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
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Can I substitute green chilis with jalapeños?
That should work great!
I have a question regarding the Mexican chicken casserole. From where I’m from, it’s hard to find green chilies. Is it possible for me to replace the green chilies with green enchilada sauce?
Hi, without testing that it’s hard to say for sure. It would change the flavor profile and consistency of the sauce.
Would jalapeños be a better substitute?
Hi Mahmoud, jalapenos would work!
I made this tonight and even my picky eater liked it! It was so easy to make too! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Would it be Possible to make this in a 12 inch cast-iron pan and just add the additional ingredients and put it in the oven to cook instead of a 9 x 13?
Hi Diane, I haven’t tested that but I imagine that should work! If you test it out I would love to know how you like that.
Big hit with my family!! So good and flavorful my daughter said this is definitely a regular dish for us.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Your the best I’ve tried at least five of your recipes! I look forward to anything you post I’ve been following you for the last five years🥰
That is so heartwarming, thank you for your support, Keisha. We really appreciate you for sticking with us for the last 5 years!
Love love love this. Was a big hit. Easy and cost effective. Thanks
I’m glad you loved this recipe!
I made this for dinner last night and it was great! thank you for another great recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
Hi Natasha, I plan on making this dish tomorrow for my family for dinner. This seems really easy and I hope it comes out amazing/tasty.
I hope you love this recipe LaToya!
We loved this recipe. My full fat sour cream sorta curdled and it made the presentation not so good. Help.
Hi Jeanette, I’m more than happy to troubleshoot although I haven’t had this experience. Was anything altered in this recipe by chance?
Hi Natasha, I made this today but noticed that it actually needed 2 cups (8 oz) AND an additional 1 cup of Mexican cheese. I only bought a 8 oz bag but fortunately I had some extra mozzarella cheese so threw that over the sauce. You may want to correct that in the ingredients list. Regardless it was delicious with a side of buttered rotelli pasta.
Thank you for pointing that out. I used a total of 8 oz of Mexican cheese and used 2/3 of it for the sauce and 1/3 for the topping. I clarified the instructions.
Hi Natasha,
Your Mexican chicken casserole is delicious! Also, I bought a cuisinart air fryer as you recommended. Love it! Thank you!
That is awesome, thank you! Enjoy your new air fryer and I hope you love every recipe that you try.
I made the Mexican Chicken Casserole and even my very picky 5 yr old grandson loved it. Thank you
You are so welcome and I am so glad to hear that!
Love the Mexican Chicken Casserole, hug I can’t find the link to the grease splash guard. Please post it. Thank you 😊
Thanks for your great feedback, Matt. Please check out our Amazon Store here as you will see the splash guard there and all the other equipment that I use.
Really tasty! I cut the chicken into thin strips and then served it with flour tortillas and shredded iceberg lettuce for a sort of taco.
Yum! So so good! thank you for sharing that with me!
Is this recipe Keto friendly ???
Hi Kim, I haven’t really tried making this keto-friendly and I am not so sure. You may check the ingredients in the recipe card to check.
Can I bake the chicken raw, covered in the sauce? I think if I bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes I should be good, right?
Hi Diana, I haven’t tested it that way. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that!
I would think so, but you may want to cook just one side and put the uncooked side on the bottom down in the dish and then go 30 min (and maybe a hair hotter than 350)
I made this recipe for the first time tonight and the family loved it. I added 2 ears of corn cut off the cob, a can of rinsed black beans and an additional 1/4 cup sour cream. Next time I will drain some of the juice off of the green chilies.
Thanks for sharing that with us, Jonica. So great to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe!
Tried it tonight and it was a huge success with the fam!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I did make this & I seasoned the chicken w/taco seasoning instead of the S&P. I also used 1-10 oz. can Rotel fire roasted tomatoes and green chilies & a 4 oz. can medium green chilies. It was delicious. With tomorrow’s leftovers I’m making rice to go with it.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I’m going to make this tomorrow. I plan to season the chicken with taco seasoning. I enjoy all your videos because they’re so doable, especially for people like me who don’t love to cook. My favorite thing to make is reservations but I’ve tried several of your recipes, most recently cheesecake. It was great!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
What can you substitute the green chiles with?
Hi Olga, someone shared this “I sub out green chiles for a can of Rotel. Family loves it even our 4 year old”. I hope that helps!