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.
This looks so yummy and family friendly, which is what I think I like about this the most!!
Will definitely be trying this out!
Ate it tonight for supper and it was SOOO YUMMY!!
Cooked exactly as instructed and my chicken came out still raw, too… Hoping I don’t overcook it. I have no idea how much longer to put it in for.
Zaycon Foods sells antibiotic/hormone free and cage free chicken breasts. You can sometimes catch a sale where they’re $1.79/lb but you have to buy in bulk. Split it with a friend and save!
SUCCESS!! It just needed a bit more time and liquid and now with the melted cheese, OMG it looks awesome! :D
I cooked mine as instructed at 350 for an hour and the rice and even the chicken was still uncooked….I don’t know what I’ve done wrong but I’ve put in it for another 30 mins and I’ll see what it’s like then. Kind of disappointed but it smells wonderful…even uncooked!! :p
Recipe reccomeds 375F. Maybe that’ll help? Mine is in the oven and can’t wait! :)
This is great. I made it last night, (half batch in a bread pan) and actually forgot to put the cheese on – it was still great.
I remembered this time with the leftovers though, and the cheese does make it amazing!
I spent some 20 mins on this post and found amazing information. Thanks for this.. Hope to see more like this in future. I was searching some info on b school
I just made this with hot salsa, a pinch of cayenne pepper and used a mix of sharp cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. Talk about HOT and SPICY…Delish! To cut down on some of the sodium content, I also used black beans in the can that were lower sodium and reduced sodium fat-free chicken broth. This is not for the faint of heart – if you like it hot and spicy, this is the way to go! With a touch of sour cream and the green onions to top, this is the ATOMIC BOMB! Hmmm. Hmmm. Hmmm.
I made this tonight and it is delish! I didn’t buy to spicy of a salsa so next time I would add something to boost the heat. This one is a keeper. Thank you for sharing!
Cari – Definitely use the instant brown rice. Another reader tried it with regular brown rice and it did not cook fully. I’m not sure how much extra time it will need to bake because of the fact that it will be cold when it goes into the oven. Check the texture of the rice at 45 minutes (in case the instant brown rice cooks extra fast) and if it’s not done, keep adding 15 minutes to the baking time until it is tender.
Beth,
I want to make this for dinner tomorrow night, I have both brown rice and instant brown. Do you think I could either assemble it this evening to allow it to take less cooking time or can cook the rice ahead? I’m having company for dinner so I want it to turn out good.
I wouldn’t recommend doing rice in a crockpot because it’s just too tricky to time it along with everything else that would be in with it. I’d also be afraid it’d be too gummy.
We buy a lot of those flash-frozen breasts — they tend to be cheaper than fresh in my area — and the directions on them to say cook them frozen for about 45 minutes. I’m going to try this yummy recipe with those, and I’ll let you know how it turns out!
BTW, Beth, I love your site! I’ve made who knows how many of your dishes :)
I tried it with Jasmine rice, and it was delicious, but it needed about 1 1/2 cups more liquid and about 25 more minutes. I found that the chicken was juicy and properly cooked, even with the extra cooking time. It does indeed make excellent lunches to take with to work! I’ll definitely be making this recipe again.
Anonymous – I think if you used a crock pot you could pretty much just follow the directions for the Taco Chicken Bowls. I’ve never done it with the rice in the crock pot too, but I think it would work!