If you love queso then this recipe is for you! A ooey, gooey, cheesy dinner recipe that takes only one dish and a few minutes to make! This is perfect for a weeknight family dinner your family will love.
I have to let you in on a little secret… I am OBSESSED with nachos. There is just something about the salty crunchy chip covered in rich warm melted cheese that is the ultimate comfort food for me. Any good nacho connoisseur has a special place in their heart for RO*TEL. You have seen me use it in quite a few recipes on my site, so a big THANK YOU to RO*TEL and ConAgra foods for sponsoring this post so I can bring you my newest (and cheesiest) chicken bake recipe.
I have so many memories of family gatherings growing up. The counters were always packed with dishes everyone brought and there always was a huge variety. The one staple that had to the there though was the RO*TEL cheese dip. It was a given. If we gathered it was there. It is one of those foods that kind of defined those moments…. and maybe where the nacho obsession began.
I will admit that I eat nachos far more than I probably should. I do try to pack them full of healthy extras to justify it, like corn, black beans, avocado, fresh cilantro, and tomatoes. Doesn’t that sounds delicious? So why stop there? I mean the nachos are good because of all the stuff topping them, so why not take all that good stuff and bake it with some tender, juicy chicken breast? BINGO! The Queso Chicken Bake was born!
The reason I love to make chicken bakes so much is that life is BUSY! It is hard to balance it all, and when you have to spend a ton of time in the kitchen daily to make and and then clean up a hot fresh dinner, there is not much time left for family time. If we can make and clean up dinner fast, then we get to do some of our favorite things together like going on walks around the neighborhood in the summer, and snuggling up and watching our favorite TV shows together in the winter.
If you need more super simple, super delicious easy dinner recipes, check out my other Easy Chicken Bake Recipes here! Reader favorites include: Italian Chicken Bake, Fajita Chicken Bake and the Bacon Ranch Chicken Bake. Give them a try!
But back to the food. This recipe is so fantastic because as I mentioned above it is easy so it gives us more time with the fam. Also, it’s queso! I mean let’s be honest, I have 3 small kids, so I go through my fair share of dinnertime battles, but when you are serving queso (packed with wholesome chicken, black beans, tomatoes and corn) the kids gobble it up. Heck! I gobble it up!
Queso Chicken Bake Recipe
To make this dish you need 5 ingredients. That is it.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
- Corn
- Black Beans
- RO*TEL Tomatoes with Green Chilis
- Melty Queso Cheese {I used Velveeta- you want something that will melt well and mix in with the juices to make creamy queso dip!}
Start with a large baking dish. I used a 9×13 glass dish for 4 chicken breasts. Place your chicken flat on the dish. If the chicken breasts are especially thick, you may want to butterfly them (cut in half) to reduce the cooking time.
Open drain and rinse the beans, and open and drain the corn. You will use the full can of RO*TEL. Pour the corn, beans and RO*TEL over the chicken breasts. I use canned corn, because that is what we usually keep on hand, but you could use frozen corn as well, as long as you thaw it.
Next cut the block of Velveeta into small cubes, around 1/2 inch. No need to be exact, but it makes it cover the dish a bit more evenly. I bought a 32 oz block and used half. If you want extra cheese you can use a little bit more. Then spread over the top of the chicken and veggies.
Cover the dish with foil and put it into an oven preheated to 375˚F and bake for 45-55 minutes or until the chicken is done and the juices run clear.
If you like the cheese to be a little crispy on top, remove the foil the last 5 minutes of the cook time. Either way, it is just oooooooey, gooooooey, cheesy goodness topping the delicious chicken and wholesome veggies ready to fill your family up right.
When you take this out of the oven, the cheese will be melted, but the juices from the chicken and all of the veggies will be “watery” at the bottom of the pan. I removed my chicken breasts, then mixed this delicious mixture of chicken broth, RO*TEL, and veggies together with a fork to make the creamiest best queso sauce then spooned the extra sauce on top of the chicken and rice when I served it. A fork or whisk works well to get the cheese to combine into the juices smoothly.
I served this with some Spanish rice I picked up, but you could also serve it with chips, tortillas or even a salad. It is a great way to have a warm comforting meal to the table quick.
Thanks again to ConAgra for sponsoring this post and the Mom It Forward Network for the opportunity. You can find more recipes with RO*TEL and other ConAgra foods on their Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.
