King Ranch Casserole is a Texas favorite that blends tender chicken with a spicy can of tomatoes and cream soup - plus a couple other goodies before being baked until bubbly. Now, imagine that goodness with a topping of crispy tater tots and you are seeing what might become a fusion casserole classic!
If I have time, I actually start cooking a half a bell pepper and a half an onion in a bit of olive oil in the sauté pan before moving on to the rest of the recipe. I like the extra veggies. I've also been known to work in other veggies if I have them on hand. I like grated cheddar in this casserole, but if I happen to have pepper jack on hand that goes in. Basically, since the base of this casserole is a 'mix stuff together until it's your kind of yummy" thing, feel free to do just that! Then add tater tots to the top and bake it. You can, of course, just dump a bag of tater tots onto the top of the pan, but I rather enjoyed lining up the tots to make a series of concentric rings. And hey, it's pretty!
Because this is a pretty heavy casserole, I like to make a light salad to go along with it. You could also opt for a steamed vegetable or the like. It's nice to have something a bit lighter alongside this to offset a heavier dish. Enjoy a bit of comfort food fusion cuisine tonight!
King Ranch Tater Tot Casserole
- 1 (10 ¾ oz.) can cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- ½ tsp. ground chipotle pepper
- 1 oz. Ranch seasoning
- 1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
- 1 cups grated cheddar, divided
- 3 cups (cooked) shredded or cubed chicken
- 1 (30 oz). pkg. frozen tater tots
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a large sauté pan, combine the soup, sour cream, cream cheese, milk, thyme, chipotle pepper, and Ranch seasoning. Stir until smooth. Mix in the tomatoes, grated cheese, and chicken. Heat over medium heat, stirring gently, until warm and the cheese is mostly melted. Remove from the heat.
Carefully arrange the tater tots (no need to thaw) on top of the sauté pan over the chicken mixture.
Bake the casserole for 30 minutes until it is hot and bubbly. Serve warm.
- Yields: 8-10 servings
- Preparation Time: 45 minutes