This post may contain affiliate links. Read disclosure policy
Classic comfort food! This King Ranch Casserole is made with shredded chicken, corn tortillas, and plenty of cheese and veggies! You’ll love the Tex-Mex flavors in this easy casserole!
I’m a total Midwesterner, you guys. It comes out most in my food choices.
Ranch dressing: goes on everything!
Corn: for every meal!
Casseroles: every night of the week!
This King Ranch Casserole just so happens to be a Texas concoction, but that doesn’t stop my little Midwestern heart from loving it fully. I’m an equal opportunity casserole consumer. (As evidenced here by all of our casserole recipes!)
What Is King Ranch Casserole?
This King Ranch Casserole is named after King Ranch, a ranch in Texas that is one of the largest in the United States. Story goes that this is a popular dish on the ranch.
This is a savory, cheesy, and creamy casserole loaded with shredded chicken, our homemade taco seasoning, and lots of cheddar cheese. The bell peppers and Ro*Tel tomatoes add even more flavor!
You’d think a recipe called “King Ranch” would have some ranch dressing or seasoning in it, but that’s not really the case here. That doesn’t mean you can’t serve it with some ranch for topping though! Although I’m pretty sure a drizzle of our chipotle sauce would be even better.
Ingredient Notes:
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate and member of other qualifying programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Cream of Chicken – Use the kind in a can or try our cream of chicken soup substitute! Our cream of mushroom soup substitute would also work here!
Veggies – You’ll need bell peppers, onions, and a can of Ro*Tel.
Chicken – We’re using shredded, cooked chicken. This is a perfect use for a rotisserie chicken or try our freezer shredded chicken. You can also use ground chicken or turkey in this casserole.
Taco seasoning – Store bought is fine, but this keto taco seasoning is our go to, because it doesn’t’ contain the fillers in the packets and it has a whole lot more flavor.
Corn Tortillas
Cheddar – Every casserole needs cheese, in my opinion. We’re using cheddar, but Monterey jack or pepper jack also work well.
Helpful Tip!
Substitute cream of chicken soup
This recipe does use a couple cans of cream of chicken soup and I know some of you are not fond of that stuff. No worries! Just swap in my cream of chicken soup substitute and you’re good to go! It’s made with real ingredients in minutes and has loads of 5 star reviews from readers!
How To Make King Ranch Casserole:
Veggies: Melt some butter over a medium skillet and add a diced onion and peppers and cook until softened.
Combine: Add the veggies to the canned soup, water, tomatoes, and taco seasoning in a bowl and stir to combine.
Assemble: Cut tortillas into small squares. Spread out the soup mixture into a 9×13 baking dish. Top with half of your chicken, then a third of your tortillas and cheese. Top with the remaining soup mixture and repeat the layering.
Bake: Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro before serving and dig in!
What To Serve With King Ranch Chicken Casserole:
We tend to serve this hearty casserole with a side of air fryer tortilla chips, homemade guacamole, and homemade queso. It also goes well with a green salad or with our easy Mexican rice recipe!
Pretty much any Mexican inspired or Tex-Mex type recipe will pair well with this cheesy casserole!
FAQs:
You can keep any leftover King Ranch casserole stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days! You can reheat in the oven or microwave.
Yes, it is possible to freeze this casserole for up to a few months. Cover the cooled casserole in a double layer of foil before freezing.
There is a little spice in this recipe from the Ro*Tel, but it’s fairly balanced by the cheese. We’d rate this at a 2 or 3 out of 10 on the spice scale.
MORE CASSEROLE RECIPES!
King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 2 bell peppers any color, diced
- 20 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 10 ounce can Ro*Tel tomatoes with chiles
- 1 cup water
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the butter to a medium skillet over medium heat and melt. Stir in the diced onion and peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add onions and peppers to a medium bowl, along with the cream of chicken soup, Ro*Tel tomatoes, water, and taco seasoning. Stir well to combine.
