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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Love a good casserole!! This was great! And to switch it up can make a burrito out of it! Thank you!
Can I use frozen brown rice? Will it cook the same?
Hey Sarah! I haven’t tried this with frozen brown rice. As long as the rice calls for 1:1 rice to liquid, it should work!
I made this for my weekly lunch meal prep and it was sooo good – even on the 5th day! Love that it was super easy to make too!!
SOOOO good! Glad you loved it!
This was so delicious and filling! Perfect quarantine recipe. I had everything on hand except for the corn, but I subbed 2 bell peppers and it was perfect. So much flavor!
YAY!! This is one of my favs <3
Looks so yummy! Would I be able to use ground chicken?
Made this tonight and LOVED it. Thank you so much! I’d like to make another and freeze it following your freezer directions. How would you go about defrosting/reheating when it’s time to eat?
Thank you!
I made this tonight and it was sooo delicious!!!!
I used the leftover rotisserie chicken meat instead of raw chicken and used vegetable broth but it turned out perfect, too. Not too heavy and very flavorful! Thank you for the recipe!!!
Genius! Love that idea!
Just made this tonight. Super easy and very YUMMY! Yay! Thank you so much!!!
Took FOREVER to cook.
50 minutes was not enough time to fully cook the chicken.
If I made this again I’d probably partially cook the chicken in chicken broth first.
Also I think chunky salsa would work best. I used a very fine consistency salsa.
Next time I think I’ll add a diced green pepper and a chopped fresh de-seeded tomato.
Would there be enough room in a 13×9 casserole dish to double this recipe? Taking it to a Halloween party for my TOPS Weight Loss group
Hi! If you doubled the recipe, the cook time would change. But also, I don’t think a 9×13 casserole dish is big enough for a doubled recipe! You might want to just make 2 casseroles!