Creamy, cheesy, and full of Tex-Mex flavor, this easy queso chicken comes together in one pan with just a few pantry staples. Tender chicken breasts simmer in a rich queso sauce with tomatoes and chiles, and a kick of spice, weeknight comfort food without the fuss.
Are you looking for something to fix for dinner that doesn’t take much work and uses just a few ingredients. Queso Chicken is going to be you’re new “go-to” recipe when you can’t come up with something for dinner. Or maybe it’s your turn to cook during vacation and you want to find a meal that everyone will love without putting in too much effort.
With just six ingredients you’ve got a fabulous chicken dinner that both kids and adults will love.
Featured reader review
“This was the most juicy chicken breast I have ever made! Followed the recipe exactly as written & for the first time ever, no one chocked on my dry chicken breasts! Definitely a family favorite.”
Leah
While I enjoy experimenting with a ton of ingredients and making dishes with lots of steps, this is not one of those recipes.
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You basically just dump everything into a casserole dish and bake. A couple of things will help make this dish stand out. Start out by marinating your chicken.
It’s So Easy
Step 1: Marinate
All you need is buttermilk and 30 minutes, overnight is even better for tender and juicy chicken. Just pour the buttermilk over the chicken in a ziplock and let it do it’s magic. I learned this from my mother-in-law who makes the best fried chicken in the South.
Since buttermilk is slightly acidic, it tenderizes the chicken without making it tough and helps break down the protein. Once it’s marinated, rinse the buttermilk and pat the chicken dry.
Don’t have buttermilk, learn how to make buttermilk with things you have in your pantry.
If you have a few minutes, then make homemade queso with American cheese, for the absolutely best queso around. Don’t want to take the time, I use a prepared queso from the grocery all the time. If you have some leftover, queso is great drizzled over grilled chicken or beef tacos.
If you can’t find queso dip in the refrigerated section, then use a jar of queso dip that you can find in the chip section of the grocery.
Step 2: Season
Place the chicken in a baking dish and sprinkle the chicken with taco seasoning.
Step 3: Cover it with sauce
Drain and then pour Ro-Tel Tomatoes over the top, cover with queso and top with grated cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes depending on how thick the chicken breasts are. A meat thermometer should read 160º. You want chicken breasts to be at 165º, but they will continue to cook after you remove them from the oven, so I take them out at 160º.
You can put this together in less than 10 minutes. The tomatoes and queso, combined with the juice from the chicken, make a fantastic sauce that’s great over rice or pasta, or serve it with a baked potato and pour the cheesy sauce over the potato! The sauce is thin, not thick.
If you don’t have taco seasoning, don’t worry, it’s just a combination of chili powder, cumin, oregano, and onion and garlic pepper. For this dish, just sprinkle some chili powder and cumin on the chicken breasts.
If you loved this recipe, give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #butterandbaggage and tagging me @butterandbaggage.
Baked Queso Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 4 boneless chicken breast
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning
- salt and pepper
- 10 ounces Ro-Tel tomatoes and chilies
- 1 cup queso 12 ounces
- 1 cup pepper jack and cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Place chicken in ziplock bag with buttermilk and let sit overnight or at least for 30 minutes. Drain, and pat dry.
- Preheat oven to 375º.
- Sprinkle chicken with taco season and salt and pepper. Place in a glass baking dish.
- Drain tomatoes and chilies and place half on chicken, cover with queso and place the rest of the tomatoes on top. Cover with grated cheese mixture.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until instant thermometer reads 160º. They will continue to cook once removed from the oven.
Video
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
Recipe Tip
- For tender chicken marinate in buttermilk for 30 minutes
- If you don’t have Ro-tel tomatoes, chop fresh tomatoes and a jalapeno
- You can find queso in the refrigerated section of the grocery or on the potato chip aisle
- This is great served over rice
Nutrition
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Mike Williams says
Absolutely delicious and easy to make, a new family favorite, thanks for the recipe! 😋
Barbara Curry says
Mike, I’m so glad you and your family liked this, it’s one of my favorites, especially when I’m in a hurry.
George Poole says
I sure love your chicken recipes being diabetic I must monitor my carbs along with my sodium. WILL LOOK CLOSER and see just what I can use. Thankyou so much.you have alot of talent george
Barbara Curry says
Thanks, I’m glad you’ve found some recipes that will work with your diet. I have a couple recipes that use almond flour if your are looking for some baking ideas, check out sausage balls and focaccia.
