This Chicken Taco Casserole Recipe has layers of corn tortilla chips, ground chicken and cheese. And becomes very special drenched in a luscious tomato cream sauce. Easy, and a recipe your family will devour.
This Chicken Taco Casserole recipe just might be your new family favorite.
Reminiscent of the golden era, when casseroles were king and canned soups reigned, this particular recipe calls for its own cream sauce, without a can of condensed soup in sight. But not to fear, it’s still a very easy recipe.
The sauce is simply a mix of tomato juice and heavy cream. Who needs canned soups with that combo?
With taco seasoned ground chicken you’ve got a delicious old-fashioned, load up your plate treat.
Once baked, the end result is a texture you expect from a cheesy casserole with a crunch on top from the few chips that don’t get covered in the sauce.
Let’s take a look.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Tomato Juice
- Sturdy Yellow Corn Chips: Important: Use sturdy yellow corn purchased tortilla chips. Look for a package of chips that indicates thick and sturdy. Don’t use the thinner and more delicate white corn chips. They will not hold up for the layering process and will become mushy or soggy.
- Ground Chicken
- Cheddar Cheese
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Onion
- Chile Peppers, roasted, seeded, peeled and chopped. I prefer Colorado grown Pueblo Chile Peppers. They’re thicker skinned and a bit spicier than Hatch Chiles.
- Taco Seasoning
About Ground Chicken: Using ground chicken can be a nice break from ground beef. It’s lighter in taste, fat and calories and holds up in the heartiest of recipes. Unless labeled as ground chicken breast, ground chicken is made with both dark and white meat. I prefer the blend as adding a little fat equals a moist texture and more flavor.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Ground Chicken: Use lean ground turkey.
- Cheese: Use any good melting cheese for this recipe. Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or even Muenster cheese is a good choice here.
- Chile Peppers: If you don’t feel like roasting peppers, or don’t have roasted peppers in the freezer from this past Fall harvest, substitute canned chile peppers from the Mexican food aisle at the super market. Use medium heat peppers for maximum flavor.
- I highly advise you to use Homemade Taco Seasoning, the flavor will elevate this chicken taco casserole from good to fabulous. You’ll be glad you did.
Step by Step Instructions, It’s Easy!
- Step 1: Heat a large fry pan over medium high heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the ground chicken and chopped onion. Cook, stirring often until chicken is almost cooked and the onion has softened. Add the chopped chile peppers and taco seasoning.
- Step 2: Cook and stir for 1 minute or until well combined.
- Step 3: Add tomato juice and cook for 5 minutes. Add cream and simmer for a couple of minutes until well blended, stirring.
- Step 4: In a large deep casserole baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray, place 1/2 of the bag of tortilla chips in the bottom.
- Step 5: Sprinkle on half of the cheese.
- Step 6: Spread half of the chicken mixture cream sauce over the tortilla chips and cheese.
- Step 7: Add another healthy layer of tortilla chips. And most of the remaining cheese.
- Step 8: Pour on the rest of the chicken cream sauce and top with the remaining cheese.
- Step 9: Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Top with you favorite taco fixings like chopped lettuce and diced tomatoes for that taco experience. Slices of fresh jalapeno peppers and a dollop of sour cream are also welcome here.
The end result is a “tortilla crust” base with layers of cheese creamy tomato sauce for an easy Mexican Chicken Casserole.
If Using Fresh Roasted Chile Peppers
Each Fall, I purchase roasted chile peppers from street vendor chile roasting operations. Either Hatch chiles or Colorado grown Pueblo chile peppers. I divide them into freezer safe plastic bags and freeze them to keep us warm all winter long. You can roast your own chile peppers by placing them about 5″ below your oven broiler, and turning often until blistered. Then prep them per these directions.
Tip: On Cleaning Roasted Chile Peppers: Friends don’t let friends use water to remove the blistered skins off roasted chile peppers. Just scrape the skins off with your hands. If you rinse them with water, you’re washing away some of that smoky flavor that we all love.
FAQ’s
This recipe makes enough to feed an army, so for us empty nesters, it’s a perk to be able to freeze meals. Yes, this casserole freezes well. Place any leftovers in a freezer safe container. It will keep for 3 months. To reheat, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat in the microwave in 30 second increments at 50% power. Using 50% power is a gentler way to reheat, and will also heat more evenly.
Store leftovers in an airtight container, or simply cover the casserole with plastic wrap. It will keep 3 – 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat using the microwave.
Yes, corn tortilla chips are gluten free and the remaining ingredients are naturally gluten free. Including my homemade Taco Seasoning. Check packaging if using a commercial taco seasoning from the store.
Yes, and I do most of the time. Simply place 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, or a combination of chicken breast and boneless skinless chicken thighs in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely ground.
