Disappearing chicken casserole is shredded chicken baked in a creamy, tangy sauce of cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream, warmed up with green chiles and cumin and finished with a bubbly layer of sharp cheddar. Spoon it over rice for an easy weeknight dinner, or set it out with tortilla chips at a party and watch it vanish.
How to make disappearing chicken casserole: whisk a creamy base of the three dairy ingredients, stir in green chiles, spices, half the cheddar and 4 cups of cooked chicken, top with the rest of the cheese and bake in a 9×9 dish at 350°F for 50 minutes.
Why You’ll Love It
- Uses cooked chicken. Leftovers or a rotisserie chicken both work, so there’s no raw chicken to handle.
- One bowl, one dish. Everything gets stirred together and goes straight into the pan.
- Creamy and cheesy with a gentle green chile warmth, not a hot one.
- Two ways to serve it: as dinner over rice or as a warm dip with chips.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken. Four cups of shredded cooked chicken. Leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken is the easiest way to get there; one large rotisserie chicken gives you about 4 cups.
The creamy base. Four ounces of softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 1/2 cup sour cream. Let the cream cheese sit out until soft so it whisks smooth with the other two.
Green chiles. Two 4-ounce cans of diced green chiles. Mild chiles keep it family friendly.
Spices. Garlic salt, chili powder, black pepper and a full teaspoon of cumin. The garlic salt is the only salt in the recipe, so there’s no need to add more before tasting.
Cheddar. One cup of shredded sharp cheddar, split in two: half goes into the sauce and half goes on top.
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked chicken, shredded; leftover or rotisserie chicken
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cans diced green chiles (4 ounces each), mild
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
How to Make Disappearing Chicken Casserole
1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Make the sauce. In a mixing bowl whisk together the cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream.
3. Add the flavor. Stir in the green chiles, garlic salt, chili powder, black pepper, cumin and half of the cheddar.
4. Coat the chicken. Stir in the chicken and coat it well.
5. Fill the dish. Scrape the mixture into a 9×9-inch baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheddar on top.
6. Bake. Bake for 50 minutes, until the center reaches 165°F on a food thermometer.
7. Serve. Serve the chicken and sauce over rice.
Serve It Over Rice or as a Dip
This is one of those recipes that changes jobs depending on what you put next to it. The pan that comes out of the oven is the same; only the way you serve it is different.
As dinner. Spoon the chicken and its creamy sauce over a bed of hot rice. The sauce runs down into the rice, so every bite gets some. With rice, this pan feeds 6.
As a dip. Set the baking dish on a trivet and put a big bowl of tortilla chips next to it. It’s rich and filling, so it can carry a game-day spread or even stand in as a meal on its own.
| Serve it as | Put it with | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Dinner | Hot cooked rice | Weeknights, 6 servings |
| Hot dip | Tortilla chips | Parties, game day, potlucks |
Tips for Success
Why is my sauce lumpy?
You’ll see small white bits of cream cheese through the chicken. That happens when the cream cheese goes in cold. Let it soften on the counter first, and whisk the creamy base smooth before anything else goes into the bowl.
Is it spicy?
Not with mild green chiles. The only other heat comes from 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, with a teaspoon of cumin for warmth.
Variations
- With mayonnaise: stir 1 cup of mayonnaise into the sauce. Light mayonnaise works, but not fat free.
- Bigger and cheesier: for a 9×13 dish, use 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup sour cream, 12 ounces shredded cheddar, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt and 2 cans green chiles, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Ground beef: leave out the chicken and use 1 pound or more of cooked ground beef.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days. You can freeze them for 3 to 4 months, but USDA FSIS notes that cream sauces separate and look curdled after thawing, so the fridge is the better choice. Thaw in the fridge, then reheat covered on the stove, in the microwave or in the oven until it reaches 165°F.
What to Serve With It
If creamy chicken casseroles are your weeknight go-to, try million dollar chicken casserole or Ritz cracker chicken casserole next. For one with the rice already baked in, there’s creamy chicken rice casserole and broccoli rice cheese and chicken casserole. Like the Tex-Mex flavor? Make easy chicken burrito casserole, or go for chicken bacon ranch casserole with potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use rotisserie chicken?
Yes. One large rotisserie chicken gives about 4 cups of shredded meat, which is exactly what the recipe needs.
Do I drain the green chiles?
You can add them undrained, liquid and all. They go straight into the creamy sauce.
Do I serve it over rice or with chips?
Either one. Over rice it’s a dinner for 6; with a bowl of tortilla chips it’s a warm, filling party dip. Bake it exactly the same way for both, and decide at the table.
Can I make it with pasta?
Yes. For a bigger pasta version, add a 16-ounce box of uncooked cavatappi, a 12-ounce can of evaporated milk, a 4-ounce jar of drained diced pimentos, 1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley.
Final Notes
Shred the chicken while the cream cheese softens, and the whole thing is in the oven in 15 minutes. Tell me in the comments whether yours ended up over rice or with chips.
Disappearing Chicken Casserole
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Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked chicken shredded; leftover or rotisserie chicken
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cans diced green chiles 4 ounces each; mild
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded, divided
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream.
- Stir in the green chiles, garlic salt, chili powder, black pepper, cumin and half of the cheddar.
- Stir in the chicken and coat it well.
- Scrape the mixture into a 9x9-inch baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheddar on top.
- Bake for 50 minutes, until the center reaches 165°F on a food thermometer.
- Serve the chicken and sauce over rice.
Notes
Nutrition
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