Description
A hearty and flavorful King Ranch Chicken Casserole featuring layers of tender chicken, sautéed vegetables, creamy sauce, and crunchy tortilla chips, baked to bubbly perfection with melted cheddar cheese on top.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken and Seasoning
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil
Vegetables and Sauce
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 green bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 10oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel), drained
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Cheese and Toppings
- 8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded (divided into 1/2 cup and 1.5 cups portions)
- 5 cups tortilla chip strips (thick rectangular chips)
- 2 green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Prepare Chicken: Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board, cover with plastic wrap, and pound to an even thickness of about 3/4 to 1 inch. Season both sides evenly with chili powder.
- Cook Chicken: Heat cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the seasoned chicken breasts and cook for about 5 minutes on each side until browned and cooked through. Remove chicken and let cool on a cutting board.
- Prep Vegetables and Cheese: While chicken cooks, finely dice the onion and bell pepper. Shred the cheddar cheese. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Sauté Vegetables: In the same skillet, add butter, diced onion, and bell pepper. Sauté over medium heat until onions are soft and translucent.
- Add Flour: Sprinkle flour over vegetables and sauté for about 1 minute until flour is golden and coats the bottom of the skillet.
- Create Gravy: Pour in chicken broth, stirring to dissolve flour and scrape browned bits off the skillet bottom. Simmer until thickened, then remove from heat.
- Combine Chicken and Sauce: Dice the cooled chicken and stir it into the gravy along with drained diced tomatoes and green chiles.
- Add Dairy: Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese until fully combined into the sauce mixture.
- Assemble Casserole: Layer a few handfuls of tortilla chip strips in the bottom of a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Spread half of the chicken mixture over chips. Add another layer of tortilla chip strips (about half the initial amount), then top with remaining chicken mixture. Finally, sprinkle the remaining 1.5 cups cheddar cheese over the top.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven at 375ºF for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly.
- Garnish and Serve: Remove from oven and sprinkle sliced green onions on top. Serve hot and enjoy.
Notes
- Use thick rectangular tortilla chips as their texture holds up well in the casserole.
- Drain diced tomatoes with chiles well to avoid excess liquid in the casserole.
- Adjust chili powder to your preferred spice level.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated in the oven.
- For a lower fat version, use reduced-fat sour cream and cheese.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 750 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
