Best Southwest Chicken Casserole (Healthy!)
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A Healthy Southwest Chicken Casserole Recipe that is so easy to make! This Mexican Chicken Casserole is perfect for a one-pan dinner.
Family friendly Mexican Chicken Casserole
We are so obsessed with easy dinners in our house, but we also like meals that are healthy and high in protein, and lower in salt.
For so long, I didn’t think casseroles were a good fit for our family because so many are high in salt and use canned creamy soups (loaded with preservatives and mystery ingredients).
However, I then discovered that you can easily make casseroles with much better ingredients (like our Healthy Spaghetti Squash Casserole).
This southwest chicken casserole with black beans is simple, yet so tasty and will be one of your family’s go-to’s for an easy weeknight dinner!
Need more ideas for dinner? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes.
Why we love this Mexican Chicken Casserole Recipe
This is such an easy and delicious meal and we love it for so many reasons:
- One Pan – This cheesy southwest chicken and rice casserole is made in the casserole dish that it is cooked in, which means fewer dishes and less clean-up!
- High Protein – This casserole has 35g of protein per serving!
- Easy To Make – Everything cooks in the same casserole dish with very minimal ingredient prep! You also don’t have to cook the chicken before because it fully cooks in the recommended time. As easy as a crockpot dinner, but made in only an hour!
Southwestern Chicken Casserole Healthy ingredients
To make this southwest chicken casserole, you’ll need:
- white rice
- chicken breasts
- chicken broth
- black beans
- frozen corn
- jarred salsa
- cheddar cheese
- onion
- minced garlic, chili powder, and paprika
Here’s a link to the casserole dish we used.
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
How to make Mexican Chicken Casserole
- In a casserole dish, add white rice, minced garlic, onion, and chicken broth and stir together.
- Then add chicken breasts, black beans, corn, salsa, chili powder, and paprika. Make sure to keep the rice on the bottom and covered.
- Top with cheese and cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
- Then bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Substitutions
Chicken: Chicken thighs or chicken tenders could be substituted for chicken breasts in this recipe. Cooked chicken can also be substituted. I’d use about 3 cups! Keep the cook time as is so the rice cooks.
Beans: Black beans can be substituted with pinto or kidney beans.
Salsa: Any brand of jarred salsa will work in this recipe.
Garlic: If you don’t have fresh minced garlic, substitute with 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
Onion: If you don’t have fresh onion, substitute with 1 teaspoon onion powder
Corn: Corn is optional.
Cheese: Cheddar cheese can be substituted with Monterey jack or pepper jack cheese. You can also omit it if you are dairy-free.
Rice: You can’t substitute brown or short grain rice in this recipe. It will not work. Different types of rice cook differently.
How to store this Healthy Chicken Casserole
Refrigerator: You can store this southwest casserole in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe, but we do not recommend it. We’ve found it can get mushy once thawed.
Reheating: This Mexican casserole tastes great when reheated! You can reheat in the microwave, in the oven set at 350°F until the center is cooked through, or sauté on the stove.
It’s better to store this casserole in the refrigerator and enjoy fresh.
Make Ahead: We don’t recommend mixing the ingredients for this casserole together the night before baking. The rice will absorb the broth and it can mess up the texture.
How to reheat Southwest Chicken Casserole
You can reheat in the microwave, in the oven set at 350°F, or sauté on the stove until the center is cooked through.
What goes with Mexican Chicken Casserole
This cheesy southwest chicken and rice casserole is a delicious and complete meal on it’s own.
It’s also great:
- with a corn tomato avocado salad on the side
- or with pineapple salsa or creamy taco dressing on top
Mexican Chicken Casserole FAQs
Yes, you can. This Mexican chicken casserole calls for raw chicken. It fully cooks in the recommended time. Cooked chicken can also be substituted.
Yes, but we do not recommend it, because we’ve found it can get mushy
Other healthy casserole recipes:
Here are some of our other healthy casserole recipes that we think you would love:
Love chicken? If so – here are some of our other favorite healthy chicken recipes!
Mexican Chicken Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1.5 lbs chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup black beans cooked, rinsed & drained
- 1 cup frozen corn defrosted
- 16 oz jarred salsa
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large casserole dish (12×9), lay down white rice, minced garlic, onion and chicken broth. Stir until combined.
