A green chili casserole with chicken makes the ultimate comfort food dinner recipe when you need something quick and easy, with just 5 ingredients and a cook time of 20 minutes, this chile Verde casserole will become a favorite.
On KETO? Don’t miss out on our FREE keto printable food list!
Chili Verde Chicken Casserole
The combination of a savory chili Verde sauce, three kinds of cheese, and shredded chicken make for the best chili Verde casserole you will absolutely love. And if you’re on a restricted health plan, you’ll be pleased to know this is keto friendly, low carb, and gluten free too.
I’ve been obsessed with whipping up easy casseroles lately, just last week I made a keto taco casserole that was amazing! And now this week I used the same process and turned it into a green chili casserole with chicken.
If you’re wondering which one tastes better, I’m going to call it a tie! My son devoured the chili Verde casserole and declared it the winner. I’m always in love with anything that has green chilis and white cheese and could it that combo constantly. My husband preferred the keto taco casserole just “slightly” better but said both recipes were winners.
What’s in Green Chili Casserole
This low carb and keto casserole will definitely become one you make over and over. Here’s a list of ingredients you’ll need:
- 2 lb shreddedor ground chicken, cooked
- 3 T taco seasoning (homemade no sugar option)
- 3/4 cup green salsa
- 1 -4 oz can diced green chili’s
- 16 oz cottage cheese (use full-fat low carb brand)
- 5 oz Colby jack or 3 cheese blend (shredded or sliced)
- Sour cream (optional)
We love to make our own keto taco seasoning recipe and highly recommend it! It’s no sugar and zero carb too, plus it only takes 5 mins to make.
Chicken Keto Casserole Tips
Whether you’re following a low carb or keto diet or not, you’re going to love this keto chicken casserole. I can almost guarantee you’ll make it often once you see how simple it is. Don’t believe me?? Just check out the reviews!!
You’ll need to start with pre-cooked chicken from the grocery store or pre-cook your chicken at home. Cooking ground chicken on the stovetop would be the fastest method, I actually used an instant pot to make shredded chicken from frozen for this recipe.
Instant pot chicken takes about the same time as roasting chicken to use for shredding (if you’re starting with frozen chicken like I did), but what I love about the instant pot is I can put it in and walk away, plus it doesn’t heat up my kitchen as the stovetop and oven do.
Do you want to know a secret about shredding 2 pounds of chicken in ONLY 20 seconds?
Use a stand mixer! You, of course, can also use a hand mixer if you don’t have something like a Kitchen-aid. But either type of mixer is a game-changer when it comes to shredding chicken. No more awkward and tiring fork shredding!
One additional note, if you’re making this a keto chicken casserole, make sure to use full-fat cottage cheese and also sugar-free taco seasoning.
Chili Verde Casserole
This chili Verde casserole is so simple to make and is definitely kid-friendly too, it has tons of flavor but isn’t spicy. If you’re a spice lover like my hubby and son, feel free to add a spicier salsa, add in canned jalapenos, or add hot sauce after it comes out of the oven.
Once you have your chicken cooked and shredded, the next step to make this amazing yet so simple keto casserole is to dump all other ingredients in a bowl and mix them together (other than the chicken and the cheese).
This means you’re adding the taco seasoning, green salsa, drained green chilis, and cottage cheese to the bowl. If you were surprised to see cottage cheese on the ingredient list instead of something like sour cream, it’s because cottage cheese holds its shape and adds a sweeter flavor to the dish.
If we’d used sour cream this would’ve turned into something more like a hearty hot-dip, which still sounds great! Cottage cheese is also our substitute for ricotta when we make lasagne.
Stir until combined.
A little note about the salsa, a chunkier salsa works best but a runnier salsa still works great. We’ve now had it both ways with two different kinds of chili Verde salsa and the runnier salsa left a little liquid in the bottom of the casserole dish after it cooled. But truly, it wasn’t a big deal but we just wanted to make you aware.
