Fiesta Chicken Casserole
53 CommentsUpdated Sep 05, 2025
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My Fiesta Chicken Casserole is a comforting Tex-Mex meal made with tender chicken and rice in a rich, cheesy sauce. Big flavor, no fuss—just set it and let it cook.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what goes into this bold and cheesy Tex-Mex casserole.
- Chicken – Cooks up perfectly tender in the slow cooker.
- Boxed Rice – Use a seasoned rice mix with all its fixings.
- Seasonings – Garlic powder, chili powder, and pepper bring the flavor.
- Soup – Cream of chicken soup gives it a creamy base.
- Veggies – Mexicorn, white onion, and jalapeño add texture and spice.
- Cheese – Sharp shredded cheddar adds richness and that gooey finish.
How to Make Fiesta Chicken Casserole
- Season the chicken and layer it with a few flavorful ingredients in your slow cooker.
- Let it cook low and slow while you prep the rice on the stove toward the end.
- Shred the chicken, then stir in the rice, cheese, and a creamy finishing touch.
- Top with more cheese, warm it through, and you’re ready to serve.
Cook’s Notes & Variations
- The rice must be cooked on the stove top – the slow cooker doesn’t cook up rice properly.
- No Spanish rice? Use 4 cups of cooked white rice and double the seasonings.
- Chicken thighs can be used as an alternative to chicken breasts.
- Use pepperjack cheese for a spicy kick.
- If you don’t like heat, use a bell pepper instead of a jalapeno.
How to Serve
- This easy chicken and rice meal has everything you need, just scoop onto plates.
- You can round out the meal by serving with a side of charred flour tortillas or hunks of cornbread.
- You can top the casserole with additional jalapeno, tomato, and sour cream if desired.
Featured Comment
“This is our new family favorite! Everyone in my house at it without complaining! “
– Katie
Fiesta Chicken Casserole
How to Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ¼ garlic powder
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- 10.5 oz. can cream of chicken soup , don't add water
- ½ cup diced white onion
- 11 oz. can Mexicorn, drained , (this is corn with peppers in it)
- 1 seeded jalapeno, minced
These ingredients are added at the end:
- 6.9 oz. box Zatarain's Spanish Rice, (follow stove-top instructions)
- 14 oz. can diced tomatoes , needed to make the rice
- 1 Tbsp. salted butter, needed to make the rice
- 1 ½ cups water, needed to make the rice
- 3 cups shredded sharp cheese, divided
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Sprinkle over the pepper, garlic powder and chili powder.
- Spread over the cream of chicken soup. Add the onions, Mexicorn, and jalapeno. (DO NOT ADD RICE, CHEESE OR SOUR CREAM YET!)
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- Towards the end of the cooking time start preparing the Zatarain's Spanish Rice in a pan on the stove-top, you will need the diced tomatoes, butter and water to prepare. (If you use a different brand of Spanish rice use the ingredients listed on the box you buy)
- Shred the chicken with 2 forks, add the prepared rice, sour cream and 2 cups of the shredded cheese. Stir. Add remaining cheese on top and place the lid back on.
- Put the slow cooker on to HIGH and cook for an additional 20 minutes to let the flavors come together and to allow the cheese to melt.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes:
Chicken and Gravy, and Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken all offer cozy, comforting flavors perfect for any night of the week.
Chicken with Potatoes and Green Beans or Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole are full meals with minimal prep. My Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice is a comfort food dream with tender chicken and more.
For bold flavor, try Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken or Chicken Enchilada Casserole—both rich, saucy, and satisfying.
Very good! I make this and toss it in a tortilla, so yummy!!!
Wonderful! Not a big corn fan, so I substituted kidney beans, otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Fantastic! Will definitely make this again! Thank you for such a tasty and easy dinner choice! ☺
I am printing this recipe now, but it might take awhile to cook it. With the coronavirus of all things that are hard to come by is the Spanish Rice. But I will look again today at the store. The recipe looks so good.
This is our new family favorite! Everyone in my house at it without complaining! I did not have time to cook on low for 6 hours so I cooked it on high for 4 hours and it turned out great!
nice!!!!!!
My wonder is how much is one serving, 1 cup, 2 cups,? I usually like to see and find recipes that will indicate how much 1 serving is so that I am not required to guess or wnd up measuring the entire prepared meal.
This will never be provided on this site. I apologize. The recipes are provided for free, if you need exact measurements for nutrition you will need to measure yourself.
I can’t find Farmhouse Spanish rice where I live. What can I substitute?
Any type of boxed rice about the same size will work fine.
Can you use an instant pot?
It would probably work fine 🙂
I normally always have sour cream and this time I don’t. Is it a must?
It should be fine!
Chipotle cheddar tortilla strips are amazing with it! I find them by the croutons and dressings at walmart.