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Cheesy Mexican casserole is flavorful and filling, packed with layers of chicken, Spanish rice, and a creamy sauce!
Similar to our Chicken Enchilada Casserole, this Mexican casserole is filled with layers of goodness and perfect for any night of the week.
We Love Casseroles!
Casseroles are on repeat for dinner at our house, and if it’s a Mexican Casserole Recipe – even better!
This Mexican casserole happens to be a favorite, filled with our popular Spanish Rice, Homemade Salsa, and Taco Seasoning.
Why we love it:
- Use up leftovers. This is a perfect dish to use up any leftover Spanish rice or chicken. We love to repurpose leftovers!
- Great for company! Because it makes a 9×13 pan-full, it can easily feed a crowd. Pair it with some Mexican side dishes to stretch the meal even further.
- Freezer friendly. This casserole recipe freezes beautifully and is ideal for meal prepping or delivering to friends in need.
Ingredients
- Mexican rice – Make a fresh batch, cook up a store-bought box, or use leftover Spanish Rice.
- chicken breasts – or cubed chicken thighs. Replace the chicken with ground turkey or brown ground beef, just omit the added vegetable oil and drain any excess grease.
- taco seasoning – store-bought packet or 2 tablespoons of Taco Seasoning Mix
- vegetable oil – or olive oil
- minced garlic
- Mexican cheese – or use your favorite combination of Monterey jack cheese, cheddar cheese, Colby Cheese, or Mozzarella cheese.
- cream of chicken soup
- green chiles – or use diced jalapeno or poblano peppers for extra spice.
- salsa – store-bought or your favorite Homemade Salsa.
- fresh cilantro
Make it Vegetarian
Replace the chicken with an equal amount of black beans or pinto beans and use cream of mushroom soup.
Layer + Enjoy!
- PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease 9×13 dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- CHICKEN. Add cubed chicken to a large skillet with vegetable oil and cook with taco seasoning and minced garlic cloves.
- SOUP MIXTURE. Stir together cream of chicken soup, green chiles, and salsa.
- ASSEMBLE. Layer ½ the rice, ½ the chicken, and ½ the soup and salsa mixture in the baking dish. Add 2 cups of cheese on top. Repeat layers once more ending with the cheese.
- BAKE. Bake for 40 minutes and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
Topping Ideas
Add any of the following to individual servings of your Mexican casserole:
- Add a dollop of sour cream, Guacamole, or Pico De Gallo
- Sprinkle on some black olives, diced tomatoes, or green onion
- Roll up a spoon of the casserole in Flour Tortillas or corn tortillas or scoop it with Tortilla Chips.
perfect for freezing!
- Making ahead of time. Prepare the casserole but do not bake. Keep it covered in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
- Freezer meal. Assemble it in a freezer-safe container, do not bake. Allow it to cool a bit before wrapping it tightly with plastic and again with aluminum foil. Label and freeze it for 3-4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.
- STORE. Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Heat it up in the microwave when you’re ready to eat it.
For More Mexican Recipes:
Homemade Spanish Rice Recipe
45 mins
Homemade Salsa
10 mins
Taco Seasoning Recipe
5 mins
Canned Refried Beans
10 mins
Mexican Casserole
Cheesy Mexican casserole is flavorful and filling, packed with layers of chicken, Spanish rice, and a creamy sauce!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Mexican Rice
- 4 chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 package taco seasoning
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 4 cups Mexican cheese
- 1 (10-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
- 1 can green chiles
- 1½ cups salsa
- cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease 9×13 dish.
- Add cubed chicken to a large saucepan with vegetable oil and cook with taco seasoning and minced garlic.
- Combine cream of chicken soup, green chiles, and salsa.
- Layer ½ the rice, ½ the chicken, and ½ the soup and salsa mixture in your baking dish. Add 2 cups of cheese on top. Repeat layers once more ending with the cheese.
- Bake for 40 minutes and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
Notes
Making ahead of time. Prepare the casserole but do not bake. Keep it covered in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Freezer meal. Assemble it in a freezer-safe container, do not bake. Allow it to cool a bit before wrapping it tightly with plastic and again with aluminum foil. Label and freeze it for 3-4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.
STORE. Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Heat it up in the microwave when you’re ready to eat it.
Nutrition
Calories: 276kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 84mg, Sodium: 847mg, Potassium: 406mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 698IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 263mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We tried the Mexican Casserole last night! It was delicious. I forgot to add the green chilies, but it worked out great. It does make a good 9×13, so we had plenty of leftovers! My 20 year old said it tasted like restaurant food! My husband really enjoyed the seasoned chicken! We will be placing it in monthly rotation! Thanks Kristen for another terrific recipe!!
