Green Chile Chicken and Rice Casserole
on Mar 15, 2021, Updated Apr 22, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This easy to make Green Chile Chicken and Rice Casserole is perfect to make on days when you’re craving Southwest comfort food. Loaded with diced green chiles and green enchilada sauce, it’s sure to be a family favorite!
Want more Mexican flavored meals? Make this Chicken Chile Verde and Mexican Ground Beef and Potatoes.
It was definitely a comfort food kind of weekend here in Denver this past Saturday and Sunday. We got our biggest snow of the year and were pretty much confined to the indoors. I know we need all the snow we can get, but man I missed being outside in the sun.
Aside from cleaning, working and doing some organization projects around the house, we did a lot of comfort food eating. Pizza was a priority. Then yesterday, I couldn’t help but make this green chile chicken and rice casserole again.
If you’re a follower of my blog then you are probably aware of my love of anything made with green chiles. This slow cooker creamy green chile chicken enchilada soup really hits the spot on a cold day. And this skinny green chile chicken enchilada dip is a personal favorite of mine along with everyone else I’ve ever made it for.
Today it’s all about this green chile casserole. It’s easy to make, all made in one pan, is delicious for leftovers and it’s made with more wholesome ingredients. There’s no canned soup, unlike many of the casseroles we grew up on and it happens to be gluten free in case you follow a gluten free diet.
Ingredient Notes
Green onions – I love using for a milder onion flavor. You could use a 1/2 cup diced yellow onion if you prefer.
Chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano – The Mexican spice blend.
Chicken breasts – Shredded chicken breasts can be substituted with chicken thighs or rotisserie chicken.
Brown rice – I like using brown rice for the fiber, but you can also use white rice.
Canned diced green chiles – Use mild or hot depending on how spicy you want the casserole to be.
Fire roasted tomatoes – A can of Rotel can be used as well.
Frozen corn – Use frozen fire roasted corn for extra flavor.
Green enchilada sauce – Be sure to check the ingredients on green enchilada sauce if you need this recipe to be gluten-free. Some sauces use flour to thicken them. Hatch and Siete Foods are good gluten-free options.
Plain Greek yogurt – Low fat or whole milk Greek yogurt are best. They give the casserole a creamy consistency and add additional protein. You can also use sour cream.
Colby Jack cheese – You can also use cheddar cheese or monterey jack cheese if you prefer.
How to Make Green Chile Chicken and Rice Casserole
This chicken and rice casserole is a one pan recipe and doesn’t take long at all to make. Heat the oil in a large oven safe skillet and add the green onion and spices to it. Sauté the onions for a couple minutes and then add in shredded chicken, rice, green chiles, tomatoes, corn, enchilada sauce, and a 1/4 cup of the cheese.
Stir everything together until the cheese melts and it’s heated through. Remove the skillet from the heat and quickly stir in the Greek yogurt. Removing it from the heat will prevent the yogurt from curdling.
Top the casserole with the rest of the cheese and then put it in the oven to bake. It shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes since everything is already cooked and warm. You basically just want to get the cheese melted. Once it’s out of the oven, top it with sliced green onions and chopped cilantro.
Frequently Asked Questions
What brand of green enchilada sauce should I use?
My two favorite brands of green enchilada sauce are Hatch and Frontera. Both of these brands are gluten free if that’s important to you.
Can I use a different kind of cheese?
Absolutely. Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack or a combination of any of these would all be delicious.
What can I use instead of brown rice?
Not a fan of brown rice or don’t have any? Try using white rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice. If you use cauliflower rice I recommend using a 1/4 cup less of the green enchilada sauce as it won’t absorb into it as much like it does the rice.
How to keep the Greek yogurt from curdling in the casserole
To keep the Greek yogurt from curdling add it in last. Remove the pan from the heat and stir it in quickly. You don’t want the yogurt to be boiling away on the stove while you’re heating all of the other ingredients. It also helps if you use a plain Greek yogurt with a higher fat content versus non fat. Low fat or whole milk work well.
More Green Chile Recipes
- Baked Green Chile Chicken
- Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Quinoa Casserole
- Creamy Green Chile Chicken Tacos
- Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
- Mexican Corn and Green Chile Dip
- Green Chile Guacamole
Green Chile Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 green onions, sliced thin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breasts
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 8 ounce can diced green chiles
- 14 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes drained
- 1/2 cup frozen corn defrosted
- 3/4 cup green enchilada sauce
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2% or full fat work best
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large oven safe skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the green onions and spices and sauté for a couple minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken, rice, green chiles, fire roasted tomatoes, corn, and green enchilada sauce and 1/4 cup of the cheese. Stir everything together until it's combined. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Once the cheese is melted and everything is heated through, remove the skillet from the heat and quickly stir in the Greek yogurt. Top with the remaining cheese and then bake for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is hot.
- Serve the casserole as is or top it with diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this tonight with a few alterations as I didn’t have fire roasted tomatoes so I used a can of rotel tomatoes and added 1/2 of a green bell pepper. It was verrrrrry yumm!
Hi. Could I omit the yogurt or would it be better if I kept it in? Taste wise. :)
Yes. It won’t be as creamy, but the flavor will still be delicious. You can also use sour cream if you prefer.
Can’t believe one of the FAQs wasn’t “can this be frozen?”
So, now I’m asking? Can it? :)
Hi Bonnie, Yes this can be frozen. Let it cool completely and then store it in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Could I use uncooked white rice instead? if so, do I follow the remainder of the recipe as it’s written?
You would need extra liquid for the rice to absorb and cook if you used uncooked rice and the cook time would be longer to make sure it’s cooked fully.
This was good. I’m going to bake the leftovers in peppers.
That’s a great idea!
This was delicious! All 5 kids and the hubby liked it. We made our own salsa verde and I didn’t have brown rice but easy to make. I roasted some canned corn because I wanted to use what we had on hand (and canned corn usually has a weird taste) so it was the perfect way to use it. Cilantro was the only thing I’d add next time! We all crushed chips into it and dug in.
Happy to hear you enjoyed the casserole Melissa!
Can you make this ahead of time before baking?
Absolutely. It may need a few extra minutes to bake if you’re putting it in the oven straight from the fridge.
I ruined this, because this says it’s one pan, so I added the rice uncooked. I know it says cooked but c’mon, at least add a step in the instructions saying to start the rice and hour before you start everything else. All down the drain. :(
Agreed, that was a bummer. Now eating super late.
The recipe calls for cooked rice. I recommend reading through recipes entirely before you start cooking.
I couldn’t agree more!!
No actually you could have saved it by adding more liquid and baking longer. I did something similar with a stuffed cabbage casserole recipe because I didn’t read the directions and ingredients list correctly. Took much longer but was saved
Reading is fundamental.
Could you use sour cream in place of the Greek yogurt? I’m not a fan of Greek yogurt.
Hi Heather, you can definitely substitute the Greek yogurt with sour cream if you prefer.
nice dish, green chile flavor has become one of my favorites after a previously exclusive red sauce only preference! Never thought I’d come to like green chili, but love the more subtle flavor and it plays well with chicken, like in this dish, so thank you!