If you have leftover rotisserie chicken and are craving cheese, you can kill two birds with one stone (pun intended)! This amazing and simple Chicken Aztec Casserole recipe has your name all over it. Nothing spells Mexican Food better than these delicious layers of tortillas, salsa, chicken, veggies, cheese (melted to exquisite stringiness) and sour cream.
Like we mentioned in our Chicharrón Aztec Casserole post (one of the most popular in our blog, going by the many visits it has accumulated), this Mexican favorite also goes here, in the US, by the name of “Mexican lasagna”. This dish is extremely simple to put together. You can easily adjust the recipe also to fewer portions, as this one serves around 12. It is pretty big! I used all the breast meat from a small/medium sized rotisserie chicken.
Aztec casseroles have been around for a very long time, although people used turkey instead of chicken back in the day, in Pre-Columbian times. Chicken is not indigenous to the American continent. It is native to Southeast Asia and Europeans brought it here, where it has become one of the most important sources of protein. It is loaded with large amounts of nutrients, as you well know.
To up the flavor ante, I used sour cream and shredded Chihuahua cheese in all the layers. And I topped the casserole with crumbled Queso Fresco. You can use shredded Mexican Blend or Quesadilla cheese instead. We are nothing if not adaptable! I can’t even begin to tell you how well the ingredients play with each other in this Chicken Aztec Casserole. You will have to make it and be the judge of that!
We included also vegetables that are highly popular in Mexican cuisine: zucchinis (in season right now), corn and Poblano pepper. And since the casserole will be baked, you won’t even have to blister and peel the Poblano! So yes, this is a whole, and extremely satisfying, meal you can fix in 40 minutes, tops. As long as you have your cooked shredded chicken and the rest of the ingredients handy, of course!
Last but not least, you don’t have to quick-fry your tortillas. Unlike many other Aztec casserole recipes, we are using them straight out of the package and into the baking pan.
Chicken Aztec Casserole
Ingredients
- For the sauce:
- 5 units large Roma tomatoes ripe
- 1/4 unit white or red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 – 2 units canned chipotles
- 1 tbsp granulated chicken bouillon
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 tbsp oilve oil
- For the chicken filling:
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 unit white onion thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 4 cups rotisserie chicken meat shredded
- 1 large zucchini diced
- 1 large Poblano pepper seeded, deveined and diced
- 1 -15.25oz can yellow or white corn drained
- salt and pepper to taste
- For casserole assembly:
- 18 units soft corn tortillas
- 1 cup Manchego, Quesadilla or Mexican Blend cheese shredded
- 1 cup sour cream
- For garnish:
- 1/2 cup Queso fresco crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Make the sauce: In a blender process the first seven ingedients of the sauce until smooth. Pass the sauce through a strainer pouring it into into a medium saucepan with the oilve oil and fry over low – medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the froth is gone, 5 – 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and reserve.
- Make the chicken-veggie mix: In a large skillet melt the butter, then sautee the onion and garlic for 1 minute. Add the chicken, zucchini, Poblano and corn and, stirring often, cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble the Chicken Aztec Casserole: Grease a 13"x9"x2" lasagna baking pan with butter. Place 6 soft corn tortillas at the bottom. It is not a problem if they overlap. Top the tortillas with a third of the chicken mix, spoon with a third of the tomato-chipotle salsa, sprinkle all over with one third of the shredded cheese and dollop with one third of the sour cream. Repeat with 2 more equal layers. Garnish the casserole by topping it evenly with the crumbled Queso Fresco.
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until bubbly and the cheese has melted. Enjoy!
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