Mexican Chicken Casserole smothered in a simple sour cream, green chili and cheese sauce. The bubbly cheese sauce seals in the chicken juices so it bakes up tender, juicy and flavorful. Everyone needs an easy chicken bake for unexpected company. You won’t believe the easy sauce!
Some of our favorite recipes are Mexican-inspired like Ceviche, or Fish Tacos (the #1 recipe on our site right now). This chicken bake satisfies the craving for Mexican food.
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Mexican Chicken:
We love easy Mexican chicken recipes. They are a fun way to explore new flavor combinations and change up your dinner routine. The green chilis give this really great flavor without being spicy. This Mexican Chicken Casserole is also a really easy party dish. The kids loved it because it was creamy, cheesy and the green chilis were very mild.
One of our readers, Judy, wrote in and shared this recipe with us and it was an instant hit. Thank you Judy! We really can’t get enough of this 3-ingredient sauce:
Tips for Making Mexican Chicken Casserole:
Even though this is a crazy easy recipe, here are some pitfalls to avoid (because I know it’s super tempting to improvise with an easy recipe):
- Don’t overload the chicken in the casserole dish. Increase everything proportionally and use a larger baking dish if scaling up the recipe.
- Arrange Chicken in a single layer in the casserole dish – you want the sauce to cover each piece of chicken.
- Don’t over-bake or the chicken will get dry. Remember the chicken is already cooked through.
- Use green chilis with their juice – do not drain.
The avocado, tomato, cilantro garnish is optional but highly necessary. You can also serve this with fresh Pico de Gallo. We love this Mexican Chicken Casserole served over white rice.
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes:
- Avocado Corn Salad – so fresh and healthy for summer
- Mango Shrimp Salsa – this always disappears fast!
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili – so easy with tender chicken
- Beef Tacos – with the easiest ground beef meat sauce
- Hot Shrimp Dip – loaded with shrimp and artichokes
Watch Natasha Make Mexican Chicken:
I hope you love this easy peasy chicken bake! Let me know what are YOUR favorite Mexican foods in a comment below.
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Mexican Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
Mexican Chicken Casserole:
- 2 lbs chicken breasts, (4 small or 3 medium)
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 8 oz shredded Mexican cheese, divided
- 1 cup sour cream, (full fat)
- 14 oz diced green chilis (two 7 oz can with their juice
To Serve:
- 1 small avocado, diced
- 1 roma tomato, diced
- 2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F and butter a 9x13 casserole dish.
- Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add chicken in a single layer and cook about 3 minutes per side or until golden and just cooked through with an internal temperature of 165˚F. Cook chicken in 2 batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan and add more oil as needed.
- Arrange sautéed chicken in buttered casserole dish so they are flat and not overlapping too much.
- In a medium bowl, mix together 2/3 of your Mexican cheese, 1 cup sour cream and 2 cans of green chilis with their juice. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle the top with 1/3 remaining cheese and bake uncovered at 400˚F for 15 min or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling at the edges.
- Serve garnished with diced avocado, tomatoes and chopped cilantro.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Love so many of your recipes because they do not have any grains which I do not eat.
Keep on cooking!
Thanks
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Claire!
Can your substitute sour cream? My husband doesn’t eat sour cream…
Hi Kim, I haven’t tried anything else so I can’t say if something like Greek yogurt would stay cream or separate in the sauce.
My other half doesn’t like sour cream either – the first time I made it I made it with sc and he ate it without noticing. I made it last night and used cream of chicken soup (it’s what I had not realizing no sc) and it worked out pretty good too, it changed the flavor a little, but overall still got the deliciousness!
That’s so great Becca! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Loved it. Used Costco rotisserie chicken. Easy enough for my husband to make when it’s his turn to cook. Thank you for sharing another hit recipe.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Elaine! Thank you for sharing that awesome feedback with me!
I made this tonight finally, and honestly we weren’t expecting too much from this, but it was easy and fast to make.
Long story short, we were all blown away by how good some thing so simple could be. Everyone said this has to be made more often.
We couldn’t find normal green chilis, so I had her get a couple small 4oz. cans of the HOT chilis and a can of tomato and chilis. It was 18oz. so I added 2 cups, maybe a tad more, of sour cream and extra cheese.
I also made one more change.
I cook some rice and put that on the chicken and then the sour cream mixture on the rice. I added extra sour cream because I thought the rice might make it dry, but it was perfect, and soooo good, and not at all too hot or spicy, and we have a couple people who can not tolerate ANY heat at all.
Next time I’m cutting the chicken up into bite size pieces before cooking it, and then covering it with rice.
I’m even thinking about making this into some sort of a hot dip with some canned chicken as that breaks up so easy.
Again, what a GREAT simple recipe. Keep up the GREAT work.
