Southwestern Chicken Casserole
Published 1/30/2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #fitfoodiefinds, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
Can sour cream be used as a topping instead of Greek yogurt or does it have to be Greek yogurt?
I used sour cream for sure. I’m assuming greek yogurt is used because it’s healthier, not because that’s necessarily the best-tasting thing.
Sour cream is perfect!!
Ok Thank you so much . This was delicious!
I needed a good healthy dish…something new, fresh the family would love. I almost didn’t want to share!
This turned out well. Hub’s loved it and went for seconds. We added avocado and pickled jalapeños to the toppings. Good leftovers to take to work.
This recipe is great!
I like to meal prep lots and once and freeze meals to cook in the future.
Do you think it is possible to make this ahead of time and freeze it before baking?
Or should I freeze it after baking?
Thank you
Okay, so I didn’t realize that I didn’t have Minute Rice until right before I was going to make this recipe. Instead, I parboiled the regular rice in the 2 cups of chicken broth and then added everything to the pan from there. It turned out a tad drier than I had hoped, so next time I will try parboiling the rice in three cups of chicken broth.
Otherwise, this recipe was a hit! I made it for my BIL and SIL since they just had their new baby. Their 2 year old even liked it! I will definitely be making this again.
So glad you parboiled or it would have been a complete disaster!
I thought you could use regular uncooked rice?
Hi! Just wanted to share that I used quinoa in place of the minute rice and it turned out great.
I did adjust to ~1 cup of uncooked quinoa (instead of 1.5 minute rice as recipe calls for)
Consistency was great, the whole fam loved it. Thanks for the recipe FFF team ♥️
Delish!! Made this tonight and was a huge hit. I don’t know why some people said it was watery, if you follow the recipe, it’s perfection. Thank you for the recipe.
This came out perfect! I ended up just using taco seasoning in the packets instead of all the spices it called for. Minute white rice worked fantastic. Not watery at all! Was a hit with my MIL and husband and loved how easy it was.
Taco seasoning FTW!
Taste was delicious, but casserole came out fairly watery. Any tips for next time? Longer in the oven?
What kind of rice did you use?
Hey Katie! The recipe calls for minute rice, not normal white rice. Minute rice has a ratio of 1:1 for rice to liquid and normal rice is 2:1. That is why your rice wasn’t cooked!