Green chile chicken casserole recipe is so good, based on our green chile rice recipe ! With hatch chiles and cream cheese inside topped with cheddar cheese it’s sure to be a great dinner.
This casserole is what you need to make tonight! Our family loved it! Whether you use fresh or canned chiles this cheesy comfort food is always a winner with adults and kids. Just one of our favorite quick and easy casseroles. (affiliate links present)
Green Chile Chicken Casserole with Rice
We started making this without the meat (linked at the top of the post) and added that to our list of hatch green chile recipes! Then we needed to go a step further and make one loaded with chicken too.
With the creaminess of cream cheese and lots of cheddar cheese it’s kinda’ addicting I tell you. Now you have the choice to use mild hatch chiles or if you’re daring use the spicy ones! Totally up to you but we opt for mild in this house.
I used uncooked long grain white rice for this one, but we’ve used noodles too. If you want to try that one, follow our Instant Pot crack chicken casserole recipe which is just as delicious. It’s one of our most popular recipes here on The Typical Mom.
Ingredients
- Chicken – diced into bite size pieces
- chicken breasts or thighs
- could use leftover Instant Pot shredded chicken too
- Cream cheese softened makes it creamy
- Granulated garlic for seasonings
- White rice uncooked, long grain
- Shredded cheese, we like sharp or a mix with monterey jack cheese
- Green chiles
- or smoked chiles diced
- you can roast your own green chilies
- poblanos can be used like in this chile relleno casserole recipe
- Chicken broth is better for the liquid than water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Substitutions
A dollop of sour cream on top when it’s done is great. For more heat you could dice jalapenos and add those to the top of some.
If you cannot have lactose I get it, my husband can’t either. I have had to alter recipes for him and surprisingly nowadays you can find a lot at the store to substitute. I have found dairy free cream cheese and you can’t really tell the difference when it is in a dish like this.
How to Make Green Chili Chicken Casserole with Cream Cheese
- Whisk together warmed broth and cream cheese. Add seasoning and cornstarch until smooth.
- The key to making this creamy cream cheese chicken mixture is to warm your broth. Using a whisk is helpful to make it smooth.
- If you’re roasting your own hatch chiles remove the skins once blackened, and take out seeds + strands to make it milder. Dice into small pieces.
- Using canned is fine, you can skip this step if you are. Add your green chilies in and stir.
- Add your diced chicken pieces and seasonings, then mix together well.
- Your uncooked rice will go on the bottom of your baking dish.
- Followed by your cream cheese and chicken mixture.
- Then top everything with shredded cheddar cheese.
- Put into a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until chicken and rice are tender.
in Instant Pot
Try any of our easy side dishes here. If you want to make this in a pressure cooker follow our pressure cooker chicken and rice recipe and add chiles into that.
How do you thicken this casserole?
Just leave it in the oven a bit longer so more of the liquid can be cooked off/evaporate. Remember that it will thicken a bit when you take it out and it’s cooling so don’t add too much time in the heat. Leaving it uncovered to cool 15 minutes or so after being taken out will firm it up.
There are several versions of this popular meal. Some use quite a bit of enchilada sauce, but I prefer this one because it’s creamier. Others are made with flour tortillas which we have done with this chicken tortilla bake. It is another great hatch chile recipe to try. This enchilada casserole made with ground beef is yummy too.
Do you have to cook rice before putting it in a casserole?
NO, I don’t with any of mine! That’s what’s so great about these quick one pot meals we make. There is very little prep. No cooking is necessary beforehand. Throw everything in, mix together, and pop it right into your oven (or pressure cooker).
Green Chile Chicken Casserole
Equipment
- 1 8×8 pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into bite size cubes
- 1 block cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1.5 c chicken broth
- 4 oz green chiles, canned, or char fresh hatch chiles, peel away skin and chop up tender insides
- 1.5 c rice, white, uncooked, not instant
- 1 c cheese, sharp cheddar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉ and spray a baking dish with cooking oil spray, set aside. (I
used a square 8×8 baking dish) - In a medium bowl, place the cream cheese, salt and garlic powder. Then warm the broth in the microwave for 30 seconds so it is easier to whisk everything together. Pour 3/4s of the warm chicken broth in and whisk until you have a smooth cream cheese sauce. Then whisk in cornstarch until smooth.
- Add the green chilies and stir. Taste the sauce and if necessary adjust the salt if desired, set aside. Add chicken pieces and rest of broth, stir together.
- Pour the rice into the baking dish, then add the cream cheese sauce with chicken. Make sure you create an even smooth layer, so that everything bakes the evenly.
- Now sprinkle the cheese over the dish and place in center of oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Check the casserole after 45 minutes at which time the chicken will be cooked through and the rice should be tender.
- If the mixture is still a little wet continue to bake until excess liquid has absorbed. It will thicken a bit as it stands though so keep that in mind.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes for everything to solidify and sauce to thicken more, scoop out and enjoy. Great with a small dollop of sour cream on top too.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Served in bowls or on a plate with a side of cauliflower or pressure cooker broccoli, green chili chicken casserole is really yummy. If you have 1/2 cup of remaining cheese from when you grated yours you can sprinkle it on top of each serving too. A pinch of chives is great as well.
Can you make a casserole with rotisserie chicken?
I haven’t made this yet with leftover rotisserie cooked chicken but I imagine you could. Just know that the meat will likely fall apart since it is precooked already and heated again with this mixture. I would measure in 3 cups of chicken diced, following the same instructions below.
Next chicken recipes you should try:
- Instant Pot bone in chicken thighs
- Pressure cooker sausage rice casserole has fresh hatch chiles in it also
Can you cook raw chicken and rice together?
YES, we do it all the time. The recipe we probably make most often is this Crockpot chicken casserole with rice and vegetables in it. This Instant Pot chicken parmesan casserole is a great example of this too.
How do you make sure the rice is cooked?
Can you make it the night before and then put it in the oven?
I made this according to the directions with the ingredients as listed. The rice was undercooked. I have added about one more cup of stock and put it back in the oven. The dish is tasty, but crunchy rice is NOT the way to eat it.
Are the canned green chili’s drained or undrained?
Can you please adapt for pressure cookers? Too hot for ovens in July!! Thank you!!
Just added a link above recipe card for a similar version in a pressure cooker, just add diced chiles to that recipe.
Sorry!! Thx for catching that mistake. Should’ve been 1.5 not 1/5. Fixed.
Is 1/5 cup of rice accurate?