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.
I would love to make this but I do not have green onions nor can I have beans, will use low sodium broth because on dialysis & have to watch certain nutrients. Do you think this will still be good? Thanks
Well, that’s a lot of changes, so it definitely won’t be the same. :) Whether it’s good or not might be a matter of personal opinion.
Thanks for sharing. This was so easy! It turned out great. My family loved it.
This was pretty good..I added a dolip of daisy sour cream and that really made it taste good! However Next time I will season the chicken. It tasted a bit bland.
I added some daisy sour cream, too! If you poke a bunch of holes in the chicken with a fork it will absorb more of the flavor from the salsa and also tenderize the meat.
First and last time I have used this sight for a recipe. First I made this exactly as instructed and it does not fit in an 8 x 8 pan. Ran over and made a huge mess in my oven. Second, after an hour the rice wasn’t even close to being done and the chicken in the middle was still raw! This was just a frustrating and messy recipe. Not worth the trouble. Too much time needed to cook and especially for clean up.
Yes, this was my experience as well. It took literally 2 hours to cook which made for a late dinner for my hungry fam. Everything was raw at the 1 hour mark. I feel it may cook closer to the 1 hour mark if it were in a 9×13 pan.
Overall the flavor was very good, but I would add salt next time. I used homemade canned salsa, organic free range broth, and organic beans and corn.
Love this recipe. My fiancé loves it! I started making it today when about 20min into baking my power went out :( I moved it into metal baking dishes, covered it in foal and threw it on our grill for 45 min. It came out great.
Omg! I just mixed this all up and put it in my slow cooker! It smells Devine! I used cannellini beans instead of the black and tinned corn. Can not wait to eat it! :)
I loved the recipe but as others have said previously the rice doesn’t cook throughly. I followed the recipe for the most part but made the following changes and it came out great. I used Rotel instead of salsa. Then I mixed the Rotel, chicken broth, corn and seasons in a separate bowl. I put the rice in the bottom of the dish then put the chicken in and poured everything over the top that way the rice stayed covered at the bottom. I covered the dish with foil very tightly making sure to tuck the ends under the handles. I cooked for an hour and 30 minutes instead of 1 hour and I did use plain white rice. When the time was up I followed the rest of the recipe and topped it with cheese and onions and returned it to the oven for ten minutes and it was perfect! I served this with a drop of sour cream on top too.
I was just curious if I used raw chicken should I go ahead and boil it first before putting in the dish?
The chicken I used for the recipe was raw. :) It’s in the oven for an hour, so it has plenty of time to cook through.
Going to try this tonight. Will get raw chicken, but wondering if using shredded cooked chicken would be ok? Maybe next time.
I made this faster stove top version with precooked shredded chicken and it was even more awesome!
Mine came out perfect!! Rice and all! Love your recipes.
This is the first recipe I made from this site. I have made it a couple of times and my husband loves it. I found other recipes that I personally like better but this works well because it is pretty easy and I can get it on the table in a reasonable amount of time for the least amount of work.
It was yummy. I used a bag of instant quick cook brown rice & chicken tenders. It was what I had on hand.
Made this tonight for my in laws… they loved it, so thank you! :) very Yummy!
i made this last night, very easy and quite delicious. The chicken was very very moist. I did rub a little taco seasoning on the chicken to give it a little more flavor, but otherwise, followed recipe as is !
Would it be fine if I used canned corn instead of frozen?
You can, but it tends to have a sweeter flavor and softer texture.
This recipe is awesome! Just wanted to say I’ve been making it and modifying it and it tastes great.
As for the uncooked rice problem some people are having, I think it just needs a little more liquid. I actually use water instead of chicken broth and just add as much as I think it needs. Just takes a little playing around with.