This Southwest Chicken Casserole is one of the most popular recipes in Cook Once Eat All Week — it’s absolutely delicious, loaded with veggies (but still kid-friendly), and incredibly easy to throw together!
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This recipe is…
This Confetti Chicken Casserole recipe is actually from Cook Once, Eat All Week (my 2nd book) + while all the recipes in the book are absolutely delicious, this casserole is definitely a reader favorite!
So, I bet you’re wondering, “what exactly is Confetti Chicken Casserole?!” It’s essentially just a veggie forward chicken casserole, and it received the name “confetti” because, well, look at it! It’s loaded with tons of brightly colored veggies (think: red onion, red bell pepper, corn kernels, and kale). Not only does this casserole look beautiful, but the flavors of this casserole are really wonderful and bring a real Southwestern flair to the table!
If you’re looking for more casseroles that bring the flavor, we’ve got you. Our BBQ Chicken Casserole, Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole, and Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole are reader favorites.
Southwest Chicken Casserole Ingredients
This casserole is loaded with really delicious veggies, y’all. Here’s what you’ll need:
- 6 strips of bacon
- 1 diced red onion
- 2 diced red bell peppers
- 3 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
- 2 cups of frozen corn kernels
- 2 cups of shredded lacinato (sometimes called “dino”) kale
- 4 cups of cooked and shredded chicken (either from a rotisserie chicken or from 2 pounds of cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast)
- ½ cup of avocado oil mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
- ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 thinly sliced green onion
How To Prepare this Chicken Casserole
The process is REALLY easy! Here’s exactly how you’ll bring this really delicious casserole together:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cook the bacon – slice the bacon into 1/2 inch pieces then cook over medium heat until crisp. Once crisp, remove the bacon from the pan and drain off the excess bacon fat.
- Saute the onion, peppers, and garlic – heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion, peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes, until the vegetables are wilted and slightly browned.
- Combine the ingredients – in a large bowl, stir together the cooked onion and bell pepper mixture, corn, kale, chicken, mayo, salt and pepper until combined.
- Transfer to a casserole dish and top – transfer the chicken and veggie mixture to a 3-quart (9X13) rectangular casserole dish, then top with the cheddar cheese and bacon.
- Bake – bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, until the top of the casserole has browned.
- Let cool, garnish, and serve – after removing the casserole from the oven, let it cool slightly, then garnish with green onions and serve!
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How to Reheat the Casserole
If you’re reheating an individual portion of casserole, your best bet is to heat it in the microwave for about 60-90 seconds per portion. If you’re heating an entire casserole, go ahead and pop it into a 350°F oven for about 15 minutes, until warmed through.
Confetti Chicken Casserole FAQs
While we do have chicken casserole recipes that call for raw chicken (think: Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole), this one does not. For this recipe, you’ll need cooked chicken. The easiest way to get your hands on cooked, shredded chicken is from a store-bought rotisserie chicken, but if you’d rather cook your own, feel free to pop 2 pounds of chicken in your slow cooker or Instant Pot!
You don’t! We really want the cheesy top of this casserole to get browned and bubbly in the oven, and covering it will keep it from doing that.
This Confetti Chicken Casserole is a complete meal all on its own, but because it is a lower-carb casserole, if you’d like to serve it over rice or stuff it into a baked potato (sweet or white!), feel free to do that!
The best way to store any leftover casserole you have is in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
If you want to freeze a whole casserole (say you made 2 casseroles at one time, enjoyed one for dinner, and plan to save the other for a busy weeknight!), make sure that you have the casserole dish sealed as best as you can. We recommend freezing it in a foil or metal dish so you can take it straight from the freezer to the oven – if you freeze it in a glass or ceramic dish there is a possibility of the dish shattering when you put it in the oven. You can also freeze the casserole in individual portions if you plan on grabbing, heating, and enjoying one serving at a time!
More Favorite Casserole Recipes
Confetti Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 red onion diced
- 2 red bell peppers diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 cups frozen corn kernels
- 2 cups shredded lacinato kale
- 4 cups cooked shredded chicken either from a rotisserie chicken or 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1/2 cup avocado oil mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 large green onion thinly sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the bacon to a skillet over medium heat. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, until crisp, then remove the bacon from the pan and drain off the excess fat.
- Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion, peppers, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes, until the vegetables are wilted and slightly browned.
- In a large bowl, stir together the onion and bell pepper mixture, corn, kale, chicken, mayo, salt, and pepper until combined.
- Transfer the chicken mixture to a 3-quart (9×13) rectangular casserole dish, then top with the cheddar cheese and bacon.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until the top of the casserole has browned.
- After removing the casserole from the oven, let it cool slightly, then garnish with green onions and serve!
Nutrition
I’ve adapted this a bit after making it so much! I use a full pound of bacon and only 1.5 pounds of chicken breast. I also add a can of cream of chicken soup. The whole family loves it (even my pickiest eaters)! It definitely needs the extra bacon and cream of chicken soup for some added flavor.
Oooooo YUM! That sounds delicious, Chaslynn! We are so happy that you and your family love it!
Sorry for the stupid question, but how is this dairy free if it has cheese in it? Like is it truly dairy free? Reason I ask is I’m participating in a meal train and want to note if it’s dairy free 🙂
Oh my goodness not stupid at all! Good catch! Can be made dairy free if you leave out the cheese or use a dairy-free alternative, but as it is, it’s not dairy free! Thank you, Ivana! Fixing it now!
Delicious and unique take on a chicken casserole. Even better, my kids love it!
Amazing!! Kids loving it is the goal!!
This was tasty and I love all of the veggies in it! I use chipotle lime Avacado Mayo instead of regular Avacado Mayo which adds an extra layer of flavor. I also add some sour cream because that’s how my kids roll! Sometimes I roast some southwest spiced sweet potatoes or butternut squash to accompany it. It’s a fun recipe to make and easy to sub things in and out of it! The beauty of a casserole!
We’re so glad you love this recipe, Ashley! The chipotle lime mayo was genius!
We made a few little changes (spinach instead of kale, green bell peppers, added a little tomato) but this recipe was amazing!! I think it’s a new fave meal of mine. And was so easy to make!
We’re so glad you loved it, KariLynn! Thanks for sharing your adaptations with us!
I was wondering if frozen kale would work for this recipe? Would you add in with the onion mixture to heat it up or add in frozen like the corn?
We haven’t tried it, Maggie, but I bet it would work! I’d add it in with the onion mixture so that any liquid can evaporate off before it goes into the casserole.
🙂
So glad you liked the recipe, Tanya!!
Absolutely delicious!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed, Anna! Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us. -Team FF
Unfortunately this one was a miss, and I made it exactly to the recipe. It was a little flavorless (the bacon was the saving grace) and way too greasy. Theres enough oil from the bacon and sauteed veggies without the half cup avocado mayo mixed in, which just douses it in fat upon melting. There’s nothing holding the casserole ingredients together after baking, so it’s just all these ingredients heated up and weighted down with fats. I’m all about healthy fats but this one left us feeling heavy and with a greasy mess on our plates after. Served with quinoa. It kills me to give this recipe a low rating because all other FedFit recipes have been amazing! Xo, will keep trying more recipes ❤️
We are sorry this recipe was a miss for you and your family. We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback and experience with us, we truly take it to heart. -Team FF
Hi i’m planning to make this as a frozen dish for post-partum, should I bake it before I freeze it or can I skip the baking and do it later ? Should I thaw it before putting it in the oven ? And what temperature and baking time would you recommend when I’ll get it out of the freezer?
Thank you !
Hi Maude! Since this recipe is made with mostly cooked ingredients, you could assemble the casserole through step 5 and then store it for freezing. To reheat from frozen, preheat the oven to 350 F, then bake covered for 1 hour, then uncovered for an additional 30 minutes. If you want to defrost first, we recommended defrosting in the fridge for 2 days prior to baking, then bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. Enjoy! -Team F&F
Would ground beef be a good sub for chicken?
Hi Claire! You could certainly sub cooked ground beef in this recipe. Enjoy! -Team F&F