Chicken Fajita Casserole is everything you love about fajitas in a family friendly, one dish casserole. It’s a super easy dump-and-bake recipe with rice, bell peppers, onions, fajita seasoned chicken, and melty cheese.
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One Dish Wonder
This recipe went viral on my social media platforms so I had to make it a permanent post on the blog. I can see why it’s so popular, though! First and foremost, it’s delicious! The rice and chicken are so flavorful and there’s cheese…sooo. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
It’s easy! Everything is dumped into a casserole dish and baked in the oven. The most time consuming part is slicing the onions and peppers.
Chicken fajita casserole is filling and hearty. It’s a whole meal in a dish; you have your grains (use brown rice for extra fiber), protein from the chicken and cheese and your veggies. Boom! A well rounded meal without even trying.
Lastly, I love that everyone can add their favorite toppings, just like an individual order of fajitas. I think you’ll love it, too.
What You’ll Need
You can find the full, printable recipe with exact measurements at the bottom of this post. Read on for more details and tips!
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- 9×13 casserole dish
- Chicken- you can use breast, tenderloins or thighs. If using chicken breasts, slice them in half horizontally or slice into strips so they cook evenly.
- Bell peppers– any color
- Onion– use a vidalia onion, yellow or red onion, or leave it out if your kids have an aversion to onions 😉
- 1 packet fajita seasoning mix– or taco seasoning works great, too!
- Olive oil– this coats the chicken and veggies so the seasoning sticks.
- Long grain rice (not instant)– I’ve tried it with instant and the rice never turns out great. If you want to try it and you like it, let me know your secret!
- Chicken or vegetable broth– to cook the rice and the broth adds flavor
- Shredded cheddar cheese– or your favorite cheese
- Your favorite toppings such as shredded lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, cilantro, jalapeños
How To Make It
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Prep the vegetables and chicken: Slice the peppers and onion. (or dice, if you like that better) If using chicken breasts, slice into strips or cut horizontally to ensure the chicken cooks evenly with the rice.
To a 9×13 baking dish add the rice and broth and mix together. Make sure the rice is completely submerged in the broth or it will not cook evenly.
In a bowl, combine the olive oil, sliced chicken, onion, peppers and fajita seasoning. Stir everything together until well coated in the seasoning. Feel free to add your own additional seasoning, if you’d like.
Place the chicken and vegetables on top of the rice- do not mix.
Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through.
Uncover, top with shredded cheddar cheese and put back in the oven 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
Serve with your favorite toppings, such as salsa, avocado, lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, and sour cream.
Did you enjoy this recipe? Take a picture and tag me @StephGigliotti on social media and #StephRealLife. I would absolutely love to see your finished dish! Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section.
Homemade Fajita Seasoning
Don’t want to use a seasoning packet or maybe you don’t have it on hand? No problem! It’s easy to mix it up yourself with spices from your pantry.
Mix together:
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- *add cayenne powder if you like a kick
Try These Next
- One Dish Cream of Mushroom Chicken and Rice
- Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
- Steak Bites and Potatoes
- Porcupine Meatballs
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Chicken Fajita Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breast or thighs sliced into strips, or use chicken tenderloins
- 2-3 bell peppers sliced
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 ounce packet fajita seasoning mix or taco seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup long grain rice uncooked, not instant
- 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Prep the vegetables and chicken: Slice the peppers and onion. (or dice, if you like that better) If using chicken breasts, slice into strips or cut horizontally to ensure the chicken cooks evenly with the rice.
- To a 9×13 baking dish add the rice and broth and mix together. Make sure the rice is completely submerged in the broth or it will not cook evenly.
- In a bowl, combine the olive oil, sliced chicken, onion, peppers and fajita seasoning. Stir everything together until well coated in the seasoning. Feel free to add your own additional seasoning, if you’d like.
- Place the chicken and vegetables on top of the rice- do not mix.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Uncover, top with shredded cheddar cheese and put back in the oven 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
- Serve with your favorite toppings, such as salsa, avocado, lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, and sour cream.
Notes
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- *add cayenne powder if you like a kick
Made this tonight my whole family loved it! It will definitely be on the repeat menu!
So happy to hear! Thank you for sharing!
I made this last week for Tacos Tuesday 👍🏽and it’s Taco Tuesday again and me and my Husband will be eating it again tonight he Requested it 😁 and I’m in Delicious 🤤
So happy to hear! Thank you for sharing!
If making the fajita seasoning, do you use all of what you make for 1 recipe of the casserole? Thank you
yes 🙂
Does using leftover cooked chicken breasts change the amount of baking time in the oven??
You’ll want to bake the same amount of time to ensure the rice cooks completely. Add in cooked chicken the last 15 minutes just to heat through.
Can this recipe be prepared ahead of time and cooked a few hours later?
Yes, prep the ingredients in the crock pot and place the covered crock (the ceramic insert part) into your refrigerator until you’re ready to cook. Then just add the insert back into the base and cook as directed.