Doritos Chicken Casserole – An Easy 30 Minute Dinner Recipe

Doritos Chicken Casserole is a quick, easy and delicious Mexican inspired casserole dish. It is made by assembling layers of crushed Doritos nacho chips with layers of seasoned and creamy shredded chicken and shredded cheese.

The casserole then gets put in the oven until the filling is hot and bubbly and the cheese melts. It is a family favorite dinner recipe that gets requested over and over again and even the pickiest eater will ask for seconds!

But the best part of this recipe, besides the taste of course, is that it is easy to make! Not to mention that it requires just 7 common ingredients and it can be made, from start to finish and on the table in only 30 minutes!

However, in order to make this a true 30 minute meal, you must have cooked and shredded chicken on hand. Therefore, be sure to either have leftover chicken breast or thigh meat, canned chicken, or my favorite chicken to use in this recipe, leftover rotisserie chicken.

Use Leftover Rotisserie Chicken

Every Sunday, we spend about an hour in the kitchen to plan and prepare for meals throughout the week. I can’t tell you enough how much time this has saved us during the busy weeknights.

Not to mention how many calories that we probably have saved by not ordering take out or going through a fast food drive thru for dinner.

Our go to recipe to meal prep is this Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken recipe. It is a great way to make an entire chicken in a fraction of the time that it would take to bake in the oven.

Then we use the meat to make various meals throughout the week. For lunch I will use the meat to make Buffalo Chicken Wraps, Cobb Salad, or Avocado Chicken Salad.

And for dinner I will use the leftover meat to make soups, burrito bowls or casseroles. Some of our favorite weeknight casserole dishes include our Instant Pot Chicken Casserole, Chicken Enchilada Casserole and this Doritos Chicken Casserole recipe.

But don’t worry if you don’t have any leftover shredded chicken. You can easily purchase a rotisserie chicken from just about any major grocery store.

However, if you have the time and have raw chicken breasts or thighs in the refrigerator you could also cook and shred them right before assembling the Doritos Chicken Casserole.

You need to have 2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken available before you are ready to make this casserole. It comes together quickly so having everything at your fingertips is important.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

1. It requires only 7 common, easy to find ingredients.

2. The Doritos Chicken Casserole has a ton of flavor in every bite.

3. Made and ready to eat in only 30 minutes.

4. The kids love this recipe too!

5. When you use cooked and shredded chicken, the prep time to make this meal is only 5 minutes.

6. Customize each serving with your favorite taco toppings.

7. It makes a great casserole for potlucks, parties, or as a meal gift to a friend in need.

Ingredients Required to Make Doritos Chicken Casserole

Cooked and Shredded Chicken

The cooked and shredded chicken is the protein in this casserole dish. You can use the meat from a rotisserie chicken, cook raw chicken and shred it when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, or use canned chicken that has been drained.

This recipe calls for 2 cups of shredded chicken which equals 2 medium size chicken breasts or about half of a small rotisserie chicken. However, if you are using canned chicken, you will need 4, 5 ounce cans because 1 can equals 1/2 cup of drained, shredded chicken.

Mexican Cheese Blend

Mexican cheese blend is easy to find at the grocery. However, you could use any combination of Cheddar, Colby or Monterey Jack instead.

Cream of Chicken Soup

Most of the creaminess to the Doritos Chicken Casserole comes from the condensed cream of chicken soup. It is always best to make your own, however if you purchase it be sure to buy the low sodium variety because the chips included in this recipe are naturally salty.

Sour Cream

The tanginess of the sour cream compliments the other flavors in this recipe. However feel free to use regular, reduced fat or fat free.

Rotel Tomatoes

Although technically a brand name, Rotel tomatoes are a combination of diced tomatoes and green chilis. Although you can also use generic or other name brands of the popular tomato product. Just be sure to use the entire contents of the can and not drain the juice.

Taco Seasoning

Switch up the flavor of taco seasoning by using mild, medium or hot. 1/2 packet of taco seasoning equals 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons of seasoning (depending on the product you purchase).

Doritos

Original nacho chips are the base of this recipe. Therefore you will need the large family size bag to have enough crushed chips to complete this recipe.

Luckily there will be a few chips left over for snacking later.

Now that you have the ingredients, let’s make dinner!

Doritos Chicken Casserole Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
• 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning
• 1 large bag Doritos, coarsely crushed
• shredded lettuce, optional
• diced tomato, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and then grease a 2 quart (or 9 x 11 inch) casserole dish. Then set the baking dish aside.

In a large bowl add the shredded chicken, 1 cup of cheese, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, Rotel tomatoes (undrained), and taco seasoning. Mix well.

Place a layer of crushed Doritos across the bottom of the casserole dish just until the bottom is covered. Then add half of the chicken mixture on top of the crushed Doritos.

Top the chicken with another layer of crushed Doritos followed by the remainder of the chicken mixture.

Cover the top with semi-crushed Doritos chips and then sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese on top.

Place the casserole in the preheated oven and bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until bubbling hot. *If the cheese begins to brown too much, cover the pan with aluminum foil.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before serving. Serve warm with desired garnishes of shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes or any other taco topping that you prefer (optional).

Enjoy! Mary

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