Mexican-Style Chicken Chili Casserole
There’s just so much going on in this Mexican-Style Chicken Chili Casserole recipe – all the flavors, spice, texture, and a slight kick of heat!! Imagine if your favorite chicken enchilada casserole and your most beloved chicken chili married and had a beautiful and perfect baby … it would be this incredibly delicious recipe!
And … it’s so tasty paired with our Cast-Iron Skillet Honey-Sweet Cornbread!
Every time we make this super yummy and easy casserole, I am so stuffed full that I have to just lounge on the couch with a good book or good movie with the family for the rest of the night … I just can’t help myself. It’s so good. And … it also serves remarkably well as leftovers the next day!
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What do you need to make Mexican-Style Chicken Chili Casserole?
Here is what you will need from the grocery store:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic, 4 cloves of fresh garlic – minced
- Tomatoes, 3 cups diced tomatoes
- Onion, 1 large white onion – chopped (or substitute with a yellow onion)
- Chili powder, 4¼ teaspoons chili powder
- Paprika, 2 teaspoons paprika
- Ground cumin, 2¼ teaspoons ground cumin
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Chicken breasts, 2 large chicken breasts – boneless and skinless
- Black beans, 1 15-ounce can of black beans – drained
- Chili kidney beans, 1 15-ounce can of chili kidney beans – drained
- Green chiles, 1 4-ounce can of green chiles
- Salsa verde, 1 16-ounce jar of salsa verde
- Tortillas, 12 to 18 tortillas – corn or flour
- Cooked white rice, 3½ cups of cooked white rice
- Corn, 1 11-ounce can of corn – drained
- Sour cream, 1 cup sour cream
- Mexican-blend cheese, 1½ pounds Mexican-blend cheese – grated
- Red enchilada sauce, 2 cups red enchilada sauce
Optional topping:
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
How do you make Mexican-Style Chicken Chili Casserole?
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add in the tomatoes and onions and cook for about 3 minutes until the onions have softened. Add 2 teaspoons of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon of cumin. Stir the spices, tomatoes, and onions together for about a minute and then add in the minced garlic. Cook for another minute or two.
- Remove from the skillet, transfer the tomato and onion mixture to a bowl, and set to the side for later use when layering the casserole.
- Saute the chicken, plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil, in the same skillet while stirring in the remaining 2¼ teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, and 1¼ teaspoon cumin. Salt and pepper to preferred taste. Cook for about 6 minutes or until the chicken has cooked all the way through (or has reached an internal temperature of 165° F with a meat thermometer).
- Pour 1 cup of water into the chicken mixture and combine well. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook for about 4 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half. Then stir in the beans and green chiles.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and prepare a 9×13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Using only half the jar of salsa verde, drop spoonfuls around the bottom of the pan. Then layer flour or corn tortillas over the top of the salsa verde. It is ok to overlap them.
- Next add the cooked rice, followed by the corn, tomato and onion mixture, and then the chicken mixture.
- Drop spoonfuls of sour cream over the top and very carefully spread with a spatula. Sprinkle half the cheese over the top of the sour cream.
- Then add half a can of enchilada sauce over the layers, followed by overlapping the remaining flour or corn tortillas.
- Use the remaining enchilada sauce and salsa verde to pour over the top of the tortillas, followed by the remaining shredded cheese.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then bake for an additional 15 minutes, uncovered.
- Serve with sour cream on the side.
Can you freeze Mexican-Style Chicken Chili Casserole?
Yes! This easy casserole freezes and reheats really well!
FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:
Use a disposable baking pan to assemble the casserole. Once the layers are assembled cover with several layers of aluminum foil. Write today’s date on the top of the foil with a permanent marker. Keep in the freezer for up to 4 months.
When you’re ready to cook, bake the frozen casserole covered for 2 hours at 350 degrees F then uncovered for about 25 minutes.
If you’ve completely thawed out the frozen casserole in the refrigerator, keep the foil on the dish and bake covered at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Then bake for an additional 15 minutes, uncovered.
Easy Casserole Recipes …
- Sweet & Spicy Tamale Casserole
- Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Delicious Tater Tot Hotdish
- Hamburger Noodle Bake
- Sweet Corn Casserole
- Chicken Fajita Casserole
- Sausage and Tots Breakfast Casserole
- Hamburger Hashbrown Casserole
- Zucchini Rice Cheesy Casserole
Looking for more tasty recipes? Try one of these …
- Italian Chicken and Acorn Squash Couscous
- Chicken & Pork Crostina Pasta
- Creamy Beef and Potatoes
- Wild Rice Chicken Casserole – (Easy Recipe)
- Meat and Potato Timballo Pie
Mexican-Style Chicken Chili Casserole
Equipment
- Large Skillet
- Mixing bowl, medium
- Casserole dish, 9x-13-inch *or a disposable baking pan if planning to freeze for later use.
- Spatula
- Non-stick Cooking Spray
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil , extra virgin
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 3 cups tomatoes , diced
- 1 large onion , chopped – yellow or white
- 4¼ tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2¼ tsp ground cumin
- salt + pepper , to preferred taste
- 2 large chicken breasts , boneless, skinless
- 1 cup water
- 1 15-oz can black beans , drained
- 1 15-oz can chili kidney beans , drained
- 1 4-oz can green chiles
- 1 16-oz jar salsa verde
- 12-18 tortillas , corn or flour
- 3½ cups rice , cooked
- 1 11-oz can corn , drained
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1½ lbs mexican-blend cheese , grated
- 2 cups red enchilada sauce
Optional Topping
- sour cream
- cilantro
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the tomatoes and onions and cook for about 3 minutes until the onions have softened. Add 2 teaspoons of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon of cumin. Stir the spices, tomatoes, and onions together for about a minute and then add in the minced garlic. Cook for another minute or two. Remove from the skillet, transfer the tomato and onion mixture to a bowl, and set to the side for later use when layering the casserole.
- Saute the chicken, plus 2 tablespoons of oil, in the same skillet while stirring in the remaining 2¼ teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, and 1¼ teaspoon cumin. Salt and pepper to preferred taste. Cook for about 6 minutes or until the chicken has cooked all the way through (or has reached an internal temperature of 165° F with a meat thermometer).
- Pour 1 cup of water into the chicken mixture and combine well. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook for about 4 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half. Then stir in the beans and green chiles.
- Preheat oven to 350° F and prepare a 9×13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Using only half the jar of salsa verde, drop spoonfuls around the bottom of the pan. Then layer flour or corn tortillas over the top of the salsa verde. It is ok to overlap them.
- Next add the cooked rice, followed by the corn, tomato and onion mixture, and then the chicken mixture.
- Drop spoonfuls of sour cream over the top and very carefully spread with a spatula. Sprinkle half the cheese over the top of the sour cream.
- Then add half a can of enchilada sauce over the layers, followed by overlapping the remaining flour or corn tortillas.
- Use the remaining enchilada sauce and salsa verde to pour over the top of the tortillas, followed by the remaining shredded cheese.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then bake for an additional 15 minutes, uncovered.
- Serve with sour cream on the side.
Notes
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