King Ranch Chicken
Serves 10
15 mins prep
30 mins cook
45 mins total
King Ranch Chicken - Nothing says comfort food like an EASY casserole recipe with shredded chicken, cheese, salsa, sour cream, layered with tortillas, and seasoned to perfection! Use rotisserie chicken to save time making this a great family-friendly weeknight dinner recipe!
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Preheat oven to 375F and spray a 9x13-inch baking dish or 3-quart casserole dish or similar with cooking spray; set aside.
To a large skillet, add the butter, onions, poblano, red pepper, jalapeno, and saute over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Stir nearly constantly.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir constantly.
Transfer the chile and onion mixture to a large bowl and add the chicken, sour cream, salsa, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, 3/4 cup cilantro, and stir well to combine; set aside.
Optionally but recommended, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of the oil to a large nonstick skillet, add about 4 tortilla halves, and fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until crispy. Allow fried tortillas to rest on paper towels. Repeat until you've fried all of the tortillas. If you're not frying them, skip this step and simply layer them in the baking dish as directed in the next step.
Line the bottom of the baking dish with about 6 to 8 tortilla halves. They can be touching, but not overlapping too much. The goal is to line the base of the pan.
Top with 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Then evenly sprinkle 1/3 of the shredded cheese. Repeat this process two more times starting with layering the tortilla halves, chicken mixture, cheese. Again, tortillas, chicken, cheese. Tip - For an extra golden and extra cheesy top, I like to sprinkle a bit more cheese on the final layer.
Cover the pan tightly with foil. Tips - If you want to prep this dish as a make-ahead recipe, after covering with foil, stop here, and refrigerate for up to 24-36 hours before baking. Take the baking dish out of the fridge at least 30-45 minutes before you plan to bake it so it has time to come up to room temp if you're making it this way.
Bake covered for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake uncovered for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is as golden browned as desired.
Allow the casserole to rest for about 5 minutes before sprinkling the final reserved 1/4 cilantro as a garnish, slicing, and serving. Optionally, you can also add shredded lettuce on top, diced tomatoes, avocado, guacamole, more salsa, or whatever garnishes you enjoy. Leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months.