King Ranch Casserole is a classic Tex-Mex inspired dish. It’s creamy, cheesy, and sooooo delicious! King Ranch Chicken Casserole is the perfect dish to prepare for potlucks, to bring to a friend, or to make for dinner any night of the week. This King Ranch Chicken recipe is made without canned soup or Velveeta, but still just as cheesy and creamy!
King Ranch Casserole
King Ranch Casserole is one of those classic, cheese-filled recipes I can’t get enough of! I’ve made a few King Ranch Chicken recipes (King Ranch Mac and Cheese, King Ranch Chicken Dip) in the past, but I had to bring it back to the classic casserole dish.
This King Ranch Chicken Casserole is filled with allll the best ingredients, like chicken, cheese, sour cream, green chiles and tomatoes, peppers, onions, and more. And I skipped the Cream of Mushroom soup and Velveeta that you’ll usually find in King Ranch Casserole recipes. I could never get tired of how delicious this recipe is, and it’s pretty nostalgic too, so it’s the definition of comfort food.
This casserole is a great thing to make for family dinners, and it’s easy to make ahead of time and freeze. I just love casseroles because they are a whole meal all in one dish, with all of the flavors melting together. You guys know I love chicken recipes and this is a favorite! So good!
This is the best King Ranch Casserole recipe. Lots of cheese and amazing ingredients, with no canned soup or Velveeta in sight!
What is King Ranch Chicken?
King Ranch Chicken is basically the best thing in the world. It a creamy, cheesy chicken dish with all of the best ingredients. It’s a wonderful Tex-Mex style dish, so it’s like eating Mexican food in casserole form!
King Ranch Casserole Ingredients:
- Diced Tomatoes
- Green Chiles
- Onions
- Shredded Chicken
- Jalapeno
- Bell Pepper
- Sour Cream
- Tortilla Chips
- LOTS. OF. CHEESE.
Those are the classic king ranch casserole ingredients we love, but there’s also lots of spices, seasonings, and a few other ingredients in there as well.
Click here to check out our full Baked Chicken Guide for more EASY baked chicken recipes!
King Ranch Chicken Casserole (without Canned Soup or Velveeta)
The classic King Ranch Casserole recipe has two ingredients in it that some people seem to have an issue with: Velveeta and canned Cream of Mushroom soup. I’ve got no issues with them; they make life easy and delicious if I’m being honest. But I made this king ranch chicken casserole recipe without canned soup or Velveeta anyways.
I used lots of Monterey Jack and Sharp Cheddar cheese instead, and the casserole is plenty creamy without the cream of mushroom. So if you don’t like those 2 ingredients, then this recipe is perfect for you!
How to Make King Ranch Casserole
King Ranch Casserole is the perfect weeknight dinner or potluck dish. It has a lot of ingredients, but overall it’s pretty simple to make.
- Start by making a vegetable mixture (peppers, garlic, chicken broth, onion) in a skillet, and prepare the chicken.
- Then layer the ingredients into the casserole dish & cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake king ranch casserole at 375° for 30 minutes.
- Uncover the dish and bake another 10-15 minutes.
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions and details!
Can King Ranch Casserole be made ahead?
You can easily make King Ranch Chicken Casserole ahead of time if you want to prepare it for a party, or even just prepare some meals for your family. Follow the recipe without baking it, and then freeze it until you’re ready to reheat and eat. You could also store it in the refrigerator for a couple of days, then grab it and bake it when it’s time for dinner.
If you just want to prep ahead of time to make meal time easier, here’s what you can do:
- Cook and shred the chicken
- Make the vegetable mixture in a skillet
- Store both in the refrigerator
- Then just layer everything together in a casserole dish when it’s time to cook
Can King Ranch Casserole be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze a whole casserole or any leftovers you have for up to 1 month. Just be sure it’s in a freezer-safe container. When you’re ready to reheat it, you can either let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator and cook according to the instructions. If you don’t have time to let it thaw, bake it for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
You are going to love this creamy, cheesy King Ranch Chicken Casserole! Make it for dinner any night of the week, and your family will devour it.
Watch the video or see the recipe card for details on how to make King Ranch Casserole. Enjoy!
