This easy Mexican Chicken Casserole has extra cheesy layers of chicken, veggies and refried beans with corn tortillas. This will be your new go-to casserole for Mexican night at home!
Why You’ll Love This Mexican Casserole Recipe
There is nothing easier than a casserole for dinner! And when you infuse all those amazing Mexican flavors, it’s a match made in heaven! Here are just a few reasons why you’ll love it as much as we do:
- Make Ahead: When life is super busy, but we still want a warm, filling, and comforting dinner, we look for something that we can assemble ahead of time. Then, when it’s just about dinner time, all we need to do is pop it in the oven and let it bake for just about 20-25 minutes!
- Freezer-Friendly: Mexican casserole is perfect for prepping ahead and freezing for later. This one works especially well, since all of the major components are precooked. We love to do that as part of our meal prep and then simply defrost and bake on busy weeknights.
- Family Friendly: Can anyone say Taco Tuesday? This is a fun – and much easier – twist on making a full scale taco bar for the family. We make this recipe a lot and use any kind of meat we have leftover. That way, you’re using flavors and ingredients your family already loves!
Are you loving the idea of easy casserole dinners? You know we do! You might also love our taco mac and cheese, the best vegetable enchiladas (seriously…), our cheesy enchiladas, and our chicken enchilada pasta bake!
What You’ll Need
We love making dinners that use ingredients commonly found in our fridge and pantry. Easy dinner for the win! Scroll down to the recipe card for exact amounts.
- Refried Beans
- Chicken Broth: You can also use veggie stock.
- Olive Oil
- Veggies: We’ll be using yellow onion, red and green bell pepper, jalapeno, fresh garlic, and frozen corn.
- Seasoning: Grab some chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.
- Cheese: We love using shredded Mexican cheese blend.
- Corn Tortillas
- Red Enchilada Sauce: We love our homemade enchilada sauce, but you can also use a store brand if you prefer.
- Chicken: This is a great recipe to use up leftovers, but you can also use our recipe for shredded chicken!
- Toppings: These are optional but really good! We love using sour cream, lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and avocado.
How to Make Mexican Chicken Casserole
In just over a half hour, you’ll be ready to enjoy this homemade Mexican casserole recipe! Check out the recipe card at the end of this post for detailed instructions.
- Prep: Grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish and preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Stir: In a small bowl, stir together the refried beans and chicken broth to make them easier to spread.
- Sauté: Cook your veggies for 5-10 minutes until they’re nice and tender. Then add the fresh garlic and seasonings and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Layer: Spread a little bit of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan. Then layer in order: half of the tortilla strips, ALL of the refried bean mixture, half of the veggies, half of the chicken, half of the remaining sauce, half of the cheese. Repeat with the other half of the tortilla strips, veggies, chicken, sauce, and finish the top with the cheese.
- Bake: Cover your casserole dish with foil and bake it for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 10 more minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is perfectly melted.
- Serve: Serve your Mexican Casserole however you like it – with guacamole, lime wedges, fresh cilantro and sour cream!
Tips for Best Results
This simple tips will make sure your Mexican casserole is the best on the block:
- Tortillas: Use corn tortillas to make this recipe, not flour tortillas. Flour tortillas can get soggy, but like in enchiladas, corn tortillas will hold up to the sauce and cheese!
- Sauce: If you use a store bought enchilada sauce, taste it and make sure it has good flavor before using it. If it’s bland, I recommend spicing it up with cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt, pepper, etc.
- Toppings: Don’t skimp on the toppings: cilantro, avocado/guacamole, and sour cream!
- Meat: You can use ground beef, pork, or turkey in place of the shredded chicken, you’ll just need to brown it first. This recipe is also a great way to use up any leftover taco meat you may have laying around!
What to Serve With Mexican Casserole
In all honesty, this Mexican chicken casserole is a complete meal all on it’s own. The only thing we occasionally add is a side of Mexican rice or some chips and salsa! Depending on our mood, we rotate between fresh corn salsa, salsa verde, and restaurant style salsa.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
This casserole is quite large. So, even though it is a family favorite, we do usually end up with some leftovers. Here’s how to handle them.
- Refrigerate: We store our leftovers in the fridge for about 3-4 days. Just cover your baking dish tightly in foil or put the leftovers into an airtight container.
- Reheat: To reheat, slice yourself a piece and reheat for a few minutes in a 350°F oven, or in the microwave if you’re in a rush!
- Freeze: To freeze this Mexican casserole, allow all of the ingredients to cool completely, cover it with foil, and then pop it in your freezer. If you are planning to freeze it from the get-go, I’d assemble it directly in a disposable tin pan. For best flavor and texture, this is best within 3 months of freezing, but of course can be frozen for longer!
More Easy Mexican Recipes
Yield: 12 servings
Mexican Casserole
This easy Mexican Chicken Casserole has extra cheesy layers of chicken, veggies and refried beans with corn tortillas. This will be your new go-to casserole for Mexican night at home!
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can refried beans
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 18 – 20 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
- 2 cups homemade red enchilada sauce
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
Optional toppings:
- sour cream
- lime wedges
- fresh cilantro
- avocado or guacamole
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish, set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together refried beans and chicken broth to make them easier to spread, set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil, onion, red and green bell peppers, and jalapeño. Cook, stiring often, until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add corn, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat.
- Spread a little bit of enchiladas sauce on the bottom of the prepared casseroel dish. Then layer everything in this order: half of the tortilla strips, ALL of the refried bean mixture, half of the veggies, half of the chicken, half of the remaining enchilada sauce, half of the cheese.
- Repeat with the other half of the tortilla strips, veggies, chicken, enchilada sauce, and finish the top with the remaining cheese.
- Cover casserole dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additonal 10 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is perfectly melted on top.
- Serve as desired with guacamole, lime wedges, fresh cilantro and sour cream!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1, Calories: 291kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 36mg, Sodium: 692mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 6g
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I used black beans – smashed them then added 1/4 cup of chicken broth to make it spreadable. I sautéed the peppers, onions and corn in jalapeño olive oil and used medium green enchilada sauce. Exceptional!!! Thank you so much for the recipe.