Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole

This Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole is probably one of my favorite easy weeknight dishes to make. It’s loaded with flavor and can feed a crowd. If you don’t have a crowd to feed, this makes great leftovers throughout the week!

I love a good casserole. I’m originally from Minnesota where casseroles or hotdish as we called it there, were a weekly meal in our house.

A few of my other favs are this Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole, Chicken Broccoli Quinoa Casserole, and Quinoa Enchilada Casserole. So be sure to check those out as well!

Mexican Chicken and Rice Ingredients

• 2 Chicken Breasts boneless and skinless chopped into 1 inch size pieces
• 1 cup Basmati White Rice, you can use any kind of rice you prefer, note: my directions use Basmati Rice and I cooked it via the instructions on the package. This equals 3 cups cooked rice.
• 1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 16oz jar medium Salsa, about 1 1/2 cups You can use a more mild Salsa or more spicy, depending on what you prefer.
• 1 cup frozen Corn
• 1 15oz can Black Beans drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup fresh Cilantro chopped
• 1/2 tsp Cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp Chili powder
• 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 1/4 cups Mexican Chedder Cheese
• 2 Tbs Coconut Oil

How to Make Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole

1. Prepare the Rice.
2. In medium sauce pan add 1 cup Basmati Rice and 1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth.
3. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low, cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit an additional 10 minutes.
4. While the Rice is cooking, prepare chicken.
5. In large frying pan over med-high heat add 2 Tbs coconut oil and chicken.
6. Cook until no longer pink in the middle, about 10-15 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
8. In large bowl add Rice, Chicken, Salsa, Corn, Black Beans, Cilantro, Cumin, Chili Powder, Salt, and Pepper. Mix well.
9. Mix in 1 cup cheese.
10. Add to lightly grease 2 quart casserole pan.
11. Top with remaining cheese.
12. Bake for 15 minutes.

Toppings

• Avocado
• Tomatoes
• Cilantro
• Sour Cream
• Salsa
• Lime Juice

The possibilities are endless!

I like to put mine in a bowl to make it like a burrito bowl. I squeeze a wedge of Lime over it and top with Avocados and Tomatoes.

You could also put this in a tortilla shell and eat it that way too.

I love this meal because you can spice it up a bit more if you want. I used a medium Salsa to make it kid friendly. But you could use a more spicy Salsa if you want.

It’s so versatile, if there’s something you don’t like just substitute it with something else! You could use Beef instead of Chicken, or make it Vegetarian and don’t add any meat, that would be good too!

Storage

You can store this in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can also freeze this for up to 3 months in a freezer bag or container. Just thaw it out in the fridge the night before you want to reheat it.

If you try this let me know what you think by leaving a comment below, it’s super helpful to me and other readers!

Cheers!

*This post first appeared on Tastefulventure on Oct 2016 and has recently been updated with new information and media to benefit the reader.

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