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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What’s the ideal casserole dish size for this?
9 x 12-inches!
Wow! I made this today. Very good! Thank you!
Hi.do our think quinoa would work instead of rice here
Hello! I have not tried this sub, but I do think it will work as a 1:1 substitution!
I used quinoa and found after an hour baking it wasn’t quite done, gave it an extra 20 minutes and it was fabulous!!
This looks great! Do you have suggestions for how to freeze this meal? To heat later?
I needed something quick and easy, but so many casseroles are filled with cheese, creams and butter. Not that I don’t love all of those things, but I didn’t wasn’t in the mood for that! Made this casserole and followed steps exactly (since the reviews were glowing!) I did a bit of Monterrey Jack cheese on top but I doubt it was even a half cup. My 17 football player son had three servings! IT was a hit! We will definitely make this one again!
YAY! We love this casserole so much, too!
This is great! I added an extra sprinkle of cheese on top for kids. My picky 5 yr old said , I didn’t think I would like this, but I LOVE it! 3 yr old ate it all too! I added extra red pepper diced in there and used sprouted rice. Yummy.
So here is how it turned out with cooked rice and cooked turkey-great!!!! I ‘ve been eyeing this for a while and tonight was the night.I didn’t have an hour so I used slightly undercooked brown basmati rice and leftover turkey and added a small can of green chilies. Baked covered for 15 mins-added cheese and baked uncovered for 10 mins all on 400 oven. Will definitely make this again. Thanks for posting this!!!!
Mine turned out very watery- doesn’t look like the pictures at all. Hoping as it sits the rice will soak up some of the liquid ?
Hey Lee! I am wondering how many carbs are in this dish. I always use your dishes to meal prep for the week and I am really watching my carbs right now. I just baked this so I am excited to try it out this week!
This was easy and YUMMY! My husband loved it, will be in our regular rotation! Thank you!