If you like this king ranch casserole recipe, try these other casseroles too:
- Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
- Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Beef Stroganoff Casserole
- Slow Cooker Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Chicken Nacho Casserole
King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium sweet yellow or yellow onion diced
- 1 red pepper orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh black pepper
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1 10-oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles (including juice)
- 1½ cup sour cream
- 5 cups about 2 pounds chopped, cooked chicken (rotisserie works well, too)
- 1 cup loosely-packed fresh cilantro leaves chopped
- 2 cups 8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 2 cups 8 ounces shredded Sharp Cheddar, white or orange
- 8-10 ounces tortilla chips semi-crushed
Garnishes:
- Freshly chopped cilantro
- Dollops of sour cream
- Fresh tomatoes
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F, and spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter. Add onion, bell pepper and jalapeno pepper and cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent and peppers are tender. Add minced garlic, stir, and cook 30 seconds. Stir in chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetable mixture and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
- Add the broth and lime juice and whisk. Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in green chile tomatoes and sour cream.
- In a large bowl, combine chicken and cilantro; add vegetable mixture and mix well.
- In a medium bowl, mix together both cheeses.
- Line the prepared casserole dish with 1/3 of the semi-crushed tortilla chips. Top with ½ the chicken mixture and 1/3rd of the cheese. Repeat the layers once with the last two layers being tostito chips and cheese.
- Spray a large sheet of aluminum foil with nonstick spray to loosely cover the casserole dish.
- Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
- Top with garnishes of your choice.
- Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
Do the tortilla chips get soggy?
The tortilla chips on the bottom and in the center soften, but the ones on top stay crispy!
Excellent recipe! Very fresh with just the right about of spice. I added a bit more lime juice…. that along with fresh chopped cilantro gave it a real pop of wow.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your process!
I made this for a weekend getaway and everyone loved it! It was easy to make ahead of time. I just made the pulled chicken and sauce the day before. It was so easy to assemble once I got to our vacation house. The leftovers were great for breakfast too. Thanks for the recipe!
Yay!!
Love anything that doesn’t have canned soup in it!
I would agree with others that 10 minutes prep isn’t possible unless everything was purchased pre-chopped, shredded, etc. I chopped all veggies, grated the cheese, deboned/shredded a whole chicken and assembled the casserole in roughly 30 minutes.
I prefer to use corn tortillas (quartered) rathern than chips and only used one cup of sour cream because that’s all I had but otherwise followed this to the letter.
Thanks for the easy recipe – will definitely make it again!
I’ll have to edit that part!! But I’m glad you still enjoyed the recipe!
This is much better than the receipe with canned soup and velvetta. It has a lot of ingredients but takes 30 minutes tops to put together and tastes awesome. You can leave the cilantro out or used dried, tastes good either way. We substituted a Nacho Blend shredded cheese for the Monterey Jack (its what I had on hand yesterday) and it was just as good. My 14 year old grandson who just started taking cooking lessons in school this fall was able to make the receipe with no problem. Once you have had this you will never go back to the soup version.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you loved it so much!!
This recipe is amazing. My husband just loved it! Will continue to make it. Only thing for me, prep time took quite a while but oh so worth it!
I’m happy you all love it!!
We thought this was delicious, and it’s something I’d make again. But… 10 minutes prep time to: cook and shred 2 pounds of chicken; dice (not chop in a food processor) onion, red pepper, garlic and a jalapeno; measure out spices, flour, broth, sour cream and 4 cups of cheese; juice a lime; and crush 10 oz of tortilla chips?? I had the same experience as Tracy B — I started making this around 7 and we ate after 10! I don’t mind a lengthy prep time, and perhaps I’m just slower than most, but it would help to have a more realistic estimate to start with!
I’m glad you still enjoyed it! I’ll pay closer attention to timings in the future!
Very, very good.
I made this recipe exactly as directed Except I used plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and I used canned chicken breast. It was absolutely delicious and so easy and quick to make! Regards Maria
Awesome!!
I’ve never heard of King’s Ranch Chicken so your recipe is my first experience with it. OMG! Sinfully good. Mine didn’t look anything like your’s though. My rotisserie chicken was scrawny so I only got about 2 cups of chicken from it. I also mistakenly thought I had tortilla chips but I didn’t so I crushed up taco shells. I used a 13×9 baking dish and my layered ingredients didn’t even fill it half way. My whole family loved it, in spite of my problems. Thank you!
P.S. Ten minutes prep time? LOL. I started this at 7PM and we ate at 9. I don’t know where I went wrong!
YAY!