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Salsa Chicken

This Salsa Chicken has layers of cream cheese, refried beans, salsa, and seasoned chicken topped with melted cheese. It’s baked casserole-style and is easy to make ahead of time and customize with your favorite toppings!

Try this with my homemade salsa and guacamole.

A skillet filled with Salsa Chicken topped with cheese and cilantro with a spoon in it.

Salsa Chicken

I have a pretty big collection of chicken recipes on my site, but this salsa chicken is one of my husband’s all-time favorites. I’m pretty sure that your family will love it just as much!

What I have here is the most basic version (although don’t be fooled, there are layers of cream cheese and refried beans underneath that delicious salsa)! 

It’s fun to top this off with black beans, diced avocado, crunchy Fritos or Doritos, shredded lettuce, black olives, or sour cream!

How to Make It

See recipe card at bottom of post for full ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Slice the chicken into 2-3 thinner slices and pound to 1/2-inch thick. Season with taco seasoning. Sear in olive oil for 3-4 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. Set aside.

Spread cream cheese on the bottom of  a baking dish.

Seared chicken on a plate next to a baking dish with cream cheese in it for Salsa Chicken.

Spread refried beans over the layer of cream cheese, then spread an even layer of salsa. Add the seared chicken.

A baking dish with refried beaks, salsa, and chicken.

Top with cheese. Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, then serve.

Salsa Chicken in a baking dish with cheese on top before and after baking.

What to Add to Salsa Chicken

  • Sour Cream, Black Beans, Black Olives, Corn, Diced Avocado, Guacamole, Queso, Cowboy Caviar, Shredded Lettuce, Fritos, Doritos, and be sure to serve with a side of rice!

Make-Ahead Method

  • This casserole can be assembled up to 2 days ahead of time. The liquid from the salsa will actually soften up the refried bean layer, making it velvety smooth and even more flavorful.
  • Let it sit out for 30 minutes prior to baking, then bake as outlined.

Pro Tips

Storage

  • Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

A white plate with Salsa Chicken on it next to white rice with a cilantro garnish.

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Salsa Chicken in a skillet with salsa, melted cheese, and cilantro with a wooden spoon on the side.

Salsa Chicken

5 from 33 ratings
This Salsa Chicken recipe is easy to bake in a casserole dish and serve with rice. It has layers of cream cheese, refried beans, salsa, and melted cheese!

Ingredients

  • 2 large boneless/skinless chicken breast, about 1 ¾ lbs.
  • 1 oz. packet Taco Seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 16 oz. Refried Beans
  • 16 oz. Salsa, equal to 2 cups
  • 3/4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 3/4 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
  • Fresh Parsley or Cilantro, to garnish

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Slice the chicken in half lengthwise to create 2-3 thinner slices. Place in a gallon freezer bag (or in between saran wrap) and use the textured side of a meat mallet to pound it to ½ inch thick. Pat completely dry.
  • Season each side with taco seasoning.
  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken in batches for 3-4 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. Set aside.
  • Spread the softened cream cheese in an even layer on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. (You can also use a round 12-inch baking dish.)
  • Spread the refried beans on top, then add the salsa, followed by the chicken.
  • Add the cheese on top of the chicken. Cover and bake for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
  • Garnish with cilantro and serve!

Notes

Pro Tips

Storage
  • Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutritional Facts are per serving. There are 4 servings in this recipe. Note that the nutritional information shared is an estimate.

Nutrition

Calories: 612kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 42g, Saturated Fat: 21g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 133mg, Sodium: 2477mg, Potassium: 610mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 2457IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 435mg, Iron: 2mg
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77 comments on “Salsa Chicken”

  1. Very good didn’t change anything. I did cook chicken in AF

  2. This Salsa Chicken is the bomb dot com! Loved the layers of cream cheese, refried beans, salsa, and cheese with taco seasoned chicken! I served the dish with white rice as suggested. Thank you for sharing your amazing recipe, Miss Stephanie! I will be making this again! 😋

  3. This is delicious! I didn’t have refried beans so I substituted a bag of taco rice and did everything else the same…my husband loved it!

  4. Excellent Easy family friendly dinner! Whole consider adding rice but wonderful as is!

  5. It was delish! We have a family member who has issues with cheese, so we did the bottom layer with a corn, red onion and black bean mixture, then topped that with the refried beans. Your salsa is a standard at our house, and the chicken was great. Just left off the cheese from 1 piece of chicken for our “challenged” eater. Mighty tasty!

    • Hi Cathy!! I’m so happy that you loved this recipe!!! And I LOVE that you love my salsa recipe too!! (It’s such a favorite of mine as well!)- Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!! -Stephanie ❤️

  6. OMG this recipe was so simple and yummy! I did make a few tweaks by making a jalapeño corn salsa and layering it into the dish and I chopped my chicken into big cubes instead of leaving as full breasts. I enjoyed it so much I made more and had for lunches for work. This is the first recipe I have made from you and I have found SO many more I can’t wait to try.

    thank you!

    • Hey Melanie! I’m soooo happy that you loved this recipe and I love that you put your own spin on it, YUM! This makes a great work lunch, yes! I can’t wait for you to try more recipes! -Stephanie 🙂

  7. This recipe is absolutely delicious. I made it just as you suggested and it is brilliant! Thank you so much. Next time I’ll serve it with tortilla chips just so I can get every little bit of the yummy goodness scooped up! We all loved it! 

    • I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe Judy! I love that you’ll serve it with tortilla chips next time, definitely a good way to go! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie

  8. This was a home run! My kids argued over the last piece of chicken and everyone cleaned their plates! This is especially miraculous considering the 7 year old swears she hates beans. The chicken was so tender and flavorful! Will definitely be a weeknight staple for us!

    • I love when my picky daughter swears she hates something and then I catch her loving it! Sounds like it was a huge hit Lindsay, nice work! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💗

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