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Chicken Fajita Casserole

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Healthy Chicken Fajita Casserole combines your favorite aspects of fajitas and packs it into a warm and comforting healthy casserole recipe. Loaded with seasoned chicken, rice, peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, taco seasoning, and melted cheese, it makes a delicious and hearty one pan meal the whole family will love!

This post is sponsored in partnership with Lundberg Farms. All opinions expressed (as always) are my own. I only partner with brands I trust and personally recommend – thank you for your support in helping make Eat the Gains possible!

Healthy Chicken Fajita Casserole in a large cast iron topped with jalapenos, avocado, and cilantro. Around the pan is a kitchen towel, cilantro, and lime wedges.

Can I get a heck yes for casserole season?! To be honest, I had no idea what a casserole was until a few years ago. I grew up in the northeast and it just wasn’t something that my mom made us for dinner. But now that I know what they are, I am hooked. And this healthy chicken fajita casserole is my new favorite!

I mean what is not to love about all your favorite chicken fajita ingredients baked together into a warm and cozy casserole topped with melted cheese. Michael ate this recipe up so fast when I was testing it, I barely got any. He said it would be really good stuffed in a burrito and then covered in queso. I mean I don’t disagree haha, but it is pretty phenomenal as is.

Cast iron skillet filled with chicken casserole topped with melted cheese, avocado, sliced jalapenos, and cilantro. Next to it a bag of brown rice, cilantro, avocado slices, lime wedges, and a kitchen towel.

We love this fajita casserole because it a nice change up from the typical way we eat fajitas. While there is nothing wrong with that way, this way pretty much wraps up all the best parts into a comforting and cozy one pan meal, while still being healthy. It has protein, complex and simple carbs from veggies and rice, and healthy fats.

Close up of chicken fajita casserole in a large cast iron with a spoon sticking into it like it is ready to serve.

Is Rice Healthy

If you didn’t know, September is National Rice Month! We eat rice a few times a week because it’s super affordable, healthy, and an easy carbohydrate for meals. It’s also a great source of post-workout recovery carbohydrate for athletes.

I love eating it post-workout to replenish muscle glycogen stores (energy) and help to speed up recovery (carbs and protein are most important post workout!). Michael eats it just about any meal he can haha. It’s so easy to incorporate into your diet!

Lundberg Farms is my go to rice. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I eat their rice cakes like candy. Lundberg is fiercely independent (family owned and operated since 1937!) and produces USA-grown rice that is always farmed with the highest care for the environment (all the rice is is eco-farmed or organic).

Bonus: their products are produced in a facility that is free from all top 8 US and 10 Canadian allergens if that is something of concern to you. I had the chance to meet some of the team in August and everyone I met was wonderful!

Plate with easy chicken fajita casserole, avocado slices, and chips. Behind it is a cast iron skillet with the rest of the healthy casserole and a piece of avocado.

Healthy Chicken Fajita Casserole

It’s hearty, filling, absolutely delicious, and totally hits the spot when craving something comforting, but still want to keep it healthy. And it’s perfect for an easy meal (it’s mostly cooked in the oven), meal prep, or a side dish while watching football on Sunday!

Here is what you need:

Cast iron skillet filled with sautéed chicken.  Cast iron skillet filled with sautéed peppers, mushrooms, and onions.

First prep all your ingredients – cut the chicken and veggies. Then heat up a large cast iron skillet and sauté the chicken with the taco seasoning until browned and cooked through. Remove from the pan and add in the onions. Sauté for a few minutes, then add the peppers and the remaining taco seasoning, and sauté for a few more minutes.

Cast iron skillet filled with chicken, peppers mushrooms, onions, uncooked rice, and vegetable broth.

When the peppers are done, add the rice and let it toast for a couple minutes. Then in goes the rest of the ingredients! Mix everything up so it’s well incorporated. You want to make sure you have enough liquid so you can see a little on the top, but not completely covering everything. Not enough liquid and you will be left with uncooked rice. Too much and it will be too soggy and won’t absorb.

Place the skillet in the oven for 50-55 minutes and bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked through and fluffy. Finally, sprinkle on the cheese and let it melt for a couple minutes.

Top it however you want. Don’t go skimpy on the toppings, they are some of my favorite parts (besides the melty cheese haha). I love hot sauce, avocado, greek yogurt, cilantro, and lime juice and serving it with some chips for some crunch.

