Sierra’s Casserole

Sierra’s Casserole–an easy, cheesy chicken and chili bean dish made in the Instant Pot or slow cooker. It gets topped with crunchy Fritos, cool sour cream, and fresh cilantro for a fun Tex-Mex-inspired meal.

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Sierra’s Casserole

This dump and go, one pot meal cooks all together in the Instant Pot or slow cooker, making prep and cleanup super easy. It’s a pantry friendly meal so you may have everything you need to make the dish right now. It’s a fun and satisfying meal and everyone can make their own bowl with the toppings they like best. (Recipe adapted from Sierra Chicken Casserole on Cooks.com).

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
• Boneless skinless chicken thighs–or chicken breasts
• Dry onion flakes
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder
• Rice–long grain white rice, converted rice, jasmine, basmati
• Chili beans–I like Bush’s chili beans. Chili beans are typically cooked pinto beans (sometimes kidney or black beans) that are canned in a mildly spicy chili-seasoned sauce.
• Salsa–or picante sauce
• Cheddar–I like sharp
• Monterey jack cheese
• Fritos–original or chili cheese fritos
• Sour cream
• Cilantro

Steps

Pour broth into Instant Pot. Place chicken into the bottom of the pot and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Sprinkle the rice on top of the chicken. Dump the chili beans and salsa on top. Don’t stir.

Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 10 minutes (for fresh chicken ) or 12 minutes (for frozen chicken). When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.

Place chicken on a cutting board and shred. Stir it back into the pot along with the cheeses.

Scoop into a bowl and top with a handful of Fritos, a dollop of sour cream and some chopped cilantro.

Notes/Tips

• Serve with corn on the cob or zucchini and elote corn.
• I used my 3 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 6 or 8 quart pot.
• This recipe can be gluten free. Just make sure the chili beans are marked as such.
• Don’t stir before pressure cooking. This helps avoid a burn notice in the Instant Pot by keeping the salsa and beans off the bottom.
• Use freshly shredded cheese if possible. It melts more smoothly than pre-shredded.
• Double the recipe for a crowd. This dish holds up well in a slow cooker or Instant Pot on “Keep Warm” setting.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Other recipes you can make with Fritos are Instant Pot Frito Chicken Casserole and Slow Cooker Frito Pie Chili.

Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for. 

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.