Southwestern Chicken Casserole
Published 1/30/2024
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This Southwestern Chicken Casserole calls for simple, flavorful ingredients and is made completely in a casserole dish. A perfect weeknight dinner idea!
You guys are going to love this southwestern chicken casserole recipe. It reminds me of a GIANT Chipotle burrito bowl. I am a huge Chipotle fan and order the same thing every time I go. Can you guess what it is? A chicken burrito bowl.
And when it comes to casseroles, we love making them a well-rounded meal. That usually means pairing a grain, with veggies, and a source of protein. Chicken is such a great protein to cook inside of a casserole because it’s juicy, lean and can be flavored so many ways.
why you’ll love it!
- You only need to dirty one dish.
- It’s a great weeknight meal that packs a ton of flavor.
- This casserole leaves great leftovers, making it a great meal prep recipe for the week.
What You Need for this Southwestern Chicken Casserole
The base of this flavorful chicken casserole recipe is quick-cooking brown rice, black beans, and chicken breast. And when it comes to adding that flavor punch, we went big! Here’s what really gives this casserole its robust flavor:
- 1 jar of salsa
- paprika
- chili powder
- ground cumin
- garlic powder
- fresh cilantro
- shredded cheese
Ingredient Substitutions
Beans: Black beans pair well with this dish, but feel free to substitute 1:1 for another canned bean like great northern beans or pinto beans.
Chicken: We’re using diced chicken breast, but boneless chicken thighs cut into 1 in. chunks will also work.
Rice: We’ve tested this recipe with minute brown rice and minute white rice. Either will work!
Top Tips
Don’t substitute the minute rice: Only use brown or white minute rice for this casserole! The rice won’t have enough time to completely cook if substituting for any other variety of rice.
Spice to your liking: This casserole calls for an entire jar of salsa, so feel free to use your favorite variety, whether that’s a mild or super hot salsa.
Get creative with the toppings: We love topping this casserole with green onions, tortilla chips, and a dollop of Greek yogurt and homemade guacamole.
Our Favorite
Casserole Dish
We love this le creuset casserole dish because it is oven safe AND has a cover. It is the perfect casserole dish for this baked one pot pasta dish!
Storage
Store this casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer Instructions: we recommend making your casserole in a disposable casserole tin. Once cooked, let the casserole cool completely and then cover with tin foil and remove as much air as possible. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this southwestern chicken casserole with our homemade guacamole, salsa and our ultimate margarita.
Southwestern Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups minute brown rice, uncooked (white or brown minute rice will work)
- 1.5 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 10 oz. frozen corn, thawed
- 15 oz. canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks (raw)
- 16 oz. jar salsa, any spice level works!
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup Colby Jack cheese
- optional toppings: shredded Colby Jack cheese, Greek yogurt, salsa, and green onions.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add all of the ingredients (minus the shredded cheese) into the casserole dish and mix together with a wooden spoon making sure that everything is well mixed and submerged in liquid.
- Then, cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375ºF for about 50 minutes.
- Uncover and top with shredded cheese. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 10 minutes.
- Once fully cooked, let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Top with Greek yogurt, more shredded cheese, salsa, and green onions.
Tips & Notes
- Nutrition information is for a serving of 8 people and includes the 1/2 cup of Colby Jack cheese
- This recipe was updated slightly on 1/29/2024 to reduce the amount of chicken broth as some had reported issues with the casserole consistency being too soupy. The original recipe is HERE.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This looks awesome!!! I have everything on hand except fresh cilantro so I think I will hit up the store in the morning and have some this week!!
🙂 Yay! Let me know how it goes!
This looks SO MUCH better than Chipotle 🙂 I love mexican food. Thanks for sharing!
ME TOO. I could eat it every day. Like every.
Does anyone know if this would freeze well?
Wow! There are no words for how delicious this looks! Already pinned and will definitely be made this week or next!
Thank you for pinning! You da best.
I LOVEE chipotle, I could literally have it already but then I’d be huge. I’m a huge fan of their barbacoa. This meal looks awesome, definitely chipotle status.
o0o I’ve never had that before! I always get chicken….the same thing every time. Time to switch it up! Have a great day Elise 🙂
I love this series! And seriously, I crave chipotle burrito bowls all too often, so I am so pumped to try this 🙂
I looooove Chipotle so I can’t wait to try this!! No, not traveling soon but one pot meals would be fantastic!!! I am a single mom who works a full time job so anything that requires less time at the sink doing dishes and more time attempting to work out would be great. 🙂
Okay good! I love this series too, I don’t think I’ll ever stop it 🙂
I’m going to Mexico with my parents and brother in March. So I’ve got to get some good meal plans going now so I look my best down there!
OMG FUN!!!!!! Are you guys staying in a house where you will have access to a kitchen? FILL ME IN!
Chicken is uncooked when you put it in the bottom of the casserole dish, correct?
Correct! Sorry that wasn’t clear in the recipe…I’ll fix that right now!
Is the rice added to mixture raw for the Southwestern Chicken Casserole recipe?
Yes, everything is added in uncooked!
So glad you made this comment, we were wondering the same thing.. It still seems unclear in the directions..
I updated the recipe to make it more clear! So sorry about that!
That looks better, we made it for dinner tonight, it was very good! Thanks
The recipe still doesn’t make it clear about cooked/uncooked rice. I cooked mine. I hope it turns out right. I’m sorry I didn’t see the question/answer section at the bottom of your post. I think things will be fine.
Please continue one pot meals!
Will do! Absolutely 🙂
that looks so delicious and easy!!
🙂 Thanks Liv!