- Add chicken breasts, black beans, corn, salsa, chili powder and paprika on top. Try to keep the rice on the bottom and covered so it can cook correctly.
- Top with cheddar cheese.
- Cover and bake for 45 minutes.
- Bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Nutrition Facts
Important Note: This is not an authentic Mexican recipe. My goal is always to share recipes that are a bit healthier and made with affordable, accessible ingredients so everyone can enjoy them regardless of their food allergies or dietary restrictions.
Loved how easy this recipe was, was feeling a bit uneasy that the rice wouldn’t cook but it all came together just like the recipe said it would! Amazing, flavor was so good. Going to make this again next week! Mexican night can never go wrong !
Unfortunately the first go around is only a 3 star but I plan to try again and will change the rating if it works out better. Keep in mind I followed the exact directions, used the proper rice, etc. Ended up with too much liquid and I had a horrible time getting the rice to cook. After the 55 min I put it back in for another 15 and then another 15. The flavor of what we did eat was really good and it was so easy that’s why I want to try again.
Idk what happened but all of my rice didn’t cook. I thought it was all covered but some was mushy and some was still crunchy. Next time I will cook at a higher temp to see if that helps cook the rice. The flavor was good though.
This was such an easy recipe to throw together and now I have lunch tomorrow as well! Follow the instructions and ingredients exactly how it’s written except using canned corn which turned out perfect! Served it topped with cilantro, lime and Guac! Adding to the weekly rotation!
This was delicious. I used riced cauliflower. I would suggest omitting the broth if you do use cauliflower because it had too much liquid but it did not change the taste. My children enjoyed this meal.
I thought this recipe had so much flavor! But when I made it my rice did not cook. It was still crunchy and not cooked. I followed the recipe exactly as it states. Would you recommend cooking the rice first before you put it in the pan?
Was your rice completely covered? Did you use a different kind of rice? The rice needs to be completely covered by all other ingredients for it to cook correctly
I used raw cauliflower rice and cooked chicken. I baked fir 25 min and it was fantastic. The
Same experience. Used the correct rice, stirred it, and was completely covered.
Toni – I’m not really sure what went wrong when you tried to make this dish. You said you had liquid left over when you made this.. but that the rice wasn’t cooked. This is not a liquid-y dish. The rice should be absorbing the liquid. If you were uncovering the dish and taking it out to check it could’ve altered the cooking process. Or I’m wondering if something is off with the oven temp? Did you use long grain white rice? I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it, but I don’t know how to help. We just had this for dinner the other night and it came out perfectly fine. I test all of my recipes multiple times and take comments/feedback very seriously!
Didn’t uncover and check at all and used correct rice. Temp seems okay with all other dishes. I don’t know what happened, from the reviews it happened to a few others as well but I do want to try again to get it figured out as the flavor was really good.
I had the exact same experience,, cooked exactly how the recipe stated, Unfortunately it was for a friend who had surgery. On the way to deliver, the pan was slightly uneven and watery liquid pooled in the seat and leaked through to the back and parts of the carpet. I had a feeling this was not right so woke up in the middle of the night to be sure I was not supposed to use minute rice (like the broccoli casserole recipe I use at Thanksgiving that also cooks for an hour.) After reading these reviews I am certain I took a casserole with uncooked rice to exhausted friends who were unable to eat what I brought. It certainly smelled delicious!
I will try again with riced cauliflower for diabetic and minute rice for gatherings.
Lisa – I’m sorry you had this experience, but it sounds like your casserole was undercooked if liquid was pooling from it. There shouldn’t be liquid that would’ve come out of the pan. It definitely means that it was underdone. I think making this with cauliflower rice would be extremely mushy and watery and would not recommend it.
I don’t know how to change my previous rating but we did try it with riced cauliflower (have family members who’s diabetes doesn’t handle rice well) and omitted the broth. It is watery at the bottom, but when using a spatula the water is left in the bottom. We also tried it with browned beef. It is delicious!!!! Thanks!!!
DO NOT MESS WITH RATIOS. Added a bit more chicken (1.5 breasts) and maybe 4 more ounces of salsa. Came out watery and the rice was very crunchy.
