Summertime may be about all about BBQ, but when you’re a mom, it’s equally all about potlucks. The last two weeks of school this year we had seven potluck events in just two weeks. Yes, seven. That meant I had to cook seven times for 20+ people. Somebody save me.
The challenge of potlucks is coming up with a dish that both parents and kids alike will enjoy. Since I always tend to see a lot of the same things at potlucks I wanted to come up with a hearty casserole that would distinguish itself from the pizzas, pasta salads and chocolate chip cookies while also hopefully be interesting enough to lure my kids over to eat instead of going wild with their friends.
Being an obsessive chicken fajita fan and having two kids who could live on chips and salsa, I decided to marry all of our favorites in this Chicken Fajita Casserole. It has plenty of yummy vegetables and chicken blended with a mild tomatillo salsa and creamy sour cream sauce which soaks into the chips, making the whole dish irresistible.
So the next time you hear “potluck”, don’t worry about what to make. This casserole is the answer to your problems!
Potluck Chicken Fajita Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive, avocado, vegetable or canola oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 bell peppers (red, yellow, orange or green), sliced
- 1 16-ounce bag tortilla chips, divided
- 16 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (or blend)
- 2 12-ounce jars salsa verde or tomatillo salsa
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers and 1 teaspoon of salt and sauté for 5-6 minutes, or until vegetables just begin to soften. Allow mixture to cool.
- Break 12 ounces (about 3/4) of the chips into smaller pieces.
- In a large bowl, add cooked onions and peppers, shredded chicken, salsa, sour cream, the broken up chips and 3/4 of the cheese and stir to combine.
- Add the casserole mixture to a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and top with remaining chips and cheese.
- Bake uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve topped with sliced avocado if desired.
I halved the recipe and it came out perfect! So easy and yummy!
Has anyone tried substituting the sour creme with greek yogurt?
I haven’t tried that, but I think you could halve it very easily!
Would this be just as yummy to half the recipe? Have you tried that?
This was so good. My 21 month old loved it!!
Sounds yummy! I can easily see how I can adapt this to be a vegan dish!
This looks amazing, going to make a few small changes to make more my family friendly…but can’t wait to try!!! Thinking of adding some homemade refried black beans in the layering, and try with 1/2 the amount of sour cream (kids dislike). YUM!
This looks great. Just wondering if you could substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream? Thanks!
This recipe looks delicious!
You could use any kids of vegan meat, or just leave out the chicken and add more veggies!
I’d love to make this but I am a vegetarian. Any ideas on something that might substitute well for the chicken? I’ve been a vegetarian for 20+ years, so I should probably know, but I’m not very good at winging it on recipes! Thanks in advance!! Looking forward to the cookbook…will it have a decent amount of vegetarian fare?
It’ll probably be about the same baking time, but I would bake for the initial 20 minutes covered, then uncover and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly!
I plan to half this and bake in a 8 x 8 inch pan. Do you think I need to adjust the bake time? Thanks!
I made this a couple weekends ago. I wanted to see what the difference it made to use the chips vs. corn tortillas, so I did one side of each in the 9×13. I have to say I preferred the tortillas a little better – it was a bit more moist. I also will mix the chicken in with the onion/pepper mixture so they are more evenly distributed. Thanks for the recipe!!
This recipe fills a standard 9×13 casserole dish. You could halve all the ingredients and layer it in a square 8×8 casserole dish! 🙂
Can you please provide the recipe for 6-8 servings, as opposed to the potluck serving size? Thanks!
Thanks mama! It was exhausting!
seven times for 20+ people?!?! You’re a rock star!!! Love this casserole!
You can roast the chicken breasts on a foil-lined baking sheet for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. I usually rub the chicken with a little olive oil first and season with salt and pepper; or don’t, depending on how strict you want to be with the oil/salt.
One of the EASIEST ways to make shredded chicken is to simply throw some chicken breasts in the crock pot for 3-5 hours. You can season them with whatever you like, salt, pepper….. you don’t need any liquid at all. Once it’s done you just shred! Easy peasy!
I want to make this but am unsure or how to cook the chicken. I have chicken breasts, how do I cook them so I can use them in a casserole?
As much as I would love for this to be a freeze-well meal I just don’t think it is! You can make the chicken ahead of time, as well as the pepper mixture. Then all you need to do is quickly assemble it and throw it in the oven!
Would this recipe freeze well to make ahead of time?