Why It Works
- Briefly toasting the cumin in this dish brings out its volatile compounds, resulting in more complex flavors and aromas.
- Gently poaching the chicken produces meat that’s tender and succulent.
- A touch of bouillon brings rich poultry flavor to the casserole.
In 1991, the Miami Herald boldly declared that King Ranch casserole had a “Texas-size fan club.” I am not surprised: the dish, which consists of shredded chicken, corn tortillas, tomatoes, bell peppers, and plenty of cheese layered with cream of chicken soup, truly is the ultimate comfort food. Recipes for King Ranch casserole—also known as King Ranch chicken or King Ranch chicken casserole—abound on the internet and in old cookbooks. Some Texans, including cookbook author Sandy Pollock (one half of The Casserole Queens), believe the dish embodies the taste of the Lone Star State. Though the dish is named for King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas, the recipe’s actual origins remain a mystery.
A Brief History of King Ranch Casserole
“No one seems to know who invented it,” the journalist Anne Dingus wrote in a 1989 issue of Texas Monthly, referring to King Ranch casserole. Dingus points to chilaquiles—a dish with similar ingredients—as the inspiration for the casserole. “But the dish owes as much to post–World War Two cooking, when casseroles made with canned soups were the height of space-age cuisine,” she writes. “Because they could be made quickly and frozen for later use, casseroles liberated the lady of the house.” The recipe quickly made its way through the country’s women’s clubs, with many putting their own spins on it by adjusting the seasoning, using different cheeses, and even incorporating other ingredients such as mushrooms.
Another writer, Rebecca White of The Dallas Morning News, suggests that the original inspiration for the dish dates further back, tracing it to 1913 when recipes for creamed chicken and chicken à la king were widely prepared by home cooks. White credits James Beard’s 1946 book The Fireside Cookbook with further popularizing creamed chicken by demonstrating the “versatility and simplicity” of the dish, which “became the basis of the casserole movement.” “Many beloved American casseroles like ‘the King,’” she writes, “are in fact Creamed Chicken with variations.”
Today, King Ranch casserole remains a beloved dish both in and outside of Texas. While many recipes for the dish call for rotisserie chicken and canned soup for ease, we wanted to come up with a flavorful, from-scratch version. The recipe below, from our Birmingham, Alabama-based test kitchen colleague Elizabeth Mervosh, relies on a few tips and tricks for a casserole that’s simple to prepare, full of flavor, and supremely satisfying. Here’s how to make it.
Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze
4 Tips for Making King Ranch Casserole
Toast the spices. The chicken in this casserole gets its warm, punchy flavor from toasted cumin seeds, which are incorporated into the broth used to poach the chicken. Heating the cumin helps draw out its volatile compounds, resulting in more complex aromas and flavors.
Poach your chicken. For the most tender chicken, we recommend poaching it in a chicken broth lightly spiced with toasted cumin seeds and jalapeños. “You don’t realize how dry and pasty rotisserie chicken is until you taste the poached chicken in the casserole,” Elizabeth says, calling the poaching a “game changer.” As Daniel found in his testing for his poached chicken recipe, starting the chicken in cold (rather than simmering) liquid helps gently bring the chicken up to temperature, resulting in succulent meat that’s not overcooked.
If you happen to have leftover chicken or want to use rotisserie chicken instead for ease, skip the poaching and add two teaspoons of ground cumin and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the flour and chili powder in step five of the recipe below.
Reach for chicken bouillon. To make the casserole base, most recipes either call for using canned cream of chicken soup or thickening the broth with flour and sour cream. Here, we opt for the latter—but incorporate a touch of granulated chicken bouillon to replicate the savory flavor of canned soup. The result is a sauce that’s light, creamy, and packed full of poultry flavor.
Crisp up your tortillas. Texturally, there’s not much difference between using untoasted or toasted corn tortillas in this casserole since they are going to soften when they cook either way. But taking the time to briefly toast the tortillas until they’re crisp highlights the corn tortillas’ nutty, earthy notes. Skip the step if you’re tight on time, and if you don’t have tortillas, feel free to use tortilla chips instead—just keep in mind the layers won’t be as even and they won’t be quite as flavorful as tortillas.
Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze
Editor’s Note
This recipe was developed by Elizabeth Mervosh; the headnote was written by Genevieve Yam.