Yes, changing the recipe will result in a different result. Stick to the recipe!
Hands down the best casserole. My husband is not a fan of casseroles, but he had seconds with this. Very easy and delicious! Thank you, this will be added to our dinner rotation.
Love hearing this, Tonya! Thank you!
I cooked the casserole the required time at the specified temperature but the rice was crunchy when I scooped it out. I think pre cooking it would have been better.
The rice shouldn’t be crunchy. Did you stir it? The rice is meant to stay on the bottom of the dish!
My entire family devoured this! I made one casserole with chicken and a second with ground beef!! Had to put away a piece for lunch before they finished it lol Highly recommend!
So happy they all enjoyed it!!
Really easy and delicious with avocado sliced on top. I might try less rice and more chicken/beans next time, but also great as is, thanks for sharing!
So glad you liked it, April!
I’m a sucker for a casserole recipe and this is it!! I love that it has a little kick of spice but not too much. So easy and delicious!
I made this last night. the instructions were very clear, and funny enough…I read thru the entire post and noted all instructions, substitutions and other helpful info. the recipe turned out great. in the future, I may add more chicken, and possibly a layer of crushed chili cheese corn chips for some crunch on top. thanks so much 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked it! That sounds great on top!
I was very skeptical! Would the rice cook? Would it be mushy? Would the chicken cook through? Would it be overcooked and dry? Would it have flavor?
So glad I took the chance! Chicken was fully cooked and still moist! Rice was a great consistency! This is great the way it is! For me, just needs a little textural variance, some crunch! Bring on tortilla chips! Thank you for the recipe! So EASY!
Question: could you use cooked brown rice in this recipe?
All of our blog posts have a substitutions section. It’s in a green box. We answered this question there! Here’s what it says: Rice: You can’t substitute brown or short grain rice in this recipe. It will not work. Different types of rice cook differently.
I used brown rice for this because that’s all I had, I increased the Chicken broth and cooked it a little longer and it came out great!(I kept my eye on it though) This was so good and so I don’t have to cook for a few days!
Thank you!
Can you freeze this meal?
Please read the post! It’s listed there 🙂 It says: Yes, but we do not recommend it, because we’ve found it can get mushy
Can you use pinto beans instead of the black beans?
Yes – please check out our substitutions section in the green shaded box. We have it on all of our posts. It says’ Beans: Black beans can be substituted with pinto or kidney beans.”
Question for the author and note for others: what temperature is your chicken broth before you put it in the oven? I’ve tried this recipe twice now and rice is uncooked both times after almost an hour. Pretty disappointing both times, just put it back in for another 20 mins and hopefully it’s okay. Asking because unsee other comments saying rice was uncooked. My chicken broth came out of the fridge. Looked up another chicken rice casserole and they used hot chicken broth before putting in the oven. Maybe this is why people are having issues?
I use room temprature broth. I’m not sure why you/others are having this issue. I’ve tried/retested this recipe so many times and my rice always comes out cooked!
I made this for the first time tonight. It is very good. My rice was a little crunchy but it was still good. Served with avocado and some lime! Yum!
So delicious! Prepped everything but the rice and cheese ahead of time. It made it so simple to make the casserole.
If you use cooked chicken and cook for 25 minutes will the rice cook
I haven’t tried making this with cooked chicken. I don’t know if the rice will be done after 25 minutes. If you try it – let us know!
The rice didn’t cook properly. I had it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours and the rice was still crunchy. I would precook the rice next time. Other than that, the flavor was great!
Can’t wait to try this but have a question. What size pan was used? Looks like a 9’x13’x2′ maybe?
Thank you for all your great recipes!
It’s linked in the post. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/3sEPYaF
This is a phenomenal and easy recipe to make! Packed full of flavor and now a go to in our house. Did I mention EASY!?
So glad you liked it, Brian! Thank you!
This was sooo easy and delicious to make. I love these recipes because not only are they healthy, they are quick and simple!
So glad you liked it, Lia! Thank you!
