I’m still all about these easy, one dish dinners. This one is very similar to the ultra popular Taco Chicken Bowls, but it’s made in the oven and takes about an hour, as opposed to eight in a slow cooker. The directions go something like this: dump, stir, cover, cook, eat, be happy.
One little jar of salsa adds so much flavor to this dish that I almost feel like it’s cheating and the little bit of cheddar on top really made it rich and satisfying. Next time I might even try a little dollop of sour cream! Either way, this recipe was a no brainer to make and a definite tummy pleaser!
I used a couple Budget Bytes tricks to make it more affordable. As usual, I used reconstituted bouillon for the broth instead of canned chicken broth. I’ve also been buying big 2lb. bags of shredded cheese and then dividing them into four freezer bags (2 cups each, the same size as normal bags of shredded cheese) and this really saves me a lot. Then there’s the chicken. I still only buy my chicken breasts on sale. I can usually get them for $1.99/lb. (sometimes less!) if I really keep an eye out. I know not everyone will be able to find this deal, but it’s worth mentioning and looking out for!
Salsa Chicken Casserole
Salsa Chicken Casserole
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice ($0.33)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed ($0.52)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($1.39)
- 1 16oz. jar salsa ($1.99)
- 1 cup chicken broth ($0.15)
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.03)
- 2 chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs. total) ($2.99)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ($0.94)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.17)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Drain and briefly rinse the black beans. Add the dry rice, black beans, corn, salsa, chicken broth, chili powder, and oregano to an 8×8 inch casserole dish. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
- Cut the chicken breasts into three pieces each. Push the chicken pieces down into the rice salsa mixture in the casserole dish. Try to push them down as far into the liquid as they’ll go. Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil. Bake for one hour.
- Take the casserole dish out of the oven, test the rice with a fork to make sure it is tender. If it is not, recover the dish, return it to the oven, and bake for 10-15 minutes more. When the rice is tender, sprinkle the cheese over top and return the casserole to the oven for a few minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Add the sliced green onions on top after baking and serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Add the rice, beans, corn, and salsa to an 8×8 casserole dish. BUT, drain and rinse the beans first and thaw the corn first. I didn’t thaw my corn and it slowed my casserole down.
Add a cup of chicken broth to give the rice enough liquid to cook in (it will also get some liquid from the salsa). I decided after the fact to add a little extra chili powder and oregano, but you don’t have to stir the other ingredients together first. Stir those spices right in.
Cut each chicken breast into three pieces. My chicken was still partially frozen (I forgot to put it in the fridge the night before). If it was completely thawed, I would have flattened these pieces out a little bit more.
Push the chicken pieces down into the rice mixture – probably more so than I did here (I learn as I go, too).
Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil to hold all the steam in, and bake it in a preheated 375 degree oven for one hour. After an hour, use a fork to test some of the rice and make sure that it’s tender. If it’s not, simply recover the dish and bake a little bit longer (10-15 minutes). If your chicken and corn were thawed (unlike mine), you probably won’t need to put it back in the oven.
Once you know the rice is fully cooked, sprinkle some cheese over top and pop it back in the oven for just a few more minutes to melt the cheese. Then, when it comes out, add the sliced green onions on top. The end!
Want to look closer? Why not! nom.
Easy dinners make me happy.
Has anyone put this in a crock pot to cook? Was it successful?
Hello, tonight I did this in the crock pot. 2.5 hours on high. Followed the recipe except that I had to add a little more liquid- maybe 1/2 cup water- as my salsa was pretty thick and chunky. At the end, I turned off all the heat, put shredded cheese on top and then served after it melted. Turned out great! So yes, totally works in crock pot too.
made this for dinner tonight and loved it. i am really interested in your baking recipes. its the step by step pictures which make me visit your blog so often.
I really enjoyed this recipe. Simple and easy and good comfort food. The rice needed a little extra time but nothing crazy. I want to make this again but i want to try boneless skinless chicken thighs, would it work with the same oven time?
Boneless thighs will work well. :)
I sprayed a 9×13 pan with Pam. Put cut up chicken in the bottom of the pan. Placed 2C of cooked rice, 1 can of retried beans, 2C salsa & 1C of chicken broth in a large bowl. Stirred mixture & poured it over chicken. Baked for 1 1/2hr. Tasted great.
Only stopping eating this to say it is wonderful! And its so easy. We are a family of 5 until baby kraken starts to eat table food so I upped it a bit. 8 chunks chicken,1.5 cups rice,1.5 broth,1.5 salsa, 1.5 corn, kept the beans and spices same and added a half TBSP garlic powder. In a 9×13 pan and cooked for 70 minutes before cheese stage. Its awesome its perfect and it was easy. Thank you for this recipe!
This meal turned out awesome ! I even cut up the chicken the next day & made a burrito w it all, I did use brown minute rice & still worked great! Thank u!
What kind of rice do you use? Can you use instant white?
I used regular long grain white rice. Instant rice cooks a lot faster than regular long grain white rice, so the baking time will differ. I haven’t tested it with that type of rice, so I’m not sure how long it would take.
I used brown minute rice & turned out great !
Was wondering, can you double this recipe?
Yes, but you may need to bake it longer depending on the size of your dish. It’s hard to say without testing it.
Trying this recipe for my family tonight. Sounds great.
Don’t have an hour for baking, so I’m going to make this with canned chicken in a covered skillet, and serve with cheese on top. Thanks for the idea!
I followed the instructions to the letter and the rice came out hard as rocks. It was atrocious, an additional 10-15 minutes in the oven wouldn’t have come close to fixing it. I made sure that all of the steam stayed in the pan and the rice wasn’t even close to cooked.
This recipe was a sure hit! Completely GOOD!! Enough said!!
I’ve made this several times and it always turns out great. Today I added a little sliced avocado on top and it made it extra creamy and awesome! I used it in addition to the cheese, but if you wanted to make this without cheese, the avocado would probably make up for it.
Hello Beth,
I’ve been following your food blog for a while now and I’ve made some dishes here and there but this is the first time I post. I wanted to say thank you very much for these tasty recipes, this casserole was a success! I left it in the oven a lil longer n was a lil dry, but so delicious I’ll be making it again. I added a drop of sour cream on top and I’ll be buying some chips next time ;)
Thank you once again!
After reading the comments, I’m not sure why anyone would do a food blog!
This was delicious! I used six frozen chicken tenders from Target; I partially thawed the chicken in the microwave but tossed the corn in frozen. I used a three-quart casserole with a lid and did not lift the lid for an hour. Since my chicken and corn were half frozen, I baked it at 400 degrees for a half hour and 375 for the last half hour. Other than adding another 1/2 cup of chicken broth next time, I would make the recipe as written. We served it over a few Fritos with a dollop of sour cream. Would also be perfect served in a tortilla.
Thanks for the recipe! It will nice to have a new addition to the monthly menu plan.