In theory, you could technically add the chicken at the same time, but I do it separately since it’s important to make sure the sauce blends evenly.
The next step is to add the chicken and combine the ingredients well by hand.
Spray the pan with a nonstick cooking spray and add the chili Verde casserole mix into the baking pan.
The pan size I used is 1.5 quart, which is equivalent to a 7″x11″ baking dish. You could also use a round casserole but then you won’t have as much surface area for your cheese, and who wants that?
Slice 5 ounces of Colby jack or spread 5 ounces of shredded Mexican or 3 blend cheese and lay over the top of the chili Verde casserole mix.
Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Garnish with green onions, chives, or cilantro, if desired.
Serving this with sour cream, avocados, and more salsa is delicious!! I highly recommend adding a dollop of sour cream to each serving of the low carb casserole.
Sorry, I didn’t get a photo of the casserole with toppings, my family devoured it too quickly and didn’t want to wait any longer! 😉
Dig in and enjoy!
Be sure to post your feedback below in the comments! We’d also love to see your chili Verde casserole photos by adding it to a Pinterest pin.
More Chicken Casseroles:
Green Chili Casserole
An easy green chili casserole filled with 3 cheeses, chili verde sauce and shredded chicken. This recipe is also a gluten free, low carb and keto chicken casserole too.
Ingredients
- 2 lb shredded chicken, cooked
- 3 T taco seasoning
- 3/4 cup chili Verde salsa
- 1 4 oz can of mild green chilis, drained
- 16 oz cottage cheese
- 5 oz sliced or shredded Colby jack or Mexican blend cheese
- Sour cream, optional
- Green onions, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375
- In a medium sized bowl, mix the taco seasoning, salsa, green chilis and cottage cheese
- Mix in the shredded chicken and blend well
- Spray your baking dish with nonstick cooking spreay
- Spoon mixture into an 11x7 baking dish
- Top the casserole with the sliced or shredded cheese
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Garnish with green onions, if desired
- Serve with sour cream and salsa, optional
Notes
We pre-cooked our chicken right before making the casserole, so the chicken was still warm, If you're starting with cold pre-cooked chicken, you may need to cook the casserole a little longer.
Be sure to drain the cottage cheese or it'll make your casserole runny!!
Using regular cottage cheese instead of light is recommended, light cottage cheese will add more liquid to the mixture
Using a chunkier salsa instead of a runnier salsa is also recommended. A salsa with more liquid may leave a little liquid in the bottom of the casserole after cooking.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 399Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 125mgSodium 859mgCarbohydrates 6gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 44g
Nancy Watilo says
Are you sure you meant 2-lbs of chicken and not 2 cups? It was so dry so I added 2 cups of sour cream to make it mixable. I also added more chopped green chili. It was delicious and the consistency was perfect!
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Nancy, it was definitely 2 lb of chicken to make this 8 servings. I’m not sure why yours turned out dry? Sometimes just using a different brand can change a recipe a little (like if one brand of cottage cheese has more liquid than another, or the same with salsa). I’m glad you were able to adapt it to a way you really liked! 🙂
Trista says
Made it tonight. Loved it. Had no problems with it being too dry. It didn’t look like the most appetizing thing in the world but the taste was perfect! I topped mine with the sour cream like mentioned and a little chili pepper sauce.
WholeLottaYum says
Thank you Trista! I’m glad you enjoyed the keto chicken casserole! 🙂
Kathy says
I don’t care for cottage cheese. Can you suggest an alternative.
WholeLottaYum says
Kathy, you can use ricotta cheese in the keto taco casserole instead, or try cream cheese. The cottage cheese doesn’t taste like cottage cheese in the casserole. I’m not a fan of cold cottage cheese but use it instead of ricotta all the time for hot dishes.
Jen says
Time saving tip: grocery store rotisserie chicken makes a great meal starter. I use it in almost every recipe that requires cooked chicken. Sometimes it’s also cheaper than raw chicken.
