Healthy chicken taco casserole with brown rice and veggies is an easy weeknight dinner with a cheese and crunchy tortilla chip topping!

I hope your week is off to a good start!

I’m feeling very accomplished already. I did massive amounts of laundry on Sunday and it’s already put away. Usually I chuck all the clean clothes from the dryer into the hallway and then it stays there until I manage to sort, fold and put it away. This can take days and days and days. 😳

The kids will actually wander over to the pile and pick out their favorite PJs or shirt cause who knows when I’ll get to it. But this time, I got it all put away by Monday night. 🙌 #momwin #itsthelittlethings

On to the food though cause I’m so excited to be sharing this delicious casserole with you!

This month’s Recipe Redux is all about some TACO FUN! Cause it falls on a Tuesday and apparently it’s no longer acceptable to eat anything but tacos on a Tuesday. 🌮🌮🌮

I’m totally OK with this.

My go-to is our basic turkey tacos (or a turkey taco salad version of them) but I love fish tacos, vegetarian tacos, exotic-flavored tacos. Basically never met a taco I didn’t like. 🌮🌮🌮

Today I’m bringing you a newer favorite! This healthy chicken taco casserole is a super easy one to prep and has all the great taco flavors baked right in.

We’ve got the taco-flavored chicken breasts, some steamed rice, salsa and zucchini for a hit of veggies. Plus there’s a cheesy topping layer and then a crunchy chip topping layer.

Yes and yes. 🙌

You will be winning at taco night for sure!

A few notes on this healthy chicken taco casserole:

• The rice and chicken for this recipe needs to be already cooked. Please plan accordingly. I cooked 1 cup of dry brown rice to use for this recipe. And I used my homemade taco seasoning on some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and grilled them off the day before. (You can also bake them at 375 for about 30 minutes, until cooked through.)
• You can use gluten-free tortilla chips to make this recipe gluten-free.
• Use homemade salsa or your favorite brand of store-bought salsa.
• You can substitute black beans for the chicken if you want a vegetarian version. You could also just add black beans into this mix if you wanted some extra oomph.
• You could also add in 1/2 to 1 cup of corn if you’d like.

I’ve only made it with zucchini so far but I might try adding spinach to the casserole next time for an extra dose of veggies 💚 Just have to make sure it doesn’t release too much liquid as it all bakes.

If you have taco lovers in your house, give this healthy chicken taco casserole a try to switch things up. Just make sure it’s a Tuesday. 😉

(And check the Recipe Redux link-up below for some more taco-inspired ideas!)

Hope you have a wonderful week!

XO,

Kathryn

Yield: 6 servings

Healthy chicken taco casserole

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Healthy taco chicken casserole with brown rice is an easy weeknight dinner with a cheese and crunchy tortilla chip topping! 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, seasoned with taco seasoning and cooked (grill or bake)
• 3 cups cooked brown rice, (from about 1 cup uncooked)
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 heaping cup crushed tortilla chips

For serving:

• Greek yogurt or sour cream, extra salsa or cheese, chopped cilantro, diced avocado, pickled jalapeños or any other favorite toppings!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray a 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine cooked chicken, cooked rice, zucchini, salsa and green chilies. Add to the prepared casserole dish and top with cheddar cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until hot and bubbly.
5. Add crushed tortilla chips to the top and bake an additional 5-10 minutes.
6. Serve hot with desired toppings.

Notes

The rice and chicken for this recipe both need to be already cooked. Please plan accordingly.

To cook the chicken, I sprinkled it with about 2 teaspoons of my homemade taco seasoning and grilled them. You could also bake them at 375 for 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

You can use gluten-free tortilla chips to make this recipe gluten-free.

You can substitute black beans for the chicken if you want a vegetarian version. You could also just add black beans into this mix if you wanted some extra oomph.

You can also add in 1/2 to 1 cup of corn if you’d like.

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 471 Total Fat: 21g Saturated Fat: 8g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 10g Cholesterol: 132mg Sodium: 812mg Carbohydrates: 22g Fiber: 4g Sugar: 5g Protein: 49g