A crowd pleasing casserole full of fiesta flavors. This Chicken Taco Casserole is hearty, cheesy, easy to make, and satisfies your Mexican food craving.
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About this Casserole
If you're familiar with my cooking style, two things you probably already know: 1. I love Mexican food and 2. I love easy meals. And this Chicken Taco Casserole checks both of those boxes.
Take all of your favorite taco night ingredients, combine them into one dish, top with shredded cheese and off to the oven it goes. The result is a hearty and delicious casserole with bubbly cheese over top — the whole family is going to love it.
This is a great meal for a group (6 servings but can easily be scaled up), can be made in advance, and it's great for meal prep. This taco casserole holds up very well for multiple days in the fridge and reheats to taste just as good as it was out of the oven.
And if you love Mexican dishes as much as I do, also check out this Cheesy Mexican Skillet, this Mexican Caesar Salad, or these Carne Asada Street Tacos that I really think you're going to enjoy, too!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken - You can use chicken breasts, chicken tenderloins, or rotisserie chicken. Whatever you choose, you want it cooked and shredded before using in the casserole.
- Black Beans - Beans bulk up the fiber in this recipe.
- Veggies - We will use white onion and bell peppers.
- Taco Seasoning - A pre-made seasoning packet is an effortless way to add so much flavor! You can also make your own with chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese - I like using a Mexican blend for this Chicken Taco Casserole. It gets bubbly and browned when you bake the dish.
- Sour Cream - This gets mixed with the chicken to create a creamy and moist filling mixture. You can use plain Greek yogurt here, too.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
This casserole is super customizable, so make it to your liking! Here are a few ideas for ingredient swaps:
- Meat: Use pulled chicken, ground beef, or additional black beans to make it vegetarian.
- Veggies: Add tomatoes, jalapeños, mushrooms, zucchini, or cauliflower rice.
- Cheese: Instead of shredded cheddar try mozzarella, white cheddar, or crumbled cotija (a Mexican cheese similar to feta).
How to Make This Recipe
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F then prep the casserole ingredients. Strain and rinse the black beans. Using a vegetable chopper, dice the peppers and onions.
2. Then, in a mixing bowl, add cooked and shredded chicken, sour cream, the juice of one lime, and taco seasoning. Stir together with a rubber spatula.
3. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Pour in black beans, peppers, and onions. Mix to combine.
4. Pour in the chicken and sour cream mixture and spread it evenly over the black bean and vegetable base.
5. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese on top. Garnish with green onion.
6. Bake for 28-30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Serve with dollops of sour cream, fresh avocado slices, jalapeno slices, and crumbles of tortilla chips.
Recipe FAQs
This Chicken Taco Casserole keeps super well and is great for meal prep. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Reheat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds.
Yes! You can freeze this Chicken Taco Casserole for up to 3 months. Let cool completely then tightly wrap the baking dish with plastic wrap then cover in foil. You can also freeze individual portions in an airtight container. Let thaw in the fridge overnight or put the entire frozen casserole in the oven and heat at 300°F for 10-15 minutes.
This casserole is definitely a meal all by itself, but if you’re looking to serve it with a little something else, I suggest tortilla chips (great for scooping up the casserole!), a side of rice (try my Chipotle Style Cilantro Lime Rice), or scooped into tortillas for a handheld dinner.
Just like tacos, this casserole welcomes all of the toppings! Garnish with cilantro, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), avocado slices or guacamole, salsa or taco sauce, extra cheese, shredded lettuce, or sliced jalapeños.
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Recipe
Chicken Taco Casserole
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Rubber Spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- strainer
- Handheld juicer
- 9x13 inch casserole dish
Ingredients
- 1 lbs chicken tenderloins, cooked and diced (chicken breast or rotisserie chicken also fine)
- 1 can black beans, 14.5 oz
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz
- 1 small white onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- ½ packet taco seasoning
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tbsp green onions, diced
- cooking spray
To serve
- sour cream
- avocado slices
- jalapeño slices
- tortilla chips
- salsa
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prep the ingredients. Strain and rinse the black beans. Using a vegetable chopper, dice the peppers and onions.
- Then, in a mixing bowl, add cooked and shredded chicken, sour cream, the juice of one lime, can of tomatoes, and taco seasoning. Stir together with a rubber spatula. Fold in ½ cup of cheddar cheese into the chicken mixture.
- Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Pour in black beans, diced peppers, and diced onions. Mix to combine.
- Pour in the chicken/sour cream mixture and spread it evenly over the black bean and vegetable base.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese on top. Garnish with green onion.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
- Serve with dollops of sour cream, fresh avocado slices, jalapeno slices, and crumbles of tortilla chips.
Nutrition
Notes
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If you're using MyFitnessPal, search 'A Paige Of Positivity' and find CHICKEN TACO CASSEROLE calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
Courtney Paige says
I love this recipe! So easy to make and it was great re-heated, too!
Ali says
So delicious! The flavors all go together so well. Definitely will be making again!
Sydney Van Acker says
okay taco night is always a hit, but taco casserole is one of my new favs. Love how easy and delicious this one is
Jamison Midgley says
Can’t be from the Midwest without a taco casserole (: definitely will be a dish I bring out during Sunday football
Sherri says
So, so yummy! Filling, versatile, and easy! Definitely going in the regular rotation. Thanks for sharing!
Chris C. says
I made this for my lunch this week, and it is SO good! It is so flavorful and delicious! I subbed plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream to get some added protein. I ate on top of a bit of yellow rice and topped with some cilantro and dollop of sour cream. Had amazing nutrition stats for following my macros but didn't sacrifice any taste. This will be added to my meal prep rotation for sure!
Kira D says
Even better than actual tacos! My new favorite meal to prep for the week and have for lunch or dinner 2-3 more times!