Have you ever tried making King Ranch chicken casserole? Most recipes for this iconic Tex-Mex dish use condensed soup, which can mute the flavors. Fortunately, this King Ranch Chicken Casserole recipe is here to save the day. It nixes cans in favor of fresh ingredients that are so tasty you’ll never go back to condensed soups again. And even though it skips the cans, it still only takes 15 minutes to prep. Let’s dive in so you can whip this up the next time you have friends over for dinner. They’ll be blown away as soon as they take their first bite.
Ingredients for King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Before you can start cooking, you’ll need to gather:
- 5 cups of chicken, chopped and cooked
- 2 cups of sour cream
- Four cloves of peeled and minced garlic
- One peeled and chopped onion, large
- 20 white corn tortillas
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 5 ounces of chopped green chilis
- 2 teaspoons of cumin (ground)
- 4 cups of shredded cheese (Mexican-style)
- 16 ounces of jarred tomatillo salsa verde, either mild or hot
- 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
You can use leftover chicken for this dish. If you don’t have leftovers, go with a rotisserie chicken.
Preparing the Ingredients
First, you need to preheat your oven, so it’ll be ready to bake the casserole. Turn it to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, put a skillet on the stove, and turn the burner to medium heat. Then toss in the garlic, onions, and butter, and sauté the ingredients until they soften. This generally takes three to five minutes.
Next, transfer the ingredients in the skillet to a large bowl and add the:
- Sour cream
- Chopped chicken
- Salsa verde
- Cilantro
- Chopped green chilis
- Cumin
Stir the ingredients until everything is mixed together.
Then prepare the tortillas by tearing them into rough pieces.
Getting the Casserole Ready for Baking
Next, take out a three-quart baking dish and add one-fourth of the chicken filling to it. Then put a cup of shredded cheese on top of the chicken filling, followed by one layer of tortilla chips. Do this process again until you have three layers of chicken, cheese, and tortillas. Then add the last of the chicken and top it with a cup of cheese.
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Baking the Casserole
You’re almost there, but you need to bake the casserole. Put it in the oven for 20-25 minutes and take it out when it’s bubbly and golden brown. Then let it cool for five minutes before serving.
It’ll be hard to wait a full five minutes to eat this casserole, but your patience will pay off. Your dinner guests will love how delicious it is, and you’ll earn a five-star review.
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