This Chicken Taco Casserole is a quick, easy and absolutely delicious weeknight dinner the whole family will love! With no canned soup in sight, this recipe uses rotisserie chicken and doesn't require any stovetop cooking before it goes in the oven. A truly simple, flavorful and healthy meal!
While developing this recipe I was looking to create a Mexican inspired casserole that was both healthy and incredibly quick to throw together. I personally try to avoid using canned soups in casseroles as they are usually packed with preservatives and this recipe does not miss them at all!
This chicken taco casserole requires no "pre-cooking" before it goes in the oven. Simply shred the rotisserie chicken, chop the pepper and mix! It really is that easy!
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Other latin & Mexican inspired recipes you will love.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Cutting board and knife
- 9 x 12 inch casserole dish with lid (or you can use aluminum foil to cover while baking)
Ingredients
- Rotisserie chicken: Store bought rotisserie chicken is one of my favorite cooking shortcuts! You get a ton of flavor from the mix of white and dark meat and it's so easy to work with. If you would prefer to make your own chicken at home you can check out this recipe for Air Fryer Whole Chicken which you could make ahead of time. You could also use chicken breasts or thighs. Simply boil or roast and then roughly shred. You'll need about 2-3 cups.
- Canned corn
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Small can diced green chiles: You can go mild, medium or hot depending on your family's spice preference.
- Red bell pepper
- Sour cream: I always recommend using full fat dairy products as they are much less processed and more flavorful.
- Southwest seasoning or Taco seasoning or Fajita seasoning: I love Yep!Shake's Southwest Seasoning for this recipe but your favorite taco or southwest seasoning will work. I recommend using a seasoning that has salt in it. If yours doesn't then be sure to add a generous pinch to the mixture.
- Green enchilada sauce or Salsa Verde: I've made this recipe using my favorite green enchilada sauce and salsa verde and both work great!
- Corn tortillas
- Shredded cheese: I like to do a mix of Colby jack and Monterey jack for this recipe. You can also use Mexican style shredded cheese or any mild cheese you have on hand.
Toppings
I like a mix of toppings for this recipe. You can really use whatever you have on hand but these are my personal favorites:
- Fresh cilantro
- Crushed tortilla chips
- Sour cream
- Sliced jalapenos
- Pico de Gallo
Step by Step Instructions
Time needed: 35 minutes.
How to make chicken taco casserole:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and prep the ingredients.
- Mix up the chicken filling.
- Assemble the chicken taco casserole.
- Bake for 25 minutes with a lid (or covered with foil). Remove lid (or foil) and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
You can broil for a minute or so at the very end to brown the cheese.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Add toppings, serve and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
I love serving this dish with some of my fresh pico de gallo and a side of my favorite homemade guacamole.
Recipe FAQs
You can also just boil or roast chicken breasts or thighs and then roughly shred them. You'll need about 2-3 cups worth. This is also a great recipe to use any leftover chicken you have.
Yes! This recipe is very forgiving and can easily be adjusted to suit different tastes. You can add a drained can of black beans to the filling mixture if you like or feel free to use turkey instead of chicken. If you prefer red enchilada sauce feel free to use that instead of green. Get creative!
Yes, just make sure that you choose gluten free corn tortillas.
More quick and easy weeknight recipes.
Chili Lime Salmon with Mexican Spiced Sweet Potatoes
Made this chicken taco casserole recipe? Let me know what you think in the comments.
Recipe
Chicken Taco Casserole
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- Cutting board and knife
- Casserole dish with lid (or foil)
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken, meat roughly shredded about 2-3 cups
- 1 15 oz can of corn, drained
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 4 oz can diced green chiles
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ⅔ cup sour cream I recommend full fat
- 2 tbsp southwestern seasoning (taco or fajita seasoning) This recipe uses seasoning with the salt already mixed in. If you use a salt free or low sodium seasoning feel free to add an extra pinch of salt to the mixture.
- 1.5 cup green enchilada sauce or salsa verde
- 8 medium corn tortillas
- 2 cups shredded cheese, Mexican blend can also use Monterey jack or Colby jack
Toppings
- tortilla chips, crushed
- avocado, sliced or diced Also great with guacamole
- fresh cilantro
- sour cream
- salsa or pico de gallo
- lime wedges
- sliced jalapenos
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Ina large mixing bowl combine shredded rotisserie chicken, diced bell pepper, corn, diced tomatoes, diced green chiles, southwestern or taco seasoning and sour cream. Mix thoroughly to combine. Set aside.
- Add about ¾th cup of green enchilada sauce (or salsa verde) to the bottom of a casserole dish and spread evenly. Arrange half of the corn tortillas pieces (about 4tortillas worth) evenly on top of the sauce to cover completely. Pour about half of the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas and carefully spread to cover. Then sprinkle about 1 cup of shredded cheese evenly over the mixture. Arrange the remaining tortillas over the cheese to cover completely then pour over the remaining ¾th cup of enchilada sauce. Spread evenly over the tortillas. Add the remaining chicken mixture and then top with the rest of the cheese (about 1cup).
- Cover the casserole dish with a lid or aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees F for about 25 minutes. Then remove the lid or foil and bake for and additional5 minutes until the cheese is melted and the casserole if bubbly. You may want to broil for about 1 minute at the end to brown the cheese. Just make sure to watch closely so that it doesn't burn!Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 10minutes before serving. Add toppings of your choice and enjoy!
Nutrition
This is so delicious, and def one of my favorite dishes. Yum!
Our family really loved this casserole!
Oh my! I need this in my life. Must print your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Oh I love Mexican flavours, and this cosy and heart warming chicken taco casserole sounds utterly delicious. Thanks for sharing.
This casserole is the best!! So comforting and easy to make.
A tasty recipe for leftover rotisserie chicken. The whole family loved it.
I love the Mexican flavours in this recipe! So delicious and I loved having this for leftovers the next day.