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. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken in a bowl or ziplock. I usually use a glass mixing bowl (these are the ones I use because they’re easy to cover and reuse). 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 9×13 baking dish and sprinkle the chicken with taco seasoning. (this is the one I use because it cooks evenly and keeps the chicken from drying out on the edges).
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 digital meat thermometer (this is the one I use because it gives a quick, accurate reading) should read 160º before removing from the oven. 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.
Tools That Keep This Chicken Juicy Every Time
If you’ve ever had chicken breasts turn out dry, it’s usually not the recipe, it’s how they’re cooked.
The baking dish and pan you use make a big difference in how evenly the chicken cooks and how well it holds moisture. A good dish keeps the edges from overcooking before the center is done, which is what makes this turn out tender and juicy instead of dry.
These are the ones I use:
- 9 x 13 Pyrex – This is what I use for this recipe because it heats evenly and doesn’t dry out the edges before the center finishes cooking.
- A ceramic 9 x 13 – This looks a little nicer on the table.
- ThermoWorks Digital Instant Read Meat Thermometer – This is the easiest way to make sure your chicken turns out juicy instead of overcooked. I pull it at 160° and let it rest to 165°.
- Pyrex Glass Mixing Bowl Set – Perfect for marinating the chicken, easy to cover and clean, and I use these constantly.
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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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Colleen says
Can I make this dish in a toaster oven?
Barbara Curry says
Absolutely! All toaster ovens are not the same, it needs to have a bake setting. You might need to alter the time depending on the strength of your oven.
Karen Carreon says
So, is it one cup of shredded pepper jack & 1 cup shredded cheddar plus the queso
Barbara Curry says
I used a total of 1 cup of cheese, but it’s just a guideline.
Jennifer Fox says
This is absolutely delicious! The whole family loved it. Didn’t have buttermilk, so I added 1 Tbsp white vinegar to 1 cup of 2% milk and I marinated for about 6 hours. I blended the Rotel a little in the Ninja and it was easier to distribute over the chicken breasts. I did pour off most of the liquid too. Spooned the finished cheese sauce over rice and my guys were very satisfied! The chicken was so tender and juicy! It will be a recipe we make regularly.
Barbara Curry says
Glad it was a hit!
Jennifer Fox says
This was absolutely delicious! My family loved it! I didn’t have buttermilk, so I added 1 Tbsp White Vinegar to 1 cup of 2% milk and marinated for about 6 hours. I poured off most of the liquid from the Rotel and blended it a little in the Ninja to make it easier to distribute over the chicken. I spooned the finished cheese sauce over rice and my guys were so satisfied. The chicken was so tender and juicy. We will definitely add this recipe to our regular dinner favorites. Thank you for sharing it!
Barbara Curry says
If you need some additional easy dinner ideas, check out the e-book avaialble on the website.
Lauren Elward says
This recipe is so good! One of my fave dishes. I shredded it and put it in small white corn tortillas and folded it and baked them to make baked chicken tacos. Then I served the tacos with my guacamole! Thank you!
Barbara Curry says
That sounds yummy!
Jenn says
Do you think you can shred and make tacos?
Barbara Curry says
Yes, it makes great tacos, that’s what I’ll do with the leftovers.
Judith White says
I bought fresh queso. Do you know of a good way to melt it first?
Barbara Curry says
I just put the jar in the microwave for about 30 seconds, just be careful, it gets really hot!
Charlene says
Didn’t do the buttermilk step because I was lazy and it still came out delicious. Served over spaghetti squash. Yummy.
Barbara Curry says
Spaghetti squash was a great idea!
Tammy says
My husband and I both loved this tonight!
I made my own Queso and only made a couple of changes. I drained the Rotel and added it to the queso. Then I put some queso in the bottom of the dish before adding chicken. I then poured the queso over it and sprinkled with the cheeses.
It was delicious!
Thank you for this recipe!
Barbara Curry says
Homemade queso makes it even better.
Allison says
Delicious! I chopped my chicken into pieces inside & elimated some of the tomatoes due to my husband being picky and it was still delicious! Thanks for sharing! Definitely a must try!
Barbara Curry says
Chopping the chicken is a great idea especially if serving over rice.