Variations
- Make this a beef taco casserole by substituting lean ground beef for the ground chicken. 93% lean 7% fat is a good ground beef ratio for this recipe.
- Spicy: Spice things up by adding some thin sliced fresh jalapeno peppers to the toppings.
- Serve this chicken taco casserole with salsa or pico de gallo.
Tips
- Grate your own cheese. Those packets of pre-shredded cheese are most certainly convenient, however they can contain chemicals that keep it from clumping. Those same chemicals will also create a cheese that doesn’t melt as creamy as fresh grated.
- Don’t worry about some of the tips of those corn chips sticking out of the sauce. As the casserole bakes, those chips serve as a built in crunchy topping.
- Use a deep sided casserole dish. A 9 x 13 Pyrex won’t work as well.
- Commercial Taco Seasoning Packets: Are seasoned to please the masses. For me they simply don’t carry enough spicy heat. If using one of these, add a pinch of chile powder such as New Mexico Red or Cayenne.
More Recipes You Might Like
If you’re looking for more Mexican food recipes, don’t miss my Mexican Food Category. You’ll find lots of recipes to bring a Fiesta to your table, including the most popular on my site for Stacked Enchiladas.
This ground chicken taco casserole is inspired from a Junior League Cookbook, Fiesta, which describes its contents as “favorite recipes from South Texas“. It’s an old book that I found at a garage sale and it’s full of comfort food treasures…recipes that found their way to family dinners, church potlucks and neighborhood gatherings…age old crowd pleasers.
Chicken Taco Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable oil
- 1 large Sweet onion chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 8 Chile peppers roasted, skins removed, chopped. Medium heat peppers works well for this. Or two 4 ounce cans from the Mexican aisle.
- 2 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
- 1 1/2 cup Tomato juice
- 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
- 16 ounce Yellow Corn Tortillas 1-16 ounce bag of sturdy chips
- 4 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat a large fry pan over medium high heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the ground chicken and chopped onion. Season with salt and cook, stirring often until chicken is almost cooked and the onion has softened. About 6 – 7 minutes.
- Add the chopped chile peppers and taco seasoning. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until well combined.
- Add tomato juice and cook for 5 minutes. Add cream and simmer for a couple of minutes until well blended, stirring.
- In a large casserole sprayed with non-stick spray, place 1/2 of the bag of tortilla chips in the bottom. Spread half of the chicken cream sauce over the tortilla chips. Sprinkle on half of the cheese.
- Add another healthy layer of tortilla chips. You won't need the whole bag but most of it. Pour on the rest of the chicken cream sauce and top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Top with chopped lettuce and chopped tomatoes for that taco experience. Slices fresh jalapeno peppers and a dollop of sour cream are also welcome here.
Notes
- Use a 3 or 4 quart deep sided casserole dish. A 9 x 13 flat Pyrex won’t work as well. It’s too flat to hold the chips.
- Grate your own cheese. Those packets of pre-shredded cheese are most certainly convenient, however they can contain chemicals that keep it from clumping. Those same chemicals will also cause a cheese that doesn’t melt as creamy as fresh grated.
- Don’t worry about some of the tips of those corn chips sticking out of the sauce. As the casserole bakes, those chips serve as a built in crunchy topping.
- Commercial Taco Seasoning Packets: Are seasoned to please the masses. For me they simply don’t carry enough spicy heat. If using one of these, add a pinch of chile powder such as New Mexico Red or Cayenne.
Nutrition
Chicken Taco Casserole … It’s Whats For Dinner
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
This reminds me of tamale pie. Thanks for the tip about using sturdy yellow corn tortilla chips because I would have used the thinner ones.
I couldn’t make this! I’d eat the whole thing! Yum! I love munster cheese!
I had to finally freeze the rest – I was eating too much. 🙂
I’m not sure how I missed this but it looks delicious. Muenster for Mexican sounds interesting.
THIS will SO be made – I love this!! Thanks for sharing!!
This sounds sooo good!! Southwestern comfort food at its finest!! Pinned! 🙂
Such a great recipe that I’ll be trying later ♥
What a crowd pleaser! Can’t wait to try it Lea Ann!
What a nice dish Lea Ann. Never thought of using tomato juice, but what a great idea! And muenster cheese? That”s all my dad used to eat!
I’m sooooooo Yummming this!!! Great recipe!
I’ve made my own fried corn chips before. Not worth the effort — I always buy these days. Anyway, great looking dish. I definitely remember when casseroles ruled the kitchen. This one is truly worthy of ruling — thanks.
I actually had something like this when I was in Mexico years ago and loved it. Sounds tasty!
WoW! you had me at tomato cream sauce this casserole sounds delicious Lea Ann, pinned!