Oh and I wanted to say too, that your new home is beautiful, and we pray that our Father in Heaven places a protective hedge of angels around your home and family.
Hi Bill, I love your idea with the rice! Thank you so much for your glowing review and for keeping us in your prayers. I sure appreciate that. God bless you and your family as well!
made this last night. we loved it .just like every one we try. how would you suggest we reheat? ty
Hi Wendy, I’m so happy you loved the chicken casserole! Thank you for sharing your great review! We typically smother it in sauce and microwave until heated through. You can also warm it on the skillet over low heat or if you want to reheat the full batch, cover with foil and bake until hot.
ty for the fast reply, will microwave..
We find the chilis too spicy, any suggestions for substitution?
Hi Maria, The green chilis give this really great flavor without being spicy. Here’s what one of our readers wrote “Wasn’t too spicy for the kids. Made it with rotisserie chicken, was a breeze to make”
I made this casserole tonight. I love that it is low carb! Taste was delicious. I cut back a little on the canned chilies. I added diced onion to the pan after cooking the chicken. Allowed the onions to cook till soft and placed them on top of the chicken, then added the cheese/sour cream sauce. It was really good. I also cooked extra chicken breasts to make your Avocado Chicken Salad later in the week. Thank you for great recipes.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Can I fry the chicken, make the sauce, pour it over the chicken and then put it in the fridge overnight until dinner time the next night? What temp? How long? Covered or not? Trying to prep a meal for my husband so he just pops it in the oven when it’s close to dinner.
Hi Diana, I haven’t tested it that way overnight but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
In holland no mexican cheese mix. Im guessing cheddar and parmezan like cheese together?
Hi Marjo, I haven’t tried that combination but I think it’s worth experimenting if that is what you have on hand. Mexican cheese is a combination of: Sharp Cheddar, Colby, and Monterey Jack cheeses
Delicious. Wasn’t too spicy for the kids. Made it with rotisserie chicken, was a breeze to make. Served it with dipping style tortilla chips. Next time around, i will probably chop up the rotisserie chicken to make it more of a “dip”. Also i think adding some baked refried beans below the chicken will probably taste fantastic too.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Vera!
The flavors in this meal were delicious. I did switch out the avocado and added black olives. Such a quick easy meal!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Oh my goodness this is so yummy!! I had a jar of hatch green chili’s from Costco that was perfect in this. So easy and our family loved it. I enjoy many of your recipes and this one is certainly a keeper!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
This is quick and easy.. I added lightly sauteed broccoli cuts to mine as well. Everyone who was served loved it. I would make the following revisions. As warned, I cooked the chicken a little too long and after baked it was almost over cooked. The canned green chilies offered too much liquid, end product was a little watery. But, over rice it would have been perfect. On 400 oven the dish was done in exactly 15 mins. I will add more seasoning next time, we like the traditional flavors. Overall a great recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Lisa!
the extra watery issue may have been due to the broccoli addition, making any change to someone’s recipe makes it your own recipe so one can not fairly grade someone else fairly if not following instructions, we found it delicious and in no way watery (sorry taking a test you can’t ask your own questions and give textbook answers) keep sharing please really enjoy your recipes
H Mariea, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review.
Sounds like an interesting recipe to try. My question – how spicy it is? Not everyone in my family can take spicy. Thank you.
Hi Yulia, Hi Maria, The green chilis give this really great flavor without being spicy. Here’s what one of our readers wrote “Wasn’t too spicy for the kids. Made it with rotisserie chicken, was a breeze to make”
Please don’t rate a recipe until you have actually made it. Thanks
Delicious recipe…I added a can of drained corn and Rotell tomato’s with chili’s …yum
That’s so awesome, DeAnna! I’m so happy you enjoyed that
Would this work with a rotisserie chicken? How much do you think I would need? Thanks! Looks delicious 🙂
Hi Tammy, that sounds like a smart idea! I think the meat from a single rotisserie chicken would work great here. maybe break the chicken breasts into 2-4 smaller pieces and include the thighs as well. I would add enough chicken to cover the bottom of the casserole dish to no more than 1″ thickness of chicken pieces. Let me know how it goes. I love the idea of using a rotisserie chicken – even easier!
Amazing chicken casserole recipe!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Valentina!
I’m one of those who despise cilantro. Would not using it, lessen enjoyment of this recipe?
This was delicious and a hit with the whole family!
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
I am loving all the cheesy goodness in this casserole! This will be perfect for dinner tonight; can’t turn down a good Mexican recipe!
I hope you love it Beth! We’re looking forward to your feedback!
Yum!! I am all about casseroles & this looks so good!! Thanks for sharing!
OOh same here! Especially when they are easy casseroles.
This is a great easy dinner for those busy nights!
It really is such an easy chicken bake. Thanks Julie!