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.)
Rachel says
Made this just as is and it was pretty amazing!! I was very worried when it came out with a soupy texture, but I stirred it up and just topped the chicken with it and it was great! Definitely a keeper, thank you!
Kimber says
So glad it was a hit! I hope you get to enjoy it many times to come.
Kelsi says
So yummy! My family loved this and we’re adding it to our dinner rotation! I served it with tortilla chips to get all the little bits. The leftovers were just as good. I think it would make a yummy dip too, with chopped up chicken. Going to try it soon!
Caitlin says
This is probably a stupid question, but has anyone tried this with another type of meat other than chicken??
Tina says
My family loved this. becuase im lazy i used Perdue chicken shortcuts. I think southwest flavor? it was easy and came out so good. thanks for sharing.
Pam says
Making this in the crockpot for dinner tonight! Can’t wait
Andi says
These are great comments for a great recipie I plan to make soon. Thrilled to see someone else had asked about the freezing meal aspect too-yay for Community!
I’m dairy free so I may just add the velvetta (and all it’s goodness) to the side for the rest of the fam-oh how I miss it so. But this looks to be amazing. I may try a cilantro lime rice with it bc I wanna be fancy lol
K says
I love this recipe. For those that say too much liquid, I use a turkey baster to take out the excess liquid. It is a little extra work, but it is well worth it in the end. Even with that extra step this is still a very easy and convenient meal to make. I avoided mixing the cheese with the liquid for fear it would not mix well together, and had that confirmed in others comments. This is one of my family’s favorite recipes, all it needs is some of the excess liquid drained out.
Eah says
This is the first time I’ve ever commented on a blog post, but I just felt I needed to add my experience after all the mixed comments on this recipe. I know this is classified as a quick & easy meal, but I needed it to be ready even faster by the time we get home from work & pickup from daycare. I used the Crockpot! I used 3 decent sized chicken breasts on the bottom, light layer of taco seasoning on them, drained the 3 cans of ingredients called for in this recipe, and used 16 oz of velveeta cut into chunks layered on the top. Crockpot on LOW for about 5 hours. Removed the chicken, whisked together cheese sauce, shredded chicken then added it back into the sauce. (Word of advice with the velveeta-I had to pick out the pieces that had been touching the side of the crockpot, they had burnt & were hard) OH MY GOODNESS! My very picky 2 year old son stood at the counter with me & devoured his serving as we were shredding and stirring. Yes, he even ate the corn/beans/tomatoes with it! Served over brown rice in a tortilla for the husband & I.
Rachel says
Tried this today and found it delishes . Makes alot of queso I found might need to get some chips for this next time . Also is this considered a low carb meal ?
Kat says
This is very good. I added sweet onion and cooked it in my copper pot on my Induction plate. I will definitely make it again.