This Fiesta Chicken Bake is one of my favorite Southwestern flavored dinners! With tangy (but mild) green chiles, sweet corn, rich monterey jack cheese, velvety cream cheese, and sour cream to tie it all together, this recipe is loved just as much by the adults as the kids in our family. With only 6 ingredients that are easy to keep on hand you can make this dinner quickly on even the busiest evening. One of my favorite parts is that it is all made in one casserole dish so after dinner clean up is quick and easy too! Bonus: This recipe is naturally gluten free and low carb too!
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Green Chile Fiesta Chicken Bake
One of my favorite ways to get inspiration for new recipes is looking for things my family already really loves to eat then taking those flavors and creating something new with them. That is exactly where I started with this dish. My husband is pretty easy going and will eat pretty much anything I make. He will give the dinners ratings (only if I ask) so I know how much he likes them because he is pretty good about eating it all. The kids, as you may as well struggle with, are another story.
When people ask me what my kids like to eat, many times I tell them, “Your guess is as good as mine!” It seems that even if they like something one day, they don’t like it the next. But there are a few trusty items I can usually count on like cheese, corn, peanut butter, and bananas. Since the the later two don’t really mix with the first two, I went ahead and took the cheese and corn and decided to make something we all could love.
The recipe came together really quickly once I got the direction, and I can tell you it will be a regular on our menu! It has the stuff the kids like so they are happy to eat it, and the green chilis and green onion give it the perfect amount of flavor to make it delicious without being overwhelming so the kids won’t eat it anymore.
How to Serve Green Chile Fiesta Chicken Bake
I make a lot of Chicken Dinner recipes, like my other popular classic Green Chile Chicken Bake. I love them because they are quick to put together and can be served in so many different ways depending on why you like, what your kids like, or what special diets you are on. Here are some serving suggestions for this dish:
- Over rice
- With this to-die-for Mexican Cornbread
- With a side of beans or lentils
- With mashed potatoes
- Other grains: Quinoa, cous cous, farro etc.
- With tortilla chips
- On top of a baked potato
Low Carb serving options:
If you are following a low carb lifestyle or diet like Keto, then these are some great options for serving this dish, or combine some of these with serving ideas above for a well rounded meal.
- On a bed of cauliflower rice
- With a side salad
- On a bed of sautéed greens
- With Veggie “Chips” (sliced carrots, peppers, etc) and ranch
- Side of pan or oven roasted veggies like green beans or brussel sprouts
If you have more serving ideas I am always looking for new ones, so please share them with me in the comments!
Green Chile Fiesta Chicken Bake Recipe
I am going to walk through this recipe with you step by step here and share all of my notes, and preferences on how I make this. If you just want the quick version, scroll on down to the bottom of this post for a full printable recipe card.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts – This will be about 2 pounds of chicken breast. You can leave them whole, or if they are extra thick I recommend butterflying them so that they cook more quickly and you get more of the yummy topping with each bite. You can also cut each chicken breast in 2-3 pieces now if your family won’t eat a whole chicken breast each (I usually eat about half, and the kids eat 1/2-1/3.)
- 1 can corn, drained
- 1 can chopped green chiles – I prefer Old El Paso green chiles because they are a little more crushed which I think gives more flavor in the dish. Wal-mart brand are also more crushed and I use those sometimes too.
- 8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese, softened- I use original but you can also use the light cream cheese. Don’t use fat free in this recipe because it won’t melt the same way.
- 8 oz monterey jack cheese, shredded- I LOVE the flavor of Monterey Jack cheese. It shouldn’t be hard to find at the store, although not all brands carry it pre-shredded. If you are in a pinch you could sub sharp cheddar, colby jack or a mexican blend.
- 1/2 cup sour cream- I use regular, but light can be subbed here as well.
- 4 green onions, chopped
Optional
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ËšF.
- Mix the cream cheese, corn, green chiles, sour cream, and 1 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese together until combined. Make sure that your cream cheese is well softened before mixing. You can either leave it at room temperature to soften or you can put it in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for 30 seconds, stir, then continue to heat for 10 second increments until it is warm and smooth.
