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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.
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.
Spread refried beans over the layer of cream cheese, then spread an even layer of salsa. Add the seared chicken.
Top with cheese. Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, then serve.
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
- Shred the cheese from a block instead of using packaged shredded cheese if possible, it will melt and taste much better. I use a combination of Cracker Barrel Yellow Cheddar and Cabot Monterey Jack Cheese.
- Any kind of salsa works great for this recipe, I actually like this super affordable and easy to find Pace salsa. You can also make my homemade salsa recipe.
- I use Philadelphia cream cheese and Old El Paso Refried Beans for this recipe as well.
Storage
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- This is the Le Creuset skillet I used in this recipe, (and in 90% of my recipes). It’s pricey, but it conducts heat really well and is oven safe. The size is perfect and the quality is great.
- Kitchen Tongs– makes it easy to handle the chicken when searing.
- My Favorite Chef Knife
- Meat Tenderizer
Try These Next
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- Chicken Noodle Stir Fry
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- The Best Meat Sauce
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- Stuffed Shells
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- Tomato Chicken
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- Shrimp Fra Diavolo
-
- Cajun Shrimp
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Salsa Chicken
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
- Shred the cheese from a block instead of using packaged shredded cheese if possible, it will melt and taste much better. I use a combination of Cracker Barrel Yellow Cheddar and Cabot Monterey Jack Cheese.
- Any kind of salsa works great for this recipe, I actually like this super affordable and easy to find Pace salsa. You can also make my homemade salsa recipe.
- I use Philadelphia cream cheese and Old El Paso Refried Beans for this recipe as well.
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.
This was even better than I expected! So delicious, the chicken was so tender, and very easy to make with minimal dishes. Thanks for a new favorite for the whole family!
Made it tonight ! Was delicious and didn’t change a thing. It was a nice change and I will make it again. In fact , only a trace was left for lunch tomorrow. I certainly love getting your recipes they never fail me.
Thanks so much! I love leaving a little left for lunch 😁
Made this tonight it was make again , please wonderful flavor thank you so much
Thanks so much, glad to hear you enjoyed it!😀
I made this tonight and it was EXCELLENT! This is definitely a new family favorite.
That is soooo great to hear Danielle! I’m really glad you enjoyed it, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!!
What is the serving size for the nutritional info please?
Hi Rachel, at the top of the recipe card, (can be hard to see), it says 4 servings! So the nutritional info is based on each person having a chicken breast and their equal share of refried beans, cream cheese, cheese, etc. 🙂
Sorry I saw that, thank you!!!! Can’t wait to try!
People miss it all the time, I need to make it more obvious! Can’t wait for you to try it either!!
I make this every other week at least, it’s so easy and my family loves it. 5 stars for sure. Thanks for the recipe.
That’s great to hear, we make it all the time too, so happy you love it! Thank you for leaving a review! -Stephanie
Excellent dish!!! Loved it … I added a few black olives. 5 star dish! Thank you for the recipe!
Hey Jacki! I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review- I really appreciate it! ❤️ -Stephanie
My family LOVED this recipe, my son requests this on a weekly basis now, and it’s SO easy to make. Thank you so much for sharing it. So much better than other Salsa Chicken recipes I’ve tried!
That’s so great to hear Sandy, thank you so much for the review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
I made something similar but it was called Fajita Chicken which I saw on tik tok. My daughter liked it but said it needed corn, black beans. Lo and behold you post a recipe that we are going to use instead. the other one also had a 16 oz of sour cream which was a bit much. Another great recipe!
Hey Michelle! I am SO happy that you guys enjoyed my version of this salsa chicken, wiiiiin!! You are awesome, thank you for your support!! -Stephanie
Could this be made with ground beef? I like the ingredients in this better than most Mexican casseroles.
Hey Debbie! Sure can, I would just brown the beef and drain it prior to adding it to the casserole dish! I’d recommend you check out my Taco Casserole recipe too, that one is very similar but with ground beef! ❤️ https://thecozycook.com/taco-casserole/