Baked Southwest Chicken Casserole is DELICIOUS and LOADED with flavors. This dish is perfect for a quick and easy meal the whole family will enjoy. Southwest chicken is full of comfort flavors like black beans, corn, green chilies, cilantro, tender chicken and southwest seasonings. You will also love this dish because the clean-up is super simple.Â
Delicious Baked Southwest Chicken Casserole
If you love Tex-Mex then you will love the flavors in this dish. This recipe is one dish, loaded with flavors, easy to clean up and full of tex-mex seasonings.
I wanted to recreate the experience I had when visiting Texas last time we were on vacation. After a few failed attempts, this dish came together as the perfect mixture of spicy and sweet.
How to Serve Baked Southwest Chicken Casserole
This dish is really great on its own but you could pair a few of your favorite sides to make it a wholesome meal. I usually pair one or two sides with this meal. Here are a some ideas we serve it with:
Traditional Sides
- Rice- We love to use jasmine rice, yellow rice or Spanish rice.
- Tortillas- This dish is super yummy scooped up inside a warm tortilla.
- Cornbread- One of my personal favorites. Try this delicious all time favorite corn bread recipe.
- Chips- Any excuse to have tortillas chips is a great day in my book.
Low Carb Sides
- Cauliflower Rice- I choose to make cauliflower rice a few days a week. You can add whatever spice you want to change it up.
- Sautéed Spinach
- Roasted Cauliflower- If you prefer to roast the cauliflower this is a great alternative to cauliflower rice.
- Salad- You can serve a side salad, or even a large entree style salad to pair well with this. It is especially good if you can find a jalapeno ranch to top it!
If you have a serving suggestion that you love that I missed, please let me know in the comments. I would really like to give it a try the next time I make this.
Tips & Tricks to Making Baked Southwest Chicken Casserole
Baked Southwest Chicken Casserole is a super simple recipe to make. Â I am going to walk through a few tips, tricks, and frequently asked questions here, but you can find the FULL printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Mix the garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper and set aside.
- Combine the corn, cilantro, black beans, red pepper, Green Chiles and mix well.
- In a large casserole dish, lay the chicken breast flat. Sprinkle with seasonings and spread the corn mixture over top, then top with shredded cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees.
- If the cheese starts to get too brown cover lightly with tin foil.
FAQ’s for Baked Southwest Chicken Casserole
Can I use chicken thighs, chicken tenderloins, or other cuts of chicken in this dish?
Yes! This dish will work well with a variety of cuts, so feel free to use your favorite boneless, skinless cut. If you do change the type of meat used in the recipe it will most likely change the time it needs to cook. To ensure your dish is done, use a meat thermometer and cook to 165˚F
My Southwest Chicken Casserole has a lot of juice at the end. Is this normal?
Since both the vegetables and the chicken will release juices as they cook, there will be some liquid in the pan when you are done. The amount will vary based on how big your pan is and how much liquid is in your chicken. The juice is full of flavor and great to spoon over rice or veggies to give some extra flavor or can be carefully drained immediately after cooking so that just the chicken and toppings remain.
What to do with Baked Southwest Chicken Casserole leftovers?
Baked Southwest Chicken is not only delicious right out of the oven, but it is also great as leftovers throughout the week!
To store leftover Southwest Chicken, package in an airtight container and place in the:
- refrigerator for 3-4 days
- freezer for up to a month. When I freeze this dish I prefer to do it in individual sized portions so it is easy to reheat and reuse.
Baked Southwest Chicken Casserole Leftover Recipes
- Southwest Chicken Nachos– Spread chips in a thin layer on a sheet pan. Add chopped Southwest Chicken, any additional veggies and top with cheese. Bake at 425ËšF until the cheese is melted and they are heated through. Top with salsa, guacamole, sour cream and shredded lettuce.
- Southwest Quesadilla-Â Cut up chicken, and veggies. Place between two tortillas and grill on each side until golden brown.
- Southwest Chicken Salad– Cut up your favorite greens, add chopped chicken, beans, corn, cheese, avocado, salsa, and sour cream.
- Southwest Stuffed Baked Potatoes– Chop up leftover Southwest chicken and toppings and then stuff in a baked potato. Top with additional cheese, sour cream, salsa, or guacamole.
If you do get a chance to try it, I would love it if you let me know! You can leave me a comment below, or if you post a picture on Instagram, make sure to tag me @easyfamilyrecipesso that I can see what you are cooking up! It makes my day to see others enjoying the recipes that I share!
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Baked Southwest Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 1 cup black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 cup corn see note
- 1 can diced green chiles
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1 cup colby jack cheese shredded
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Â Mix the garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper and set aside.
- Combine the corn, black beans, green chiles, red bell pepper, and chopped cilantro and mix well.
- In a large casserole dish, lay the chicken breast flat in the baking dish. Sprinkle with seasonings, then spread the corn mixture evenly over it. Add cheese to top it off.
- Bake uncovered at 375ËšF for 40-50 minutes or until the chicken has an internal temperature of 160ËšF. If the cheese starts to get too brown for your liking, loosely cover with foil for the remainder of the cook time.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
- You can cut the chicken in half, chunks, or use chicken tenderloins in lieu of full chicken breasts to make serving easier. You can also use different cuts of boneless, skinless chicken such as thighs or wings however if the cut of meat is changed, cooking time may be varied.
- Fresh cooked corn, thawed frozen corn, or drained canned corn can be used in this recipe.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator or in the freezer for up to a month.
Nutrition Information:
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
DeAnna says
I’m looking forward to making this for my family, however I do not care for cilantro. Is there a substitution for it?
Kimber Matherne says
You can just leave it out. My family loves it, but I know some don’t. It will still have plenty of flavor. I hope you enjoy it!
Heather R says
Do you think it can be cooked from frozen? How would the time change? I I meal prepped it today and put it in the freezer raw.
Kimber Matherne says
Generally you don’t want to cook meat from frozen in the oven because it takes a long time to bake and the end result will be super tough. If you want to freeze, I recommend taking it out and leaving it in the fridge until thawed (24-48 hours) then baking as directed.
Mona Oliver says
I left out the cilantro and added a package of Lipton onion soup and a dash of red pepper. Hubby loved it. Very tasty.
LuciLu says
This dish is amazing, I did add salsa to top it off and some lime juice. Would definitely recommend and it’s a quick to make!
Lori says
Could this be made in a crockpot?
Mamsiedzi says
This was super easy! Delicious! The Family loved it.
Mamsiedzi says
Sorry, I forgot to add that served on the side salsa, sour cream and corn tortillas and saffon rice.
Deb G says
I mixed the ingredients together, except for the cheese & cilantro, before leaving this morning for work. I covered the dish & set it in the refrigerator. When we came home late this afternoon, I added the cheese and baked the casserole 45 minutes & it was cooked through. We decided not to add the cilantro because it didn’t seem to fit in at that point. We served ourselves using a slotted spoon so the liquid drained back into the dish. We love this dish! I’ll be making it again!
Malisa says
This recipe was great!! Made it for my husband last night and he loved it, he said it was even great tonight reheated for leftovers. I’m a vegetarian, so I didn’t try to the chicken but I left a little of the corn, black bean mix off to the side and had it over top of scrambled eggs….it was amazing. Oh!! And I made the chicken with your cornbread recipe which was given 5 stars by my 8 year old daughter! Thank you!!
K says
Can I make this, Stick in fridge and eat 3 hours later?
Kate says
This was so easy to throw together and turned out so yummy with all the different flavors!! We loved it!