5 Recipes

King Ranch Casserole

Layered chicken casseroles for busy nights — King Ranch Chicken Casserole, Nana's King Ranch Chicken, Dorito Chicken Casserole, and Chicken Enchilada Casserole.

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Chicken Enchilada Casserole

A delicious and comforting casserole made with layers of corn tortillas, shredded chicken, black beans, corn, and a blend of cheeses, all smothered in enchilada sauce.

45 min448 cal30 g proteinServes 8105 saves

Debbie Harkness

Ingredients

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 can (15.5 oz) black beans
1 can (15.25 oz) corn
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 can (4.5 oz) diced green chilis
2 cans (10 oz each) enchilada sauce
18 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar
2 cups shredded Monterey jack
for garnish Sour cream
for garnish Freshly chopped cilantro
for garnish Diced avocado

Instructions

1Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2Stir in black beans, corn, chicken, green chilis, and 1 can of enchilada sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.
3Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Add a layer of 6 tortillas, followed by half of the chicken mixture, and a third of the shredded cheeses. Repeat layers.
4Bake for 25 minutes, until bubbly and cheese is melted. Let cool slightly before serving. Garnish with sour cream, cilantro, and avocado.
5Serve hot and enjoy!

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Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Casserole

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The Casserole That Feeds Everybody

King Ranch is the kind of casserole you make with what's already in the pantry — cooked chicken, a can of soup, a can of Rotel, a bag of tortillas or chips, and a lot of cheese. It goes together in one dish and comes out of the oven bubbling, and nobody at the table asks questions.

Cooks on Pepper reach for this collection on the nights a whole chicken is picked clean, or when there's a rotisserie bird in the fridge and an hour before everybody's home. It's also what they carry to a neighbor.

Every recipe here is a layered chicken bake: the classic King Ranch Chicken Casserole with both cream of chicken and cream of mushroom, Nana's King Ranch Chicken with margarine and chopped bell pepper, Dorito Chicken Casserole with drained Rotel, plus Chicken Enchilada Casserole and a green chili version with sour cream and cheddar.

Quick Tips

1
Drain the Rotel well
Press the tomatoes and chiles in a strainer for a minute before they go in. Extra liquid is the main reason a casserole turns soupy.
2
Soften the tortillas first
Warm corn tortillas 20 seconds in a dry skillet or a few seconds in oil so they hold up in the layers instead of turning to paste.
3
Cook the onion and pepper
Give the chopped onion and bell pepper 5 to 6 minutes in butter or oil before layering. Raw ones stay crunchy and watery in the bake.
4
Let it rest 10 minutes
Pull it from the oven and set it on the counter for 10 minutes before cutting so the squares hold together on the plate.