WholeLottaYum says
Rotisserie chicken is always great to speed things up even more! 🙂
Sarah Holstein says
I made this with canned chicken, which is a 1st for me, and it was just delicious! I will definitely be making it again. Thanks for sharing.
WholeLottaYum says
Thanks Sarah! Using canned chicken is a fantastic way to cook the keto casserole even faster!
Michelle says
I too hate cottage cheese. Made this tonight as directed and we’re loved it. We’ve been on keto 3 weeks now and my husband said this is his favorite recipe yet. It was not dry at all. Thank you.
WholeLottaYum says
Isn’t it funny how cottage cheese can taste totally different cooked than cold? Thank you so much for the feedback and I’m glad you loved the keto chicken casserole! It’s one of our staples 🙂
Janice says
Delicious! I made it with shredded pork I had and loved it! I will definitely be having it again.🤗
WholeLottaYum says
Making the green chili casserole with shredded pork sound amazing! Great idea Janice!
Sarah says
So the T is for tabs. correct?
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Sarah, yes, T is tablespoons for the chicken casserole
Sarah says
So its 3Tablespoons of taco seasoning?
WholeLottaYum says
Yes! 3 tablespoons of taco seasoning 🙂
Sharri says
This is delish!!!
WholeLottaYum says
Thank you so much Sharri! Glad you enjoyed the keto chicken casserole!
Jess says
Can you use ground turkey instead?
WholeLottaYum says
Yes! Ground turkey would be a great alternative 🙂
linda griffin says
you have the nutritional information but what is the serving size that you used?
WholeLottaYum says
8 servings! Thanks, Linda 🙂
Christy Dickins says
Do you think this would freeze well? Thinking of bringing it to a new mommy 🙂
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Christy, Yes I do think it will freeze well! I’d recommend having her cook it from frozen when she goes to reheat it and to try adding 15 minutes to the baking time. Congrats to the new mommy! So exciting! Jen
Tiffany says
Made this tonight, I hear my daughter tell my hubby ‘if we don’t like it I’ll run to Taco Bell ‘ , just went into the kitchen and it’s all gone and everybody is happy! No Taco Bell for this house tonight lol
Jasmin says
Made with packaged fajitas seasoning instead of taco and added to layers it was DA BOMB
WholeLottaYum says
Fajita seasoning makes a fabulous substitute. Thank you for the feedback! Jen
Bri says
If I wanted to add veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, or peppers would you cook it first then mix in and bake or put in the raw veggies and bake?
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Bri!
I would precook the vegetables in a saute pan before adding to the chicken casserole. Because of the short cook time, if you add raw veggies they might not be all the way cooked through yet. Keep me posted on how it turns out! Adding veggies sounds like a great idea 🙂 Jen
Rose says
Super Yummy! Next time I will use chunky salsa and maybe a different cottage cheese as it had a little too much liquid.
WholeLottaYum says
I’m glad you enjoyed the keto casserole, Rose! Cottage cheese brands can vary quite a bit with liquid content, another option is you can strain the liquid out of the cottage cheese.
Michelle says
Hello! I’m adding this to my meal plan for the week and am super excited! I try to make everything ahead of time so all I have to do is throw the pan in the oven. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a chunky green salsa, so I’m worried it will be runny. Should I wait to prepare the “sauce” the day of, or will it be fine to make a couple days ahead?
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Michelle! Sorry for the delay, I was helping move my son out of state for college. It should be fine to prepare the keto chicken casserole a couple days in advance. You can drain some of the liquid out of the green salsa, make sure your ground beef is well drained, and you can also drain the cottage cheese. Those of the 3 ingredients that would contribute to extra liquid in the bottom of the pan. Enjoy! Jen
Devin says
Any recommendations on a good side
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Devin, my favorite side with the keto chicken casserole would be an easy green salad with low carb veggies. Primal Kitchen makes a keto friendly bbq ranch dressing that’s tasty!