ConAgra Foods products can be found in 99 percent of American households, and include many iconic brands such as Hunt’s, Hebrew National, Swiss Miss, Manwich, PAM Cooking Spray and many more. Whether on their own or as part of a delicious recipe, ConAgra Foods brands are perfect for nearly any eating or entertaining occasion.
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One Dish Queso Chicken Bake {Easy Dinner Recipe}
Ingredients
- 3-4 chicken breasts
- 1 can RO*TEL
- 1 can corn drained
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 16 oz Velveeta
Instructions
- Place the chicken breast in a baking dish flat. Butterfly breasts if they are especially thick.
- Layer the corn, black beans, and RO*TEL on top of the chicken.
- Dice the queso cheese into 1/2 inch cubes and spread them evenly over the top of the dish.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 375F for 45-55 minutes or until the chicken is done and the juices run clear. *if you want the cheese to be a little crispy remove the foil for the last 5 minutes of baking.
- Remove from oven then remove the chicken breasts from the pan and use a fork or whisk to work the extra cheese into the juices to form more queso sauce.
- Enjoy! Serve over rice, with chips, or with tortillas
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Nicole says
I cannot wait to try this! A couple thoughts:
1. I wonder if this would as a freezer meal? Just assemble it in a disposible pan and freeze?
2. After reading the comments, I’m a little nervous about it being liquidy. But I’m sure whisking it like you said will work fine. Rotel and Velveeta go together all the time for dip. Do you think leaving it uncovered to bake would help get rid of some of that extra liquid? Or will that just dry out the chicken?
Kimber says
Hi Nicole- Thanks and I hope you enjoy it!
1. Maybe! I am not sure how velveeta would freeze, but I think the other stuff should do just fine.
2. I cook almost all of my chicken bakes uncovered, but this one I cooked covered just because I didn’t want the velveeta to get dried out so that it would be able to mix well with the juices at the end to make a queso. If you try it though let me know!
Nicole says
Okay, have made it twice.
1. It works great freezing it. No changes to texture or velveeta.
2. Definitely better covered like you said. It dried out a lot more uncovered.
Cheyenne says
Gave this recipe a try tonight and I would consider it a success! After reading the other comments, I decided to drain the liquid off the can of Rotel. It turned out great. I had mine with salad and it was so filling! Don’t be discouraged by the other comments, give this a try 🙂
Kimber says
So glad you enjoyed it! If you haven’t ever tried it, I would recommend my Italian chicken bake, fajita chicken bake, greek and enchilada chicken bakes! They are top favorites here!
Gina says
This was very good. I cut up the chicken into bite size pieces for easier serving and added a can of jalapeno slices. Turned out wonderful! Will make this again for sure. Thank you!
Joni says
Could you do this in the crockpot?
Kimber says
Probably, although the texture would be different.
kelly says
i made this tonight for supper, i did drain the liquid from everything including the rotel, i used a whole box of queso velveeta and my family absolutely LOVED it!! I was kinda of shocked cause my sons dont like tomatoes in stuff so i was afraid it was gonna be an “ewwwww mom!!’ moment but nope they all said to make this again soon! oh i did add some salt pepper onion powder and garlic powder to the chicken before i added the beans and things..
Michelle says
Made this tonight and it was so good with a few changes. I used 3 thick chicken breast seasoned with chili powder and cumin, drained black beans, drained rotel, 4 Oz green chiles, frozen bag of sweet potato chunks (from target) instead of corn, and 10 Oz of cubed Blanco Velveeta. Baked covered for 65 minutes. No problem with too much liquid at all. Sweet potatoes added a different BUT, so good flavor. This will be at the top of my list for quick and delicious dinners. Thank you for recipe.
Kimber says
Glad you enjoyed it! Hope you get a chance to try some of my other chicken bake recipes!
Teddy says
Just a couple of questions. How many people does this serve and what is the serving size, in cups or ounces? It looks like a very healthy dinner and I would be willing to try it. However, I would be serving two children and a bariatric adult. Don’t want to eat leftovers for a week!
Donald Miller says
The 1st Saturday of the month I take kids from the high school and cook lunch at a homeless mission. This is perfect…. easy enough for the kids, relatively quick, and easy to expand to feed lots of people. We are preparing it this Saturday.
Kelly says
This is the same as a recipe in a crock pot cookbook that I have. That recipe is one of my family’s favorite dinners. It’s the same ingredients minus the cheese. You let it all cook on low for 8 hours and then shred the chicken up with a fork and eat with taco shells. I think I may try adding velveeta at the end as I would have never thought of that without your recipe- thanks!