King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Delicious chicken casserole using southwest flavors prepared and ready to bake within 15 minutes
Suggested Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups Roasted Chicken shredded
- 16 Corn Tortillas / 4 extra in case some are broken, use the best looking pieces
King Ranch Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Butter / to saute the onion & peppers
- 1 large Onion / small and medium dice
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Poblano Pepper
- 3 tablespoon Rotel / onion & peppers mix
- 1 tablespoon Chipotle In Adobo Sauce / be sure to try our recipe, so good!!!
- 1 ½ tablespoon Flour
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 5 tablespoon Cream Corn
- 4 cups Chicken Stock / start with 4 cups and add more if desired
- Black Pepper / to taste
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt / taste and adjust before construction
Dry Ingredients - The Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
The Cheeses
- 16 oz Mexican Cheese Blend / 1 whole bag
- 6 slices Monterey Cheese
- 1 ½ cups Queso Fresco
Garnish
- sliced Jalapeno
- sliced Roma Tomatoes
- Queso Fresco Cheese
- Shredded Cheese
Instructions
Preparing The Chicken
- Roast a whole chicken or purchase a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Our link to "Roasting the Perfect Chicken".https://www.butter-n-thyme.com/perfect-roast-chicken/
- Shred the chicken away from the bone once the roast chicken is at a temperature you can handle. The whole chicken will be used. Cut the chicken into medium pieces, then mix all parts of the cooked chicken evenly. Tip: Keep chicken bones for chicken stock
Making The King Ranch Sauce
- Start by cutting the onion, poblano pepper, and red bell pepper into medium/small dice; use a mandolin if you have one. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to a medium-sized pot and melt; once melted add onion and sweat for a few minutes, then add the poblano and red bell pepper along with a pinch of salt. The salt helps the sweating process and releases the natural water.
- Next, add the chipotle pepper and Rotel (add to taste). Stir together, then add in the flour. Once mixed, add the cream of mushroom (you could use cream of chicken soup as well) add 5 tablespoons of cream corn. Then add 2 cups of Chicken stock to start, add up to 4 cups of chicken stock to get the consistency you enjoy. If the sauce seems too tight/thick, you can add more chicken stock.
- Add all of the seasonings next, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper. Taste and adjust your season, salt level, etc.
Building the Casserole
- Spray 9 by 13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Then dip the corn tortillas into chicken stock for 40 seconds. Layout 6 corn tortillas per layer, then spread out one of the layers of chicken, sauce, the Mexican cheese blend, and then some Queso Fresco. Repeat the same layering steps over to build the next layer.
- On the presentation layer(top), use 6 slices of Monterey Cheese slices, then add the Mexican cheese blend on top of it, followed by laying out sliced tomatoes. If you like jalapenos, add them to the top layer for presentation. Finish with Queso Fresco over the tops of the tomatoes.
Cooking / Baking
- Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. If you want to add additional browning, you can place the casserole under the broiler for a few short minutes.
Notes
- Make-ahead dinner plans. Prepare the full recipe, minus baking. Make sure everything is cooled down to around room temperature before baking. Then cover and seal with plastic wrap or an air-tight container. It will last in the refrigerator for 1 week.
- Ingredient Idea: Adding different cheeses like parmesan or pecorino to top the casserole.
- Using low-fat cream of mushroom soup will change the recipe to require a little more flour, around ½ tablespoon.