Baked chicken fajita casserole in a large cast iron.

Meal Prep Chicken Fajita Casserole

This recipe is amazing to meal prep! You can do it one of two ways:

  1. Make it according to the instructions and bake all the way through. Let cool and then divide in your meal prep containers and just heat up when you are ready to eat!
  2. Make the chicken and veggies according to the recipe in advance. Store them in the fridge until ready to use. When you are ready to eat, simply put everything into your cast iron and bake it in the oven. It might take a little longer since everything will be cold, but will work just the same.

If you like to freeze meals, this would be easy to freeze as well. Bake all the way through, let cool and divide into individual portions, and freeze. When you need a quick meal, simply defrost and heat it up!

Plate with baked chicken fajita casserole, avocado slices, lime wedge, cilantro, and chips. Behind it is a cast iron skillet with the rest of the chicken casserole and a bag of brown rice

More Healthy Casserole Recipes

Beef Taco Casserole (paleo and Whole30)

Turkey Kale Ranch Casserole (paleo and Whole30)

Whole30 Sweet Potato and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Tandoori Tuna Casserole

More Healthy Taco Recipes

Taco Spaghetti Squash Boats

Whole30 Fish Taco Bowls

Chicken Burrito Bowl

Plantain Crusted Crispy Shrimp Tacos

Overhead shot of baked chicken fajita casserole in a large cast iron topped with cilantro, avocado, and jalapeno. Next to the pan is more cilantro and lime wedges.

Healthy Chicken Fajita Casserole in a large cast iron topped with jalapenos, avocado, and cilantro. Around the pan is a kitchen towel, cilantro, and lime wedges.
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4.48 from 23 votes

Chicken Fajita Casserole

Healthy Chicken Fajita Casserole combines your favorite aspects of fajitas and packs it into a warm and comforting healthy casserole recipe. Loaded with seasoned chicken, rice, peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, taco seasoning, and melted cheese, it makes a delicious and hearty one pan meal the whole family will love!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Casserole Dinner Recipe with Chicken, Chicken Fajita Casserole
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 10 cups
Calories 264kcal
Author Kelly

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast sliced into thin strips
  • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (divided)
  • 1 medium onion, sliced (3 cups/305 grams)
  • 3 medium bell peppers, sliced (5 heaping cups/625 grams)
  • 1 1/2 cups Lundberg Farms Organic California Brown Jasmine Rice
  • 8 medium mushrooms, sliced (1 heaping cup/100 grams)
  • 1 can (14.5 ounces) fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 can (8 ounces) diced hatch green chiles
  • 1 3/4 cups broth
  • 1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese (3 ounces)
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • optional toppings: avocado, cilantro, lime juice, greek yogurt/sour cream, hot sauce...

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • In a large cast iron skillet (I used 12 inches) over medium heat, add oil and let it get hot, about 1 minute. Add chicken, 1 tablespoon taco seasoning, and salt and pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes until browned (chicken does not have to be cooked all the way through). Remove from pan and set aside.
  • Add onions, salt and pepper, and saute for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened. Add a splash of broth (you can use some from the amount you measured out) if you need to deglaze the pan and speed up the cooking process some. Add peppers and remaining taco seasoning and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
  • Add rice and mix well to combine and let toast for 1-2 minutes. Add in the cooked chicken, fire roasted tomatoes, green chiles, and mushrooms and mix well to combine. Add broth and carefully stir to make sure it is well incorporated. You want to make sure you have enough liquid so you can see a little on the top, but not completely covering everything. Not enough liquid and you will be left with uncooked rice. Too much and it will be too soggy and won't absorb. See pictures above for reference.
  • Cover with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 mintues until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from oven, spinkle with cheese, and bake for another 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted. Top with optional toppings or topping of choice and enjoy!

Notes

leave off cheese for dairy free

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Chicken Fajita Casserole
Amount Per Serving (1 cup)
Calories 264 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 2.4g15%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.5g
Potassium 255mg7%
Carbohydrates 29g10%
Fiber 2.3g10%
Sugar 6.6g7%
Protein 21g42%
Vitamin A 42IU1%
Vitamin C 143mg173%
Calcium 14mg1%
Iron 7mg39%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?If you make this recipe or anything from Eat the Gains, leave a comment and rating to let people know how you liked it! Also, make sure to post it and tag me so I can see all of your creations!! @eatthegains and #eatthegains on Instagram!