Chris Babcock says
Is it possible to make this in my crockpot-casserole dish instead of the oven?
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Chris, Yes! This should work in a crockpot also. You’ll still want to precook the chicken and in the crockpot you’re basically reheating the dish and melting the cheese. Low for 2-4 hours should be fine, I haven’t tried this in the crockpot yet so I’m not certain of the consistency. By chance it if has more liquid than preferred, you could dish the chicken casserole up with a slotted spoon.
Ann says
I tossed in a jalapeño and used cheddar cheese. Oh yum. Thank you!
Autumn says
What do you serve this with?
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Autumn! I often serve the keto chicken casserole with something like a green salad or other type of low carb vegetable dish.
Autumn says
Thank you! I’m making this tonight 😁
Sabra demmer says
I wondering if adding some cauliflower rice would be a good idea….
And if I should cook it in the casserole or just serve it over it!
JoAnne Houck says
Hi there…..your nutrition information says a serving size is “1”, but what are you considering to be a serving? Is it a 1 cup scoop? 3/4? 1-1/2?…..I put my chicken in the crock pot this morning so I can make this tonight!
Autumn Brown says
I tried this recipe today and it had absolutely no flavor! I had to throw it out!
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Autumn, Sorry to hear the recipe didn’t turn out for you. Most likely it was due to forgetting an ingredient or the actual brands that were used in the recipe. The flavor or consistency in brands can vary greatly. Instead of throwing it out, a great idea wouldn’t been to add garnishes like sour cream, hot sauce, salsa, cilantro, avocado, etc.
Thank christy says
Is the serving size 1 cup? Made this tonight and loved it!!!!!
Olivia says
Is it 1 4oz can or a 14 oz can of green Chilis?
WholeLottaYum says
one 4 oz can! 🙂
Cindy says
I made this tonight and used ground chicken instead of shredded because I goofed when I made my grocery list. I also seasoned the chicken while it was cooking with a little cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder. Everything else I did per the recipe. It was wonderful!! Definitely will be adding this to our meal rotation!
Alyson P says
Oh my goodness!! This is soooo good, I just made it tonite for the 2nd time. We love it and love the leftovers!! I was skeptical about the cottage cheese but I wouldn’t change a single thing with this recipe! Thank you for sharing!!
WholeLottaYum says
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the chicken casserole, Alyson! I don’t eat cold cottage cheese yet cooked cottage cheese takes on a totally different taste!
Randi Turner says
We are making this tonight. I was super excited until I loaded everything into my recipe maker and the carb count per serving is way higher. What brands of everything do you use?
WholeLottaYum says
Hi Randi! Automatic nutrition calculators are notoriously wrong, I always have to enter the ingredients I’m using manually to get it accurate. The counters just assume a generic brand that probably has sugar in the salsa and adds carbs for the cheese. Cottage cheese is another one that varies greatly between brands so I highly recommend reading brand labels at the store. I used Trader Joe’s full-fat cottage cheese that has 5 carbs, the TJ shredded cheese that has 0 carbs and their green salsa which has no sugar and is very low carb too. Packaged taco seasoning does have a tiny bit of sugar and it usually adds one carb, when I have time I prefer to make my own to store in a jar that has 0 carbs. I hope this helps!
Taylor says
Made this tonight and topped with jalapeños! Loved it!
WholeLottaYum says
so glad to hear you loved the keto enchilada casserole!
Embeya says
Woooow…..
I think I will look for these and try your recipe this weekend. Thank you for sharing!
Dang Thai from Embeya!
Jo-anne says
I made this tonight….I read the recipe wrong and only added two cups of chicken not two pounds it was very runny. I am going to try and add some chicken to it and reheat.
Jana Owens says
Made this tonight for my husband and we LOVED it. Followed the recipe exactly as written and it turned out perfect. We are both having for lunch tomorrow. Thank you for sharing and I will follow you for more delicious Keto recipes.