- Cut the tortillas into small squares.
- Spread 1/2 cup of the soup mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Top with 1/2 of the chicken, followed by 1/3 of the tortillas, and 1/3 of the cheese. Top with 1/2 of the remaining soup mixture.
- Repeat the layers – the top layer will consist of just tortillas, soup, and cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
- Sprinkle chopped cilantro over the top and serve.
Krystal Dawn Peek says
Simple & delicious! I added more to mine like a can of black beans drained & sour cream.
Karly Campbell says
Black beans and sour cream sound like a great addition! Thanks, Krystal!
Elena says
So easy and delicious! Leftovers freeze well too 🙂
Karly Campbell says
Thanks for the rating, Elena! Appreciate it! <3
Julie Meister says
Tried this for the first time tonight. Absolutely delicious.
Anyone have any idea how the leftovers would freeze? (There’s only 2 of us, so this makes a huge recipe for us.)
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed it! I think this would freeze just fine, though I haven’t tried it.
Learn2Tally says
Wow this is such a creative recipe! Beautiful pictures by the way! 🙂
LILLIAN ODONNELL says
WHAT SIZE PAN DO YOU PUT THE KING RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE IN DOES NOT STATE IN THE RECIEPE
Karly says
Oh, you must have missed it. 🙂 It’s a 9×13 pan.
Shari giarraputo says
What type of tortillas do you use? The taco shells? I sometimes toast them and layer them and make nachos. Lower salt. Thank you so much!!
Karly says
I use soft corn tortillas.
Verna Brown says
I love the emails that you send with recipes. The only thing is they will not transfer to Pinterest like other recipes!
Karly says
Hmm, sorry to hear that! You need to click the link in the email to get to the recipe and then you can pin from there. 🙂
Felix Craff says
King Ranch is the largest ranch in the world, with ranches in almost the 5 continents; even a ranch in Perú (mi country). There is a fine gastronomy at the ranch; being the creator os several races of meat beef and raise horses. An interesting thing from there (I use to live in Kingsville, at the heart of the ranch) is that every year the workers from the ranch organize a “Ranch Breakfast”, with cawboy food, shows, rodeo, etc. But they do not offer beef meat, just pig. There is even a Ford truck special edition in honor of King Ranch.
Karly says
I need to get invited to that ranch breakfast! 🙂 Thanks for sharing the story!
Liz says
I love casseroles and this one looks so good. Thank you.
Karly says
Hope you enjoy!
Jocelyn says
I’m making this for dinner tonight. Can you please clarify step 6? Is the top layer to be comprised of just tortillas and cheese (not the soup, as listed?)
Thank you. I can’t wait to try this!
Jocelyn says
This is delicious! My kids really loved it. I used a can of tomatoes with green chiles instead of the Rotel because of what I had on hand. Also, I figured out the layering on my own.
Thanks for a terrific recipe.
Karly says
Whew! Glad to hear you figured it out! I was away from the computer for a bit, so I apologize I didn’t answer your question in time. 🙂
TexasMomma says
King Ranch Chicken is named after the famous King Ranch in southern Texas. It didn’t actually originate from the ranch cooks there but since it’s an enchilada in casserole form, theory is that cooks back in the 50’s -60’s gave it the King Ranch name for it’s TexMex flavors. It is a longtime favorite here in Texas and you’ll find it in many, many Jr League and church cookbooks. It is one of our family favorites, always requested !
Karly says
Good to know!! I’ve always wondered, but never bothered to google. Haha!
Sheryl | When Hungry says
OMG this looks sooooo (what I call) yummazing!
Krystle says
We love anything Mexican here! Is King ranch just its name? Or is there ranch in it? I’ve read the recipe a few times but didn’t see anything.
Is it wrong I want ranch to be in it? 🙂
Karly says
Apparently, it’s named after the King Ranch in Texas. 😉 No ranch powder in here, but I don’t think it’d hurt to add some. I mean, ranch never hurts.