A King Ranch Chicken Casserole is just the kind of hot, bubbly comfort we’ve all come to expect from Southern cooking. It hails from Texas – named after the biggest ranch in the state even though there’s no actual link between the recipe and the ranch itself. It’s unabashed comfort food – cheesy, creamy, and usually reliant on a can of cream of mushroom soup. Our version skips the can but still brings you all the creaminess and flavor you could want, just in a more ‘from scratch’ manner.
Some versions use corn tortillas to add structure, but we opt for tortilla chips that have been lightly crushed. They hold up a little bit better to baking.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 cup chicken broth
- Juice from one lime
- 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 4 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
- 10 oz tortilla chips, roughly crushed
- 2 cups pepper jack cheese, grated
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and add onions, bell pepper, and jalapeño pepper. Cook until soft and fragrant, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Stir in flour, chili powder, cumin and cook 1 more minute. Reduce heat to low, gradually stir in chicken broth and lime juice and cook until mixture has thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in drained tomatoes and chiles and sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add chicken and cilantro to bowl and toss to combine. Adjust seasoning as needed.
- In a separate bowl, toss the two cheeses together.
- Line prepared baking dish with 1/3 of the crushed tortilla chips, followed by 1/2 of the chicken mixture and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layers once more, followed by one more layer of chips and one more layer of cheese.
- Grease a sheet of aluminum foil liberally with nonstick spray and cover baking dish loosely. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and bake until golden brown and bubbly, 10-15 minutes more. Let sit 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!