- Lay the chicken breasts in a large casserole dish. You want a dish big enough so they aren’t crammed in and can lay flat. The fuller the dish is, the longer it will take to bake. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the chicken and sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Depending on your oven, as well as the climate and altitude where you live, you may find that this dish needs longer to bake to be done. Chicken should be an internal temperature of 165ËšF to be done.I cook my chicken bake on the middle rack in the oven and almost never cover it while baking. I like to do it this way so that the extra liquid can evaporate while baking and it doesn’t end up watery. As I mentioned above, there are many factors that lead to things cooking differently though so keep an eye on it, and if the top is getting too brown, just loosely cover it with foil for the remaining baking time.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with your favorite side!
I really hope this Fiesta Chicken Bake recipe pleases the adults AND kids in your house as well as it has in mine. If you get a chance to make it, I would love to hear about it! You can leave me a comment below, OR if you post a pic, tag me @easyfamilyrecipes so I can see your creations!
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Green Chile Fiesta Chicken Bake
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2 lbs
- 1 can corn drained
- 1 can chopped green chiles I prefer Old El Paso
- 8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese softened
- 8 oz monterey jack cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 4 green onions chopped
- Optional
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ËšF.
- Mix the cream cheese, corn, green chiles, sour cream, green onions, and 1 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese together until combined.
- Lay the chicken breasts in a large casserole dish. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the chicken and sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (165ËšF internal temp)
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with your favorite side!
Recipe Notes:
- You can cut the chicken in half, chunks, or use chicken tenderloins in lieu of full chicken breasts to make serving easier. Cooking time may be reduced.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an air tight container. The chicken reheats well, or can be chopped and used to make other dishes like enchiladas, tacos, etc.
Nutrition Information:
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Holly says
Made this tonight for the first time. Oh my gas this was SO EASY & QUICK to shop for and to put together that it would make my top 10 just for that reason alone. Lol!
But this dish is DELICIOUS! It’s definitely going to return to our table more than once.
Kelly B says
I absolutely love the flavor of this dish! Unfortunately, the chicken did not turn out well/edible. I used whole chicken breasts and will not do that again, as the dish was watery and the chicken was extremely chewy. Have you ever made this with the chicken pieces chunked? How long did you bake it? I’m also considering using cooked/stir-fried chicken chunks, and then baking the dish just long enough to heat it and make the sauce bubbly and browned on top. Any suggestions on time would be greatly appreciated!
Kimber says
Usually when chicken is tough it is a result of over cooking so that could have been the case here, but it is hard to know. You can absolutely use chunks of chicken or chicken tenderloins. Both would help it to cook more quickly. As far as the juices that are released, chicken is often injected with a saline solution to make it appear plump and juicy. You can generally see on the package if/how much is in your chicken. You can either drain the juice carefully or you can stir it into the cheesy mixture.
Using precooked chicken could work as well. You could just cook the sauce on the stovetop and pour it over the chicken or try this similar crock pot recipe https://www.thepinningmama.com/crockpot-green-chile-chicken/
Laura says
What are the green onions used for? Bought them at the store came home and read the instructions and it doesn’t say anywhere about green onions.
Kimber says
Sorry about that! I corrected the recipe. You will add them into the sour cream mixture. I hope you enjoy it!
Celeste says
I am not one to make comments, but made this for dinner last night and it was so good! I added some Hatch Green Chili as well as the can of green chilies. Can’t wait to make it again and add black beans!
Aubrey says
Making this for dinner tonight. I’ve made it once before. The family loves it!
Lisa says
Do you think you could prep this ahead of time? So you can transfer it straight from the fridge to oven (at night after work)?
Tina says
I was wondering the same thing!!!
Emily says
What size can of green chiles do you use? 4oz or 7oz?
Kimber says
I usually use 4 oz cans
Chris says
I tweaked this just a bit by using cooked, shredded chicken, cut the cook time by about 10 minutes and served it with tortilla chips as a dip for a party. You know it’s a dang good recipe when you bring your dish home empty! I’ll definitely be making it again and also trying the original recipe too! Thanks for sharing it!
Saundra Hayes says
Could you use fresh corn off the cob?
Kimber says
Yes that would also work well, just make sure you have roughly the same amount. Enjoy!
Jessica Rindy says
Made this in the crockpot and it worked perfectly! Added the last 1/2 cup cheese at the end once I shredded the chicken. Served over cauliflower rice– YUM!! Thanks!!
Brenda G says
Hi! What was the time and temperature for making it in the crockpot? Did you put everything in at the same time?