Southwestern Chicken Bake is a creamy chicken casserole made with rotisserie chicken in a creamy sauce topped with cheese and crushed Doritos. It’s the perfect easy casserole for dinner or a potluck!
If you’re craving a comforting and hearty dinner, this Southwest chicken bake is a great choice. It’s a creamy, cheesy, chicken casserole with Southwest-inspired ingredients that give it tons of flavor.
This is the best dinner for a cold night because it’s really filling and it’s easy to make. I use rotisserie chicken to make it simple – all you do is make the chicken filling, layer it in a baking dish, and top it with some Doritos for a crunchy topping.
You can serve it all on its own or add a vegetable side dish or salad on the side. Plus, you can assemble this Southwestern chicken casserole a day ahead for easy meal prep and bake it the next day.
How to make Southwest CHicken Bake
- Using shredded or chopped rotisserie chicken is the best and easiest way to make this casserole. You can also use canned chicken or leftover baked or grilled chicken.
- The sauce is made with onions, diced green chilies, and chopped jalapeño peppers, condensed soup and sour cream. You can use cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, or even cream of celery soup.
- Shredded cheddar cheese and crushed nacho cheese Doritos make this a heavenly cheesy chicken casserole!
- You’ll want to sauté the onions and jalapeno first, then stir in the soup and other ingredients before adding to the caserole dish.
- You’ll know the casserole is done when the top gets light golden brown and the sauce is bubbling.
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Substitutions
- Use any kind of condensed soup (i.e. cream of mushroom) – even fat free or low sodium.
- Use any kind of cheese – pepper jack cheese would be great too.
- You don’t have to use Doritos – use Fritos or cornflakes instead. Or use a different flavor Doritos!
Southwestern Chicken Bake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Rotisserie Chicken (skin removed and shredded)
- 2 medium onions , chopped
- 2 Jalapeno peppers (seeds removed and chopped)
- 2 (10.75 ounces each) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 package 9.25 ounce Doritos, crushed
- 1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chilies
- Green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Heat cooking spray in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and jalapeno peppers and cook, stirring often, until softened.
- Stir in Chicken, soup, sour cream and green chilies. Spray a 9x13x2 baking dish with cooking spray. Add half the chicken mixture evenly distributed in the baking dish, then add cheese on top of that followed by a layer of the crushed Doritos. Repeat the sequence adding a second layer of all three items.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes uncovered or until all cheese is melted and it is bubbly. Let rest for at least 5 minutes, garnish with green onions and serve.
Recipe Video
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Step-by-Step Photos
