This Doritos chicken casserole includes layers of cheesy chicken, Rotel, and crushed Doritos in a baking dish for a delicious and easy weeknight dinner!
My friend introduced King Ranch Chicken to me years ago. It is a Texas staple, which is where she is from. Over the years, I altered the recipe and this is my updated version. I also call it cheesy chicken Dorito casserole now so there is less confusion about what is actually in the dish.
Ingredients
(full printable recipe at end of post)
My recipe is for Dorito casserole is easy and delicious with loads of cheesy chicken mixture! Gather these ingredients:
Here's what you need:
- Shredded cooked chicken -- You can use leftover chicken or grab a Rotisserie chicken from the store (you need 3 cups shredded)
- Dorito chips -- We prefer Cool Ranch Doritos or Nacho Cheese Doritos.
- Shredded cheddar cheese -- We use sharp cheddar, but any variety will do!
- Sour cream
- Veggies -- Onion, bell pepper, garlic.
- Ro-TelTomatoes -- Or another brand of diced tomatoes and green chilies.
- Soups -- cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, chicken broth.
- Spices -- Cumin, chili powder.
You can also use leftover Thanksgiving turkey for this recipe, so make sure you bookmark this for the holidays!
How to Make Shredded Chicken
I typically always have cooked chicken on hand to use in recipes like this. Once per month, I either boil chicken or use my Crock Pot to cook the chicken then shred and portion it into freezer bags. When I want to make dinners like Chicken Pot Pie, Poppyseed Chicken, Chicken 'n Dumplings, or Chicken Rice Green Bean Casserole, I can easily grab my own chicken from the freezer!
I have a few appetizer recipes that use shredded chicken, too! Like this Buffalo Chicken Dip, Egg Rolls, and Buffalo Chicken Bites. And don't forget you can make chicken salad sandwiches in a jiffy!
Storing and reheating leftovers
Any leftovers of this chicken casserole should be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. This casserole is best reheated in the oven in order to crisp up the Doritos again. The microwave is fine, but oven is better.
Freezer casserole
To make this into a freezer meal, I suggest replacing the Doritos with flour or corn tortillas. Prepare all the layers in a foil casserole dish, cover tightly with plastic wrap and cover again with foil. Store frozen until ready to bake. To bake, remove the plastic covering and cover with foil. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes then remove foil and continue to bake until bubbly and crispy.
Recipe Variations
Picky eaters: For your little ones who may not like seeing diced tomatoes, green pieces, and onions in their food -- try pureeing the sauce in a blender before layering in the casserole dish. This will blend all those questionable ingredients for your picky eaters and they won't even know they're eating those yummy veggies!
More ways to alter the dish: Use your favorite shredded cheese to vary up the flavor. Or, instead of chili powder and cumin, use a pack of taco seasoning from the store. Stir a can of black beans into the chicken mixture, or eliminate the Ro-Tel to reduce from medium heat to mild.
Other Favorite Casseroles
- Biscuit Italian Ground Beef Casserole
- Easy Sausage Breakfast Casserole
- Broccoli Casserole
- BBQ Beef Casserole
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This recipe was originally published November 5th, 2010 and updated with new photos and improved recipe on June 15, 2020.
Recipe Card
Cheesy Chicken Dorito Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion , peeled and diced
- 1 bell pepper , seeded and diced
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 10 oz. diced tomatoes with chiles , such as Rotel
- 10 oz. cream of mushroom soup
- 10 oz. cream of chicken soup
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 2 cups roughly broken Doritos chips , we prefer Cool Ranch flavor
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 9x13 casserole dish.
- Heat oil in skillet. Cook onion and pepper until soft, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Transfer to large mixing bowl.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except the chicken, chips and cheese to the mixing bowl with the onion and pepper. Mix until combined.
- Spread a heaping ½ cup of the mixture (sauce) into the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Set aside another heaping ½ cup of sauce for later.
- Layer half of the chicken over the sauce in the casserole dish, then half of the remaining sauce from the mixing bowl. Sprinkle with one-third of the cheese and half of the chips. Repeat these layers.
- Top with the reserved ½ cup of sauce and the remaining cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, at 350°F for 30 minutes. Without opening the oven door, increase oven temperature to 400°F* and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes until bubbly and golden crisp.
Notes
- *Do not remove casserole from oven when increasing temperature. Oven temperature may not actually reach 400°F before the end of baking time.
- For the picky eaters, you can puree the sauce in a blender before layering in the casserole.
- Click here or here for two different methods to make shredded chicken. Store the shredded chicken portioned in freezer bags so it's ready for recipes like this!
- Nutritional information is an estimation only.
