Chicken Taco Casserole with Corn Tortilla Chips

A slice of chicken taco casserole on a Mexican plate.

Chicken Taco Casserole with Corn Tortilla Chips

Layers of corn tortilla chips, chicken and cheese, all drenched in a luscious tomato cream sauce spiked with chile peppers. You've got yourself a very special Chicken Taco Casserole.

Course Main Course Chicken

Cuisine Southwestern Mexican

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 30

Servings

Calories 418kcal

Author Lea Ann Brown

Ingredients

1 pound ground chicken
2 Tablespoons Vegetable oil
1 large Sweet onion chopped
¼ 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 ½ cup Tomato juice
1 ½ 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 ½ 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.

Recommended: Use my recipe for Homemade Taco Seasoning. It only takes a few minutes to make and the flavor is far superior to packages purchased at the store;

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