This CREAMY CHICKEN TACO PIE is layers up on layers of tortillas, chicken, beans, and cheese in a flavorful creamy sauce.
This Chicken Taco Pie is one of my favorite childhood meals! My mom got the recipe from someone at church and did her usual tweaking to make a scrumptious dinner to feed all five of us kids. I have done my own tweaking to make it a little healthier (no canned cream of chicken soup) and make it picturable (looks good on the blog… casseroles don’t always look so appetizing yet are some of the yummiest foods).
Anyway, my mom was the one who started adding a can of Rotel tomatoes so you get the heat from the chilies in there. You can buy mild, original, or hot Rotel and I usually buy a whole bunch when they are on sale and keep them in our canned food pantry– under our bed in large flat Costco boxes (the luxury of apartment living!). Since the cans are under the bed and I just slide the box out, I have written on the tops what’s in each can.
When I made this meal the other day I grabbed a can that said “Rotel” and didn’t think to look at the actual label. Yeah, I realized when I tasted the sauce that things were a bit spicy (at least for me) and then saw that I had added the “HOT” one. I usually use “original” which isn’t really spicy at all when mixed with everything so I’m not sure why I even bought “hot”. Well, my husband loved it and even asked for more jalapenos on top while I sat there with my nose running from the intense heat and had to pair my wedge of pie with lots of lettuce and rice to counter the heat. See, I love this meal so much I’ll eat through the pain– it wasn’t really that hot, I’m just a wimp. But seriously, love this stuff!
So the awesome thing is you can change the level of heat in this but just make sure you know what you’re putting in. Reading labels is important… especially the the front (nutrition labels are good to read too!).
My mom would always make this in a 9×13 inch dish (which you can still do) but I thought it would be fun to make and eat in the shape of a pie. TWO pies actually! Since there are just two adults and one baby for me to feed, I froze one of the pies so we weren’t eating this for 4 straight days. Plus, now we have an easy yummy meal in the freezer for one of those days that’s hectic or I’m just feeling lazy… maybe I should have doubled the recipe?
So what’s between all those tortillas? White Northern Beans, shredded the chicken, and tomatoes & chilies that are robed in a creamy sauce made up of homemade cream of chicken soup (Say no to the canned stuff! This is fresh and cheaper!), Greek yogurt (you can use plain yogurt or sour cream), and the perfect taco seasonings. And let’s not forget that thick layer of cheese baked on the top tortilla. Mmmm! Mmmm! Good!
What are you waiting for? Go make some taco pies! (And don’t be afraid of the long ingredient list! It’s mostly optional toppings and the spices. Read the notes about subbing Taco Seasoning for the long list of spices. Really, I promise this is a pretty simple recipe and oh so good!)
CREAMY CHICKEN TACO PIE
Chicken Taco Pie
Ingredients
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning*
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes, original or hot
- 1 14 ounce can White Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- 10 flour tortillas
- 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
- 3 tablespoons cilantro, for garnish
- 1 green onion, for garnish (optional)
- 1 jalapeno, for garnish (optional)
- 1 to mato, for garnish (optional)
- Shredded ice burg lettuce, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add the butter and garlic and cook until butter melts. Add all the spices and the flour and cook for 15 seconds. Stream in the milk a little at a time while whisking to get all the lumps out and then add the chicken broth. Bring to a low simmer and continue to cook while whisking until sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Stir in the yogurt, Rotel tomatoes, beans, and chicken until combined and remove from heat.
- Spray two pie dishes or cake pans* with cooking spray and place a tortilla in the bottom of each. Scoop about 1/3- 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla and spread evenly. Repeat layering the tortillas and chicken mixture ending with a tortilla and then top with cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes and then slice each pie into 4 wedges and top with cilantro, jalapeno, and tomatoes. If it's too spicy for you, serving it topped with ice burg lettuce helps to cool things down and plain white rice is great as a side to eat/mix with it all.
Notes
Nutrition Facts are based on using 1% milk and non-fat Greek yogurt.
Craving more taco in the shape of pies? Try this, this, or this.
You did a great job of making this dish very photogenic! And I love that you made one to freeze too. Pinning to try soon!
Thank you Julie!
This looks so delicious! And now that I don’t have people bringing/making me dinners all the time anymore… I’m definitely going to give this a try!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Haha! It’s hard getting back into the swing of things after having a baby and I’m sure it’s even harder with the second. Hope you guys like it!
I love this quick and easy pie! I’m totally with you on the spice factor – my husband can handle the heat and always adds more spice, and meanwhile I’m sitting over here sweating bullets and wiping my nose!
Thanks Sarah! Can you imagine if your husband did all the cooking? If mine did I’d be sweating bullets every night instead of just when I’m not paying attention.
Made this yesterday…quite a hit! I did one in a pie pan and the other in a 9″ springform pan. Serving from the springform pan was the best!
I’m so happy to hear it was such a hit! And good idea to use the springform pan. That sounds way easier to serve from since you can completely remove the sides.
I just came across your site and LOVE it. Gorgeous photography!!! Wow!
Thank you so much Becky! Glad you found me. 🙂
I was so excited to come across this tonight on Facebook because I KNOW my family is going to love it! Pinning it and stumbling too. I cannot wait to make it!! If you have a moment later in the week, I would love it if you would share it with us at Foodie Fridays Thursday night (9 pm EST)!
Well I’m so glad you found it and are going to try it out on your family. 🙂 I’ll link it up on Friday. Thanks Michelle!
I’m so glad you came by! I’ve been thinking about this recipe since I saw it!
Oh yes please ~ Melanie this looks amazing! #FoodieFridays
Thank you Elizabeth! It’s so yummy! Hope you get a chance to make it this fall. 🙂
This dish is fantastic. My eight year old just told me it was the “best thing I ever made.” The rest of the family loved it too! Thanks.
Thank you Mari! I love that your child said that. Haha! Glad you all enjoyed it! 🙂
Do you think that this could be made with corn tortillas? I need to use a bunch of corn tortillas.
Yes! Of course! I prefer flour tortillas usually but corn works too.