King Ranch Chicken Casserole
This casserole is made with layers of toasted tortillas that are smothered in a cumin- and chili powder-spiked cream sauce, along with heaps of grated cheese, sort of like a Tex-Mex lasagna. The recipe originated around the time that canned condensed soup was making its debut and original recipes use canned cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soups.
The King Ranch Casserole is definitely a staple at Texas potlucks, picnics, birthdays, and funerals. The King Ranch in coastal southeast Texas, an over 800,000 acre ranch and one of the largest ranches in North American for many years, is claimed by some to be the recipe's originator - thus, the casserole name. Others disagree with this.
Similar to this, but without the canned soups, Brian makes a layered taco dish that is quite good: Brian's Layered Tacos.
See Substitute for Can of Cream of Chicken Soup
King Ranch Chicken Casserole
from http://allrecipes.com/
This recipe uses the canned creamed soup, like the original (see below), but adds peppers and spices along with some sour cream. Definitely a later recipe.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers (such as RO*TEL®)
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1 cooked chicken, torn into shreds or cut into chunks
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
10 corn tortillas, cut into quarters
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Saute onion, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper in hot oil until warmed through, about 2 minutes.
Combine onion-pepper mixture, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, sour cream, cumin, ancho chile powder, oregano, and chipotle chile powder together in a large bowl and stir until sauce is well-combined.
Spread a few tablespoons of the sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread 1/2 the chicken over the sauce. Spread about half the sauce over the chicken and top with 1/3 the cheese. Spread a layer of tortillas over the cheese. Spread remaining 1/2 the chicken over the tortillas, and top with almost all of the remaining sauce, reserving 1/2 cup sauce. Top with 1/3 the cheese, remaining tortillas, the reserved 1/2 cup sauce, and remaining 1/3 cheese.
Bake casserole in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 40 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to broil. Broil the casserole until top is golden, 2 to 3 minutes more.
8 servings
Traditional King Ranch Casserole
from http://www.npr.org/
This recipe claims to be the traditional casserole. It has fewer spices than the receipe above, and the recipe above includes both bell and chili peppers as well as a little sour cream.
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 (10-ounce) can of Ro-Tel tomatoes
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Cooking spray
12 (8-inch) corn tortillas cut into quarters
1 (3-pound) roasted chicken, boned and shredded
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups store-bought grated Mexican-blend cheese (8 ounces)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine the cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, tomatoes and garlic salt. Stir until warm, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Put half of the tortillas in the bottom of the pan, layering half each of the chicken and onion, then sprinkle with one-third of the cheese mix. Pour half of the soup mixture over the top, and then repeat the layers. Top the casserole with the remaining third of the cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browned slightly.
King Ranch Casserole
from http://www.thekitchn.com/
Those who commented on the recipe seemed to agree that it is better to use corn tortillas than flour tortillas which can get soggy. This recipe is a remake of the original recipe which used canned creamed soups. Some nice things about this recipe is that it toasts the tortillas to help keep them crunchy and adds crushed tortillas and cheese to the top after it has baked a while making a nice topping. I also like the idea of adding the sour cream.
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (4-ounce) can green chiles
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Mexican-style chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (from roughly 1 rotisserie chicken)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
12 (6-inch) flour tortillas [use corn tortillas]
2 to 3 cups grated cheddar cheese, to taste
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a medium baking dish, such as an 11x7-inch casserole.
Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, peppers, and jalapeño and cook until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and green chiles, followed by the garlic, flour, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Stir until fragrant and starting to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the stock and heavy cream, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. Fold in the sour cream and chicken. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt, pepper, or cayenne to taste.
While the stock and cream are simmering, lightly spritz the tortillas with cooking spray. Arrange the tortillas on two large sheet pans and toast in the oven until crisp and golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
Layer 3 tortillas in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spread 1/3 of the chicken mixture over the tortillas, followed by 1/3 of the cheese. Continue with another layer of tortillas, chicken, and cheese, followed by a third layer of tortillas and the remaining chicken. Reserve the remaining cheese and tortillas.
Bake the casserole until bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Crush the reserved tortillas. Sprinkle the crushed tortillas and remaining cheese over the casserole and return to the oven until cheese the is melted, about 10 more minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Make-Ahead Casserole: To prepare the casserole in advance, assemble it completely, reserving the crushed tortillas and cheese for the topping. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before cooking or add an additional 10 to 15 minutes to baking time.
Freezer Casserole: The unbaked casserole can be frozen up to one month; thaw overnight in refrigerator and bake as directed.
Serves 6 to 8
