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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Yummm! Absolutely keep up the one pot meals!
<3 My fav too ;)
OMG! I made this tonight and can you say YUMMY???? It’s delicious, healthy, easy and moist! Even my 7-year-old liked it. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Your dish came under health casseroles. Do you know the nutritional values?
do i cook the rice first?
Nope! You put the rice in uncooked. Sorry if that was unclear!
You just posted this alas one of your top 2014 recipe posts and I can see why! Looks delicious!! Do you think substituting quinoa for the rice would work? Or does it just need to be quick cooking rice to make sure it’s all cooked! Thanks 🙂
No it would totally work! I’ve made tons of quinoa casseroles like and throw the quinoa in uncooked every time! What I would do though, is add liquid. Definitely at least a cup…maybe more. I suggest chicken broth!
Do you have to use instant rice?
I used instant rice to make sure that it would be cooked after it came out of the oven, but I bet normal (uncooked) white rice would work. Not sure uncooked brown rice would because it takes so long to cook on the stove!
I am so excited to try this recipe, but would like to use brown rice which it sounds like I need to cook before putting in the dish. Do I just cook the rice separately in the broth and then put it in the baking dish with everything else, without needing to add additional broth to the casserole before putting in the oven? Thanks for your help 🙂
Hi Birttney! If I was going to use brown rice- that is exactly what I would do. I would cook it in the broth and then maybe use a splash more of broth with everything else in the baking dish, but not much! Let me know how it turns out!
Definitely wish I would have seen this before I cooked this recipe. Mine came out more like a soup.
Would it be possible to add to the above recipe this step if you choose to use brown rice? Much appreciated!
Hi Heidi! Can you clarify your question? If you got quick cooking brown rice, you could use it in this recipe as is. I am not sure if you use normal brown rice that it will bake all the way through. I know that quinoa takes about 60 minutes to cook all the way through when baked in the oven, so you could even use that in place of the white rice! Hope this help!
OMG I made this for weeknight dinners this week and its amazing! I brought some in to work (because it makes a huge amount) and my coworker kissed me on the head.
Thanks!!!
Patty
Isn’t this the easiest, tastiest recipe ever?!?! Glad your co-workers loved the recipe!
I’m trying this tonight! Should the rice be cooked prior to mixing with other ingredients or just add the water ?
Just add water!
I have had this recipe pinned since January and finally made it last night! It is so yummy and I completely agree that it tastes even better the next day. Thanks for the great recipe!
Woohoo! Thanks for the great review. I was just thinking about this recipe and that I need more one-pot dinners just like this one- protein + veg + grain. On my list!