Cool Ranch Dorito Chicken Casserole

There’s no prep work necessary for this easy dinner recipe! Just dump-and-bake a few simple ingredients for a cozy, comforting, and flavorful Cool Ranch Dorito Chicken Casserole. With layers of ranch flavored tortilla chips, tender diced chicken, zesty tomatoes and green chilies, and a flavorful sour cream sauce, it’s the best chicken casserole recipe yet! Serve the dish with salad, broccoli, cornbread, or biscuits for a quick weeknight meal!

Cheesy Chicken Dorito Casserole

This Cool Ranch Dorito Chicken Casserole is another dump-and-bake winner that your family is going to devour…and who doesn’t love that?! Last summer I made a Doritos Nacho Cheese Taco Bake (using a packet taco seasoning) that you guys continue to rave about. One reader even said that she used Cool Ranch Doritos in that dish, which I thought sounded like a great idea!

Since chicken, cheese, and Ranch is always a great combo, this new casserole was born. And if you use a rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken from another meal, or pre-cooked chicken from the store (such as Tyson Grilled & Ready strips), the entire meal comes together in about 10 minutes!

Ingredients

This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a chicken and doritos casserole. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Chicken: you’ll need about 2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken. I use a store-bought rotisserie chicken for great flavor and quick-prep, but you can boil your own chicken at home, if you prefer.
• Cheese: we like a Colby Jack blend, but just about any good melting cheese will work here. Try grated cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, or Pepper Jack cheese, for example.
• Condensed cream of chicken soup: forms the base of the creamy sauce that binds the casserole together.
• Milk: to thin the sauce.
• Sour cream: adds a bit of rich, tangy flavor to the sauce, which pairs nicely with the zesty tomatoes and ranch seasoning.
• Rotel tomatoes with green chilies: add a little bit of “kick” to the casserole. You can substitute with regular petite diced tomatoes for a mild option.
• Dry Ranch Seasoning Mix: half of a packet of this dry seasoning blend adds bright, flavorful herbs and spices to the dish.
• Cool Ranch Doritos: crunchy, zesty corn tortilla chips that give the casserole great crunch.

How to Cook Chicken for a Casserole

While it’s possible to cook a casserole with raw chicken, you’ll need cooked chicken for this recipe, and a variety of options will work. Pick the most convenient method for you:

• Boiled and Pulled Chicken: Boil about 1 lb. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs until cooked through (about 15 minutes). When cool enough to handle, chop or pull the chicken. You’ll need a total of about 2 cups shredded. I find that 1 lb. of chicken breasts yields about 2 cups of pulled chicken, but there’s some flexibility here — it doesn’t need to be exact.
• Rotisserie Chicken: This is a great shortcut! Purchase a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, shred the meat, and use in the recipe as instructed.
• Leftover Chicken: If you have leftover grilled or baked chicken from a previous meal, put those extras to good use in this casserole.
• Canned Chicken: Yep, even canned chicken from the pantry will work in this recipe.

How to Make Dorito Chicken Casserole

Just mix the ingredients in a bowl, crush a bag of Doritos into coarse crumbs, and dump it all in a dish. The bottom layer of chips forms a great, flavorful crust, while the other half of the chips and cheese create a crispy, melty topping. This is a quick and easy weeknight dinner that kids and adults can all agree on!

1. In a large bowl, stir together the chicken, 1 cup of the cheese, condensed soup, milk, sour cream, tomatoes and green chiles, and dry Ranch seasoning.
2. Arrange half of the crushed Doritos in the bottom of a greased 2-quart baking dish.
3. Spoon the chicken mixture on top, and spread in an even layer.
4. Cover with foil.
5. Bake in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken filling is hot and bubbly.
6. Remove the cover, sprinkle the remaining cheese and dorito chips over top, and return the pan to the oven (uncovered) until the cheese melts, about 5 more minutes.
7. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and a dollop of salsa, if desired. Serve!

What to Serve with Cool Ranch Chicken Casserole

Pair the ranch chicken casserole with any of these easy sides:

• Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, Caesar Salad, or House Salad with Candied Pecans
• 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, Flaky Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits, or Drop Biscuits
• Skillet Cornbread, Honey Cornbread, Corn Sticks, Mexican Cornbread, or Corn Muffins
• Crusty French Baguette, Soft Dinner Rolls, or Homemade Crescent Rolls
• 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins, Applesauce Pumpkin Muffins, or Pumpkin Bread
• Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
• Balsamic Roasted Root Vegetables
• Southern Fried Apples or Baked Apple Slices
• Broccoli and Cheese, Steamed Broccoli, or Garlic Oven-Roasted Broccoli
• Perfect Oven Roasted Asparagus or Sauteed Asparagus
• Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon or Southern-Style Green Beans

Make Ahead

This is a great make-ahead dinner. You can assemble the casserole up to 24 hours in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator until ready to bake. The bottom chips will get a little bit soggy as it sits, but they still taste great! When ready to bake, allow the dish to sit on the counter and come to room temperature for at least 30-60 minutes before it goes into the oven.