I came across this website when I was desperately looking for easy, healthy, delicious, CLEAN recipes to feed my family. This casserole seemed like it was a no-brainer hit. I followed the instructions as written, no substitutions, no changes. After the 45 mins of baking at 350, I removed the cover and baked for another 10 minutes. I took it out and the rice was still crunchy, the broth not absorbed. Disappointed, I read through the comments and saw this was a COMMON occurrence with this recipe, and seemingly this issue couldn’t be duplicated by the author. This makes me wonder if the rice used is actually instant rice or if the casserole was cooked in a convection oven possibly? Either way, I decided to put the casserole into my convection oven at 375 and baked it for an additional 15 minutes. This cooked the rice perfectly but made the chicken over cooked.
I’ve marked this as 3 stars as there is obviously an issue with the instructions/ingredients/and/or cooking time. But it tasted good with some additional cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and avocado. My toddler enjoyed it and my husband ate it up. It was enjoyed enough that I will attempt it again but start the cooking process at 375 for 45+10 minutes and see if that does the trick.
I’m sorry you had this issue. I have repeatedly tested this recipe, and asked friends and family to test it as well. I have not been able to replicate the issue people are having. I did not use instant rice and I don’t use a convection oven.
This is DELICIOUS!! So flavorful and filling. Easy to make following the directions and only one dish to clean afterwards. This is going into regular rotation at my house!
Thank you so much, Cebi! I’m so glad you liked it!
Can I prepare everything a day ahead before baking to bake later?
I wouldn’t recommend that. The rice will absorb the liquid overnight and it could mess up the texture.
So quick and easy for a Monday night! I used already cooked chicken so I baked it for 25 mins and it turned out perfect!
So happy to hear you liked it, Mikenna!
Can you use brown rice?
Unfortunately you can’t substitute brown or short grain rice in this recipe. It will not work.
Would Quinoa work instead of long grain white rice?
I don’t think so but I’ve never tested it so I can’t be sure. I wouldn’t substitute anything for the rice because it can be finicky!
Subbing Quinoa worked great & everyone loved it! Thank you!
Glad it worked!
Did you cook your Quinoa first?
I’ve never made this recipe with quinoa. If you try it let me know!
Made it with Quinoa, it’s was delicious
Did you cook the quinoa first?
I just used brown rice and it turned out great! A little Al Dente but that helped with not having crunch tortilla chips 🙂
I used whole grain brown rice, the minute variety. And I also used cooked, shredded chicken. With these two tweaks, I took about 15 minutes off the cooking time. I think it turned out great!
This casserole was so delicious! My husband and I added lettuce on top after and ate with tortilla chips. Next time I want to add cilantro and lime on top. Highly recommend!
So glad you liked it!! Thank you! I think the cilantro and lime would be a great addition
I have to admit, I had my doubts about this one— not because I doubt your recipes AT ALL, but just because it seemed too easy to be true, and also a lot of dump-and-go recipes (specifically ones involving rice) can end up being either too mushy or not cooked at all. Boy was I wrong. This turned out great! Perfect texture. Just as easy to put together as the recipe says. I used my favorite salsa (Kroger’s Private Selection Red Jalapeño salsa- I think that might just be a southeastern thing but wanted to throw it out there for folks who have Kroger stores) which has both sweet-and-heat. The only thing I did differently from the recipe was that I used canned corn instead of frozen (because that’s what I had on hand) and it worked perfectly. We topped with avocado, jalapeño, and tortilla strips. This is truly a perfect weeknight meal since there is virtually no prep.
Just one question: when you say “white rice” does it matter if it’s long-grain or short-grain? Thanks!
So glad you liked it, Mindy! Thank you!! I used long grain white rice
Just made this for the first time tonight. It was so good! I used Aldi organic quick cook white rice and it came out perfect! I am new to your blog and love everything I’ve made so far! Congrats on the new addition!
This sounds like a winner I think I will try using beans instead of rice ( to get more protein instead of rice.)
Love your recupes Thank you
Would you shorten the time if you use pre cooked shredded chicken? I always have cooked shredded on hand because we use it so often.
Thank you for sharing and I can’t wait to try it!
I probably wouldn’t do that only because the rice needs to cook. you could check it after 20 minutes and see if the rice has absorbed the liquid but I’m not sure if it will cook in time!