| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Active: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 8 to 12 servings |
Ingredients
- Butter, for the baking dish
- One 10.5-ounce can cream of chicken soup
- One 10.5-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
- One 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with chiles, such as Rotel
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 16 corn tortillas, torn into pieces
- 1 roasted whole chicken (rotisserie chicken works great!), cooled and torn into chunks
- 1 large white or yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 1 jalapeno, finely diced
- 1 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar
- 1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
- Make the soup/tomato mixture, which is very bizarre and might scare you off. But please: Be brave and stick with me through this challenging time. You won’t be sorry! In a large bowl, combine the soups and diced tomatoes and chiles. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Then–this is the time to be strong–stir it all together. Trust me!
- Line the bottom of the baking dish with half of the torn tortillas. Layer on half the chicken. Add half the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno. Sprinkle on half the cheese and pour on half the wacky soup mixture. Then repeat the layers, beginning with the rest of the tortillas, and ending with the rest of the you-know-what.
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake until bubbling, another 15 minutes.
- Look at that! Serve it with a salad and a dang hearty appetite.
- To make ahead and freeze: Fold foil over the unbaked casserole and freeze until solid. Then, lift the foil-topped casserole out of the pan, wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and freeze until needed. When ready to bake, remove the plastic wrap, put the foiled-topped casserole back into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and thaw. Bake at 350 degrees F following the baking instructions above.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 547 |
| Total Fat | 34 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 27 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 33 g |
| Cholesterol | 125 mg |
| Sodium | 770 mg |
Reviews
Was good but will be better if the veggie mix is pre-cooked down next time! Also needs more spice and jalapeños.
This actually works! Great flavor. I prefer to slightly cook the veggies before mixing with other ingredients. Loved the corn tortillas, don’t use flour. I added a little freshness by putting lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream on top when serving. YUM!
My family loved it. only added 1 1/4 cup of broth and sautéed veggies for about 5 minutes.
Really good! I made some changes based on the reviews, personal preferences (no peppers of any kind allowed in this house!) and what I had on hand. I just eyeballed measurements; Sautéed onions and celery (my veggies), 1 can of cream of chicken soup, about 3/4 C homemade marinara sauce with pork, cut up cooked chicken (leftover from a previous meal) and about 1/4 cup salted potato water (saved from making mashed potatoes one night). Followed everything else from the recipe – it was excellent. This is a very good, versatile recipe to keep on hand!
I’ve made King Ranch Chicken many times but I wanted to try Rea’s because I’ve enjoyed every recipe of hers that I’ve tried and I was intrigued by her addition of spices. Because of this spur of the moment decision I was missing a jalapeño pepper, Jack cheese and I only had one green pepper. The next time I’ll try to be more prepared. Unlike some commenters my raw vegetables were cooked perfectly, maybe because I finely diced them like the recipe said, maybe because I continued baking until the juice was cooked down, an additional 15 mins or a combination of both. The flavor was wonderful. We didn’t miss the jalapeño or the Jack cheese because the Rotel made it spicy enough for us and I substituted Sharp Cheddar for the Monetary Jack. I think the oven temp could be increased to 360º-365º to cook the fluid down faster. The temperature of the food in the casserole when it goes into the oven will affect baking time. If a recipe says to bake an hour I still watch and judge give or take 15 min. especially if it’s the first time I’ve made it. I always serve my King Ranch Chicken with sour cream and crunchy corn chips, sometimes finely shredded iceberg lettuce. I usually use low fat versions of ingredients and I did this time.
Made this for me and the hubby Monday night and it was a huge hit!! All the flavors together are wonderful and this dish to me is even better the next day!! Definitely a keeper.
After reading the comments, which I’m so glad I did, I made changes according to them.
I diced up my veggies and sautéed until tender, I boiled and shredded 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs and then mixed all of it together with the soups, Rotel and spices. I added 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes instead of the jalapeño’s and completely omitted the chicken broth, did not need it at all. I layered it by quartering my corn tortillas and covering the bottom of the dish (you may want to put some chicken mixture or a small amount of broth on the bottom to keep tortillas from getting hard, which some of mine did) then I added half the chicken mixture and half cheese and repeated. Covered with foil and cooked on 375° for 30 minutes and took the foil off and cooked for 10.
Absolutely perfect!!
After reading the comments, which I’m so glad I did, I made changes according to them.
I diced up my veggies and sautéed until tender, I boiled and shredded 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs and then mixed all of it together with the soups, Rotel and spices. I added 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes instead of the jalapeño’s and completely omitted the chicken broth, did not need it at all. I layered it by quartering my corn tortillas and covering the bottom of the dish (you may want to put some chicken mixture or a small amount of broth on the bottom to keep tortillas from getting hard, which some of mine did) then I added half the chicken mixture and half cheese and repeated. Covered with foil and cooked on 375° for 30 minutes and took the foil off and cooked for 10.
Absolutely perfect!!
We made this tonight and we loved it. It was a blast of favors.
Very simple and easy to make.
Very simple and easy to make.
Definitely sautee all the veggies first, then add the Rotel and soups, seasonings and cheese. Add broth as needed. Then layer all in greased baking dish. Should be perfect.
Made this last night and it was a hit! I too sautéed the veggies and I only used 1 cup of broth. I didn’t didn’t use onion because someone who doesn’t care for them was joining us for dinner but I will use next time. I eliminated the jalapeño because my son and I are punks with heat but I added black beans and corn… delicious! I didn’t tear the tortillas small enough for my liking and will do it smaller next time. Other than that it was perfect and my family loved it!
No. Just no. It’s like a crunchy ripper and onion soup.
The veggies should be sautéed first, cut the chicken broth out or drain the total. No need to tear up tortillas, just layer them. I think the cooking temp should be 400. This is just so wrong and really gross as written.
The veggies should be sautéed first, cut the chicken broth out or drain the total. No need to tear up tortillas, just layer them. I think the cooking temp should be 400. This is just so wrong and really gross as written.