This is a very popular King Ranch Chicken Casserole.
There are lots of different versions of it floating around out there.
I liked this one because it came from Southern Living (they always have great recipes), and I picked up most of the ingredients last week at Publix!
I substituted flour tortillas for corn tortillas.
Use whatever you have on hand. I got in too big of a hurry and didn’t read all the directions as carefully as I should have. I added the Rotel without draining it!
King Ranch Chicken Casserole:
I have never drained Rotel in any other recipes, so I just assumed that you didn’t drain them for this recipe. It still turned out good, though!
So, what I might suggest is just draining one of the cans. I liked the texture of the flour tortillas after they absorbed some of the extra liquid.
This was on the spicy side. It wasn’t something that Ella ate.
If you use the mild Rotel, the leftovers can also be wrapped up in flour tortillas!
Maybe wrap it up and serve it with some Spanish Rice the next night. This is a big casserole, so feed a crowd or use it for a double-duty dinner!
**Remember, I forgot to drain my Rotel. Duh! Yours won’t be quite this runny. It also thickened up the longer it sat. The leftovers were fabulous!
King Ranch Chicken Casserole Ingredients:
3-4 cooked chicken breasts (or 1 rotisserie chicken)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 Cream of Mushroom soup
1 Cream of Chicken soup
2 cans of Rotel, drained (I FORGOT to drain them!)
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
12 (6-inch) fajita-size tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips
How To Make King Ranch Chicken Casserole:
If you’re using chicken breasts, trim them of excess fat, season with salt and pepper, pound slightly with a meat tenderizer, and saute over medium heat in a splash of olive oil. Cook for 6 minutes per side or until no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside. While the chicken is cooking, chop your veggies.
In a separate large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 6-7 minutes or until tender. Add bell pepper and garlic, and saute for 3-4 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, cream of chicken and mushroom soup, Rotel, and taco seasoning. Cook, occasionally stirring, for 8 minutes.
Shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Layer half of the chicken in a lightly greased 13 X 9-inch baking dish. Top with half of the soup mixture and 1 cup shredded cheese. Cover with half of the tortilla strips. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
(adapted from Southern Living)