Heather says
I am making this tonight and I am going to try it with ground chicken. Do I use 2lbs ground chicken?
WholeLottaYum says
Yep!
Sue says
My husband loved this recipe! After trying it , he told me to make sure I keep this recipe. I have been trying different keto recipes some turned out good and others bad but this one was definitely a winner with him.
Dani says
Husband and baby (1) approved! I just made this and it is delicious! I added a few mushrooms just because we love mushrooms but I second the comments above about the cottage cheese. Don’t let that one ingredient scare you away! It’s so good! Thank you for this recipe!
Diane says
Super easy and loaded with flavor. Used a medium spiced salsa verde for a slight kick! Added green onions, cilantro,and chopped tomatoes to the top. Finished with a dollop of sour cream. Was a hit with hubby says he will take leftovers to work for lunch (he’s not a fan of left overs!) and wants the dish again. He couldn’t taste cottage cheese, which he hates!
Alexa says
What brand of green salsa do you use?
WholeLottaYum says
Trader Joes
Alisha Ross says
I always not only drain my meat, but rinse it with hot water. This will get all of the grease off. Then I leave it sitting in the collander over couple of paper towels for a few minutes to get as much water off as it can. Then I will bag or freeze it.
And we always do salt, pepper, and garlic in all of our ground beef recipes.
Laurie says
I’ve made this a few times and loved it! The only thing I did was use my immersion blender to mash the cottage cheese so it had a smooth consistency.
Kellie says
I made this tonight. I was worried because my husband is a very picky eater and does not eat cottage cheese. He went back for seconds!!
BeckyB says
OMG! LOVED THIS. made with medium verde salsa for a little heat. I took my fresh chicken poured in more like 1.5 C of the verde salsa and the taco seasoning in my pressure cooker. Shredded the chicken. Then finished the recipe as instructed. Big hit.
WholeLottaYum says
Glad you enjoyed this! Clever to cook the chicken seasoned with your pressure cooker! 🙂
Brandy says
I made this and the flavor is great but mine turned out runny idk if that’s what it’s suppose to be.
WholeLottaYum says
Draining the cottage cheese should keep the casserole from getting runny.
Debbie says
As far as spicy, would you consider this recipe spicy? I have some fussy eaters when it comes to spicy, they can handle mild but nothing more.
WholeLottaYum says
No, it’s not spicy and is pretty mild
Nikki says
Just made this recipe tonight. Super easy to make and had a great flavor. I’ll be eating on this for days. Thanks !
Kathy Moen says
Made this tonight and it was a hit! My husband even liked it because it was like my chicken tortilla casserole but this was Keto friendly. This is now added to our regular menu items.👍👍
Jill Creaney says
Amazing dish! I am NOT a cottage cheese fan but this filling was amazeballs!!! Will definitely we on our keto rotation!
WholeLottaYum says
Right?! I feel the same about cottage cheese, yet in the casserole it’s delish!
Marleen says
Thumbs up from the Netherlands!
Last night I made this cassserole and my partner and our son loved it.
When I asked them what they would like to eat for Easter, they suggested that I make this casserole for Easter Sunday. As it contain chicken, why not? Very suitable for Easter, especially now that I do not have to cook a whole lot now that we cannot celebrate these holidays with family or friends because of the intelligent lockdown over here in the Netherlands due to the Corona virus.
WholeLottaYum says
I love that! Thank you for the feedback on the chicken casserole! We’re having chicken for Easter this year too. We LOVE the Netherlands and can’t wait to get back there again someday. Stay safe and Happy Easter! Jen
Kristina says
I love this casserole. I changed it up a little. I added double the green salsa, used chicken taco seasoning and topped with pepper jack cheese. I also added tomatoes on top after. I already sent this to my sister and dad.
Renee says
Made this last night used some Turkey meat I had in freezer was very good even my husband who dislikes keto dishes said we can make again. So will add to the menu list. Thanks little Spicer for me but I just put more sour cream on it. Thanks so easy.