Some meals are made because everyone is hungry. Others appear because a family is too tired to ask.
King Ranch chicken casserole belongs to that second category. It is warm, sturdy, deeply Texan, and built for being carried from one kitchen to another under a layer of foil.
In The Feed Store Bench, Diane Carver has spent years taking care of everyone around her. What she has not learned is how to receive care without apologizing for it.
This casserole belongs to Diane’s story because she would not be the one making it at first. Someone else would arrive with it.
The casserole becomes part of the lesson Diane resists most fiercely: sometimes love looks like letting someone else feed you.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can cream of chicken soup, 10½ ounces
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 10½ ounces
- 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles, 10 ounces, undrained
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, optional
How to make it
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
- Melt the butter. Cook the onion and peppers for 6 to 8 minutes, then add the garlic for 30 seconds.
- Stir in both soups, tomatoes with green chiles, broth, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.
- Remove from heat and stir in the chicken.
- Layer half the torn tortillas, half the chicken mixture, and 1 cup cheese. Repeat.
- Finish with the remaining cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes and garnish with cilantro if desired.
From Susannah’s Kitchen
King Ranch chicken casserole travels well, reheats without complaint, and can feed a table full of people or one exhausted person for several days. This is not the dish Diane makes to prove she can handle everything. It is the dish someone brings when they finally see that she should not have to.
The Book Connection
The feed store bench is where Diane first allows herself to stop. The casserole works the same way. It does not fix the crisis. It gives her one less thing to manage.
Cook Along with Lark Mesa
A King Ranch Christmas
This kitchen story is paired with Book 2 in the Lark Mesa Romance series. Meet the people, places, and small-town moments behind the recipe.
Explore the Lark Mesa books →