritz cracker chicken casserole.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the ingredients in fiesta chicken casserole?
Cooked chicken, instant rice, diced tomatoes with green chiles, cream of chicken soup, taco seasoning, milk, corn, black beans and Colby Jack cheese.
Do I need instant rice, or can I use cooked rice?
Instant rice cooks in the dish. You can use 2 cups of cooked rice instead and bake about 10 minutes less, but uncooked regular rice won’t cook through.
Can I use raw chicken?
No. The chicken must be cooked before it goes in. Only the rice goes in uncooked.
Can I make it ahead or freeze it?
Yes. Refrigerate it unbaked for a day, or freeze it (without the cheese on top) for up to 3 to 4 months. Bake until the center reaches 165°F.
Final Notes
Pick up a rotisserie chicken and this goes from bowl to oven in about 5 minutes. If you try it with pinto beans or extra jalapeños, tell me in the comments how it turned out.
Fiesta Chicken Casserole
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Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked chicken cubed or shredded; leftover or rotisserie chicken works
- 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles 10 ounces, undrained; Ro-Tel
- 1 cup instant rice uncooked
- 2 cups Colby Jack cheese grated, divided
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup 10.75 ounces
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup canned corn drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed; optional
- cilantro or parsley chopped, for garnish; optional
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly coat a 9x9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, diced tomatoes with green chiles, rice, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, cream of chicken soup, taco seasoning, milk, corn and black beans, if using. Stir until everything is combined.
- Pour the mixture into the baking dish, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and cover the dish tightly with foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and check that the center reaches 165°F on a food thermometer; if it does not, cover the dish again and bake until it does.
- Let the casserole sit uncovered for 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro or parsley, if you like.