Storage

• Leftover chicken casserole will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
• I do not recommend freezing these leftovers. Creamy sauces have a tendency to “break” or separate when thawed, giving the dish an undesirable texture.
• To reheat the casserole: If reheating an entire casserole, cover the dish loosely with foil and bake in a 350°F oven until warmed through (about 15-20 minutes). Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Recipe Variations

• Add extra veggies like frozen peas, frozen mixed vegetables, sauteed onion, or parboiled broccoli or green beans. Black beans would also be a great addition!
• Instead of Cool Ranch Doritos, top the casserole with Nacho Cheese Doritos, potato chips, or regular tortilla chips.
• Stir some additional herbs or other seasonings into the sauce. Try dried or fresh parsley, thyme, cilantro, or basil.
• Any good melting cheese will work in this dish. Instead of Colby Jack, use cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, Pepper Jack, Swiss, or a Mexican cheese blend.
• Instead of the cream of chicken soup, try a different flavor condensed soup (such as cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup).

Tips for the Best Dorito Chicken Casserole Recipe

• Use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken for a shortcut.
• If you prefer to cook your chicken at home, use about 1 lb. of raw boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs. Boil the chicken for about 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. When cool enough to handle, chop or shred with forks and use in the recipe.
• Cooking Just for Two? Cut the ingredients in half and prepare the casserole in a small 1-quart casserole dish. The assembly instructions remain the same, but you may need to reduce the baking time to about 15 minutes.
• To serve a larger crowd, double all of the ingredients and prepare the casserole in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. You may need to increase the total baking time to about 25-30 minutes.

More Chicken Casserole Recipes to Try

• Hot Chicken Salad
• 5-Ingredient Crescent Roll Chicken Casserole
• Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
• King Ranch Chicken Casserole
• Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole
• Chicken Casserole with Ritz Crackers
• Doritos Chicken Casserole
• Buffalo Chicken Casserole
• Green Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
• Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole with Rice
• Chicken Noodle Casserole
• Farmhouse Chicken Cornbread Casserole
• Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
• Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Cool Ranch Dorito Chicken Casserole

4.80 from 5 votes

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 30 minutes minutes

Total: 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 462 kcal

This dump-and-bake Cool Ranch Dorito Chicken Casserole is an easy dinner for busy weeknights!

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Ingredients

  

• 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
• 1 ½ cups shredded Colby Jack, mozzarella, or cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, not diluted
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 (10 ounce) can Ro-tel tomatoes with green chilies, drained (or substitute with a can of regular petite-diced tomatoes)
• ½ of a 1-ounce packet (about 4 teaspoons) dry Ranch seasoning mix (just the dry seasoning)
• 1 (9.25 ounce) bag Doritos Cool Ranch chips, coarsely crushed (about 4 cups crushed)

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 2-quart baking dish or spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together chicken, 1 cup of the cheese, condensed soup, milk, sour cream, tomatoes and green chilies, and dry Ranch seasoning.
• Place half of the crushed Doritos (about 2 cups) in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Top with chicken mixture.
• Cover with foil and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until heated through.
• Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of shredded cheese and remaining crushed Doritos over the top of the casserole. Put the dish back in the oven, uncovered, and bake for about 5 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Notes

• Use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken for a shortcut.
• If you prefer to cook your chicken at home, use about 1 lb. of raw boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs. Boil the chicken for about 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. When cool enough to handle, chop or shred with forks and use in the recipe.
• Cooking Just for Two? Cut the ingredients in half and prepare the casserole in a small 1-quart casserole dish. The assembly instructions remain the same, but you may need to reduce the baking time to about 15 minutes.
• To serve a larger crowd, double all of the ingredients and prepare the casserole in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. You may need to increase the total baking time to about 25-30 minutes.
• Add extra veggies like frozen peas, frozen mixed vegetables, sauteed onion, or parboiled broccoli or green beans. Black beans would also be a great addition!
• Instead of Cool Ranch Doritos, top the casserole with Nacho Cheese Doritos, potato chips, or regular tortilla chips.
• Stir some additional herbs or other seasonings into the sauce. Try dried or fresh parsley, thyme, cilantro, or basil.
• Any good melting cheese will work in this dish. Instead of Colby Jack, use cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, Pepper Jack, Swiss, or a Mexican cheese blend.
• Instead of the cream of chicken soup, try a different flavor condensed soup (such as cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup).

Keyword: Cool Ranch Chicken Casserole, Dorito Chicken Casserole, Doritos Casserole, Doritos Chicken Casserole, Ranch Chicken Casserole

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Author: Blair Lonergan

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This recipe was originally published in November, 2017. It was updated in March, 2022.