Awe, I love that!! That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you!
The chili’s REALLY pop since the other flavors are neutral. That is not a bad thing.
The first night is was so gooey we ate it like dip.
Also, not a bad thing.
Today, it’s a solid casserole that tastes even better than last night.
I love when flavors merge.
This was super easy to make, I cut a few corners-
My patience wasn’t allowing me to let the chicken absorb more flavor. I have no regerts
This Mexican Casserole recipe is wonderful! So full of goodness and flavor! I love that I can make this ahead and freeze it! So convenient and easy to make!
This was the ultimate comfort food casserole! It was easy to make and my family loved the Mexican flavors.
Made this casserole! Flavorful with a kick from taco seasoning, salsa, and green chiles. Cheesy and comforting, it’s a family favorite. Highly recommend topping with fresh cilantro for extra flavor!
I’m so glad to hear this one is a family favorite!!
We LOVE this casserole. It is SO good. IF there are any leftovers they are almost better the second day. And I LOVE cilantro.
This was way too salty for my taste.
WHERE DO YOU GET MEXICAN RICE
We have an amazing recipe for homemade! https://lilluna.com/food-tutorial-spanish-rice/ You can also get it at most grocery stores where they sell rice.
So I’m stupid here but are you talking about already cooked rice or just pour it in out of the package? You make no mention of cooked rice or uncooked.
I would like to try this recipe but the rice issue has me confused.
Thank you.
You’ll want to use cooked rice. I like to use leftover Mexican rice from when I have made it or you can just use a box/bag mix from the store. Cook it fully, then begin this recipe. 🙂 Hope that clears up any confusion and that you enjoy the recipe!
We LOVE Mexican food around here. This quick fix meal was quite delicious! I used a prepared box of Zatarain’s Spanish rice mix in this recipe (it’s my fav!) and it came out great! If you need something that doesn’t require a lot of work and is delicious, then this is it! Thank you for this recipe!
It was good. I didn’t bother with layering it, I just mixed everything together and topped it with cheese. Delicious! Also, it didn’t need the full 40 minutes, everything already cooked so just did 20 minutes.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for sharing what you do!
Is the rice measurement before cooking it or after cooking it? I assume you cook it before assembling the casserole? Thanks!
Yes, cook it before. The measurement will be cooked rice. Hope you like it!
Well, by the end of making this I don’t know if I truly “followed” the recipe, but it was delicious whatever it was. Haha. Very flavorful, creamy, satisfying.
Here are the changes I made: I added cooked yellow and green pepper (chopped) to add some veggies; I used about 4 cups of leftover chicken instead of cooking it with garlic and taco seasoning; I accidentally used all of both cans of the cream of chicken soup, so to compensate I cut the cheese down to 3 cups; I used a combination of pepper jack, cheddar, and colby jack cheeses; and I didn’t bother with the cilantro since there was so little involved.
Anyway, it was fantastic. The flavors were a bit much for my two year old, so I added some leftover white rice to his to make it a little more bland, and he gobbled it up.
LOL..well, I am glad you liked it! Thank you for sharing what you did!
What kind of salsa?
Whatever you like 🙂 I would use whatever your favorite is.
In your recipe you ask for Mexican rice. Is this a particular kind of rice as in short , long grain, or Jasmine rice?
Here is a recipe for the Spanish rice we use…https://lilluna.com/food-tutorial-spanish-rice/. Or, you could buy any kind of boxed Spanish rice. It’s just rice flavored with spices, to make it a Mexican rice.
Is the rice supposed to be pre-cooked?
Yes, the rice is cooked first 🙂 Enjoy!!
If you like mexican food casserole style, thiS is the one to try! It has everything you need in one. feeds many!
Mexican food is a must for me. It’s my all time favorite cuisine. This was very simple and fed a lot of people.
Delicious! I always make your mexican rice when we Have MEXICAN food then freeze the LEFTOVERS specifically to make this casserole!
Total comfort food. And love how easy it was to make!
This will be a family favorite for sure!
I know what I will be having for dinner tonight! This looks amazing; so excited to give this a try!
This is so perfect for a quick and tasty weeknight meal!
This casserole is so easy to make and is already being requested by the littles for an encore! Back on the weekly menu this week!!
This was amazing!! It had so much flavor & was very simple to make. We love Mexican food, so having it in a casserole form is a great idea! Perfect for feeding a crowd.