This post may contain affiliate links and I may make little bit of money if you click on and purchase the products that are linked. It doesn’t cost you any extra money. The compensation helps with expenses to keep ETG up and running. I truly appreciate your support!

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Comments

  2. I made this last night for my husband and some friends we had over (one of which is Hispanic) and everyone loved it!!! It was so delicious and actually super easy to make. We put it in tortillas, on chips, and just ate it by itself. Definitely do not leave out the cheese!!

    Reply

    • Yes to the cheese right?! Haha! So glad it was a hit and everyone liked it! Love the idea of putting it in tortillas. Thanks for trying it Lauren!

      Reply

  3. 5 stars
    Easy to make and FULL of flavor. Definitely don’t skip the cheese and use a large cast iron skillet. Delicious!! Thank you for the inspiration again and again.

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    This recipe is a must do! You will not regret it. I have a 10 month old, dinner can be a struggle! This meal is easy and most importantly healthy and tastes amazing! I ate mine with chips and avocado on the side, my husband at his with tortillas, but any way you eat it, it’s gonna be fantastic!

    Reply

  6. This recipe turned out SO good. The homemade taco seasoning makes it- it’s so much better than store bought. This was also the BEST leftovers! Can’t wait to make/eat it again!

    Reply

  7. 4 stars
    Flavor is great but we really had trouble getting the rice to cook thoroughly. After 20 min extra time in the oven, we resorted to eating crunchy rice. Could it be that toasting the rice before adding water prevents it from absorbing moisture?

    Reply

    • Hi Megan, I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. The toasting shouldn’t have anything to do with it as that just adds some flavor. I would guess that there wasn’t enough liquid for it absorb. I haven’t had trouble with that and I know others had made it successfully, but that would be my guess. If you try it again, I would add some more liquid and make sure the tinfoil is on tight so it traps the moisture in there.

      Reply

  8. I don’t have a cast iron skillet . . . do you suppose I could prepare all the ingredients, dump into a casserole dish, then pour the broth over, cover and bake?

    Reply

  9. 5 stars
    Another great recipe! Great flavor and so easy to make. Didn’t have a big enough skillet and had to use my Pyrex pan but it still turned out great. Makes a lot so now I have dinner for the week!

    Reply

  10. 4 stars
    Great recipe! I followed the directions exactly but had to add more liquid and cook longer (About 15 mins) to get my rice to finish. I should have checked to make sure I had enough broth for the specific rice I used. It was an easy fix and turned out great! Delicious flavors and lots of veggies! My kids scooped it with chips and even had seconds!

    Reply

  11. 5 stars
    Made this last night and it will surely become a frequent meal in our house. It was so easy and full of amazing flavor. I don’t do dairy so I used vegan cheese instead and it was so delicious. It makes tons of food and would be perfect for meal prep. Thanks, Kelly! This one is a keeper.

    Reply

  13. 5 stars
    I made this, this week as part of our meal prep. I did use frozen rice instead and then baked it in a 9×13. I only used 1/2 cup of broth since I wasn’t cooking the rice. I did drain a little bit of liquid but once I baked the cheese and let it sit it firmed up nice. Had it tonight for dinner and it was soooo good! My husband loved it as well! Will definitely be making this again!

    Reply

  14. Could you use brown rice that cooks in the microwave for 15 minutes snd them add that in after the rest is cooked? I would probably use less broth.

    Reply

    • Hey Blake! I haven’t tried using cooked rice, but I think you could. I would not add broth and just use the canned tomatoes. Add the rice and mix it all up. Add the cheese and then tin foil and let cook for 3-5 minutes in the oven until it is melted. You might have to go a little longer to absorb some of the tomato liquid and it might be a little looser, but it should still work. I hope that helps and let me know if you try it this way!

      Reply

      • 5 stars
        Hi Kelly-thanks so much for getting back to me. It came out great! I cooked it all in the pan covered in the oven for 30 minutes-checked and added the cooked rice in and cooked uncovered 10 more minutes-then added the cheese, covered and cooked for about 5-8 minutes. Came out great!!!!! Thanks so much for your help!

        Reply

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