Helen says
I was just curious if I could use the white Velveeta cheese as the quso ?
Barbara Curry says
You would need to melt it and then thin it down with a little milk first, just enough so that you can pour it.
Valerie says
Is that 1 cup of each cheese or a combination?
Barbara Curry says
I used one cup of each, but I like a lot of cheese! You can easily cut the amount of cheese down since the queso itself is so cheesy.
Christina Cassel says
Is the queso shredded or liquid?
Barbara Curry says
It is liquid. It comes in a jar, just melt it in the microwave or on the stove and pour it over.
Allison M says
Do you use the Tostitos salsa con queso? Or something different?
Barbara Curry says
You could use the jars of queso that you find on the chip aisle or try the fresh queso in the refrigerated section.
Diane says
Do you rinse off all the buttermilk?
Barbara Curry says
Yes, rinse and pat dry.
Ann says
Do you just drain the buttermilk or rinse it off?
Barbara Curry says
Yes, rinse it off.
Kourtney says
What kind of quest do you use?
Barbara Curry says
I use one in the refrigerated section or you can find queso dip in the potato chip section. My favorite is homemade queso dip.
Billie says
I’ve printed the recipe to make very soon. I’m from Texas, so we eat Mexican food ALL the time!
In many grocery stores they have in house made Queso, that is delicious. Look for it, to use! Better than most I’ve ever bought. You also, could go by your favorite Mexican restaurant and buy amount needed. Or serve it with chips.
Barbara Curry says
I bet you get some great house made queso in Texas. The better the queso the better this dish is.
Jennifer Meury says
Wow! Just made this for our pole barn raising crew. Big hit. Thank you!
Barbara Curry says
That’s awesome, it’s an easy recipe to make for a crowd. So glad they liked it.
Debbie Wilkerson says
Can this be frozen?
Barbara Curry says
Yes, I freeze it all the time. Just let it cook first and put it in an airtight container with some of the sauce.
Monica Garza says
So delicious and easy to make…thank you!
Barbara Curry says
Monica, I’m so glad you liked it. You might also like Chicken Enchiladas, another delicious but easy dinner.
Jessica P says
Can you use chicken thighs?
Barbara Curry says
Yes, I would remove the skin and just what the time, it could be shorter.
Cris says
Are you covering with foil before sliding in the oven?
Barbara Curry says
No need to cover it, all the cheese keeps it moist.
Julie says
With the queso, you have 1 cup and 12 ounces. Which one do you use? I don’t want to use too much and make the sauce too thin.
Barbara Curry says
With the queso I used, 1 cup was about 12 ounces. If you use a little more or less it will not change the sauce.
Leah says
This was the most juicy chicken breast I have ever made! Followed the recipe exactly as written & for the first time ever, no one chocked on my dry chicken breasts! Definitely a family favorite
Barbara Curry says
Leah, that is awesome. If you’re looking for another quick and easy family friendly dish, check out one pot Taco Spaghetti
Nicole says
I know I always end up with dry chicken. I’m making this tonight. Can’t wait.
Lynda says
Clarification please – drain Ro-tel – separating “juice” from solids – pitch the liquid and use the solids ~~ am I correct? Sounds wonderful. I’m a cheese lover, too. 😉
Barbara Curry says
Drain the Ro-tel tomatoes and pour out the juice, just use the solid tomatoes. If you love cheese, you will love this recipe. Even though it has a lot of cheese, it mixes with the juice from the chicken so the end product is not thick.
Kassie says
Can I use something other than buttermilk? What does the buttermilk do?
Barbara Curry says
The buttermilk just tenderizes the chicken. You can substitute buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup and fill it to the 1 cup line with milk. This chicken is so tender, that you could skip this step all together.
Juli fennell says
I use milk, it makes the chicken moist
Melinda Jones says
Easy and delicious! It’s a 5 star recipe!
Barbara Curry says
So glad you liked it!
Candice says
Can You put this together and then put it in the fridge and make the next day?
Barbara Curry says
I don’t see why not.
Candice says
So I could soak my chicken in my buttermilk over night tonight and put it all together cover it back up and toss it in the oven on Friday… would you recommend putting it back in the fridge or freezer
Barbara Curry says
I would soak the chicken in buttermilk. Drain it and assemble and then refrigerate. I would not refreeze it raw with the cheese mixture added, just cover and refrigerate and take it out of the refrigerator about 15 minutes before you are going to put it in the oven.