Leftover Chicken Fajita Casserole is a delicious and easy meal that the whole family will love! All of the fajita flavors you love in a cheesy dish that’s ready in just minutes!

overhead photo of leftover chicken fajita casserole on a wood cutting board with tortillas, and limes.

If you are looking for delicious and easy recipe using leftover chicken, you’ve have to give this leftover chicken fajita casserole a try. It’s perfect eaten on its own or as a filling for tacos and burritos. One bite and you’ll be hooked!

For more simple chicken recipes using leftover chicken, be sure to try this Rotisserie Chicken Pasta Salad or Curried Chicken Salad Wraps. If you love easy fajitas, be sure to try these sheet pan Steak and Shrimp Fajitas. For a delicious cocktail to go with your meal, be sure to try this Aperol Negroni or this simple Garibaldi Cocktail.

You’ll Love This Chicken Fajita Bake!

If you have leftover chicken, you need to try this recipe! It’s so full of flavor and has a creamy and satisfying bite. It’s guaranteed to be a recipe your entire family will love. 

Leftover Chicken Fajita Casserole will have you looking forward to your delicious dinner. Plus, it’s super simple to make and comes together in just minutes. 

Here, I use leftover chicken breasts that are fully cooked. Then, just shred them or dice them into your desired size. This is also a great way to use up store-bought rotisserie chicken. 

To add those classic fajita flavors, just quickly pan sear some sliced bell peppers and onions. Then, toss that with the chicken and seasonings. 

What makes this dish extra special is that is gets mixed together with cream cheese and shredded cheddar. This gives it that creamy flavor and gooey cheese texture without having to add extra sour cream or toppings. 

Leftover chicken fajita casserole in a glass baking dish with cilantro sprinkled on top.

What you’ll love about this dish is that it has all of those fajita flavors you love, in one simple casserole. You can eat it as it is, or roll it into a burrito or use it as taco filling. 

This is one casserole dish the whole family will love! It’s great for meal prep and delicious the next day too! So, if you are looking to use up that leftover chicken, be sure to give this Leftover Chicken Fajita Casserole a try! 

Ingredients and Substitutions

overhead photo of ingredients needed for recipe including bell peppers, onion, taco seasoning, and cream cheese.
  • Cooked Chicken: here, you will need about two cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, which will give you about 3 cups of meat. You can use cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs if you’d like, or even leftover turkey meat would work here. 
  • Bell Peppers: the bell peppers give the fajitas that distinctive flavor and crunch. I like to use the red, yellow, or orange bell peppers as they are sweeter, but a green bell pepper works too. 
  • Onion: thinly sliced red onion will melt into the dish and give it extra flavor and texture. Yellow onion can be substituted. 
  • Cream Cheese: the cream cheese adds so much flavor and comfort to leftover chicken fajita casserole, without a lot of work. You can always omit if it you don’t have it or don’t want to use it. The reduced fat cream cheese is great in this recipe.
  • Taco Seasoning: taco or fajita seasoning work in this recipe, use whichever you have on hand. Add more or less depending on your preferences.
  • Shredded Cheddar: cheddar is always a great option but you can substitute whatever cheese or cheese blend you like here. Monterey jack cheese or a Mexican cheese blend would be delicious. 
  • Oil: you’ll need a bit of canola or vegetable oil to cook the bell peppers and onion in before adding them to the casserole.

How to Make Leftover Chicken Fajita Casserole

This recipe comes together fast and is a great way to use up leftover chicken breast or rotisserie chicken. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

process shots showing how to make recipe including cooking the bell peppers and onions and toss the ingredients with cream cheese and taco seasoning.

Step 1: cook the veggies

First, start by heating a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in the oil and the sliced bell peppers and onion. Cook for about five minutes, just until the veggies start to soften. 

Step 2: stir in ingredients

Next, remove the cooked veggies from the stove and add in the cubed cream cheese, shredded chicken and taco seasoning. Stir together until the cream cheese is melted and well combined. Add in half of the shredded cheddar cheese. 

Step 3: transfer to casserole dish

Once you have mixed together all of the ingredients, pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan or casserole dish.

Step 4: add cheese and bake

Lastly, sprinkle on the remaining shredded cheddar cheese. Bake in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the leftover chicken fajita casserole is bubbly and warmed through.

Serving Suggestions

leftover chicken fajita casserole stuffed into a folded tortilla with a lime next to it.

This recipe for leftover chicken fajita casserole is great served over a bed of white rice with a side of black beans or refried beans. It’s also a great option as a low carb main dish that’s full of protein. 

I like to eat mine stuffed into a warmed corn tortilla with fresh cilantro. This option adds just a few more calories but it’s so worth it! 

You could serve this chicken fajitas casserole with tortilla chips, cauliflower rice, brown rice, corn tortillas, or add a dollop of sour cream and some sliced green onions.

This is also a great dish for leftovers. Warm up the chicken casserole in a bowl and fold into a tortilla for a delicious meal anytime of the week. 

Tips for Making Leftover Chicken Fajita Casserole

  • Chicken: use whatever leftover chicken you have on hand for this recipe, such as rotisserie chicken. If you want to make from scratch, just bake, air fry, or boil, two chicken breasts until cooked through.
  • Seasoning: to make this recipe super simple, use store-bought taco seasoning, preferably a low sodium blend. You may need to adjust seasoning depending on the brand and personal preference.
  • Cheddar: shredded cheddar is great for getting that cheesy melt on top. You can also substitute with Monterrey Jack or any Mexican-style cheese blend you like.
  • Cream Cheese: cubed softened cream cheese will melt much easier into the dish. Reduced calorie cream cheese works well here.
  • Storage: store leftover chicken fajita casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
spoonful of leftover chicken fajita casserole in a baking dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make chicken for chicken fajita casserole?

If you don’t have leftover chicken on hand, you can always make it from scratch using two large chicken breasts. Just bake, air fry, or boil the chicken until it is cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Shred or dice the chicken for the casserole.

How to serve leftover chicken fajita casserole?

Use your leftover chicken to make an easy fajita casserole. This dish is great served on it’s own (it’s a low carb option too!) or you can use it as a filling for tortillas or a topping on white rice. Serve with a side of salsa and a sprinkle of cilantro.

leftover chicken fajita casserole in with tortilla, limes, avocado, and cilantro next to it.

More Mexican-Inspired Dishes

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Leftover Chicken Fajita Casserole

Leftover Chicken Fajita Casserole

Leftover Chicken Fajita Casserole is a delicious and easy meal that the whole family will love! All of the fajita flavors you love in a cheesy dish that's ready in just minutes!
5 from 12 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 425kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon oil (canola or vegetable)
  • 2 large bell peppers, seeded and sliced
  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 2 cooked chicken breasts, diced or shredded (about 3 cups)
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
  • 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
  • tortillas for serving (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in the sliced bell peppers and onion and cook until they start to soften; about 5 minutes.
  • Combine the cooked bell peppers and onions with the cooked diced chicken, cream cheese, taco seasoning, and half of the cheddar cheese. Toss to combine making sure the cream cheese mixes with the other ingredients. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish or casserole dish and cover with remaining cheddar cheese.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and dish is bubbling and warmed through. Serve immediately with tortillas if desired.

Notes

    • Serving Suggestion: serve stuffed into a warmed corn tortilla, on a bed of white rice, or alone with a side of veggies. 
    • Chicken: use whatever leftover chicken you have on hand for this recipe, such as rotisserie chicken. If you want to make from scratch, just bake, air fry, or boil, two chicken breasts until cooked through.
    • Seasoning: to make this recipe super simple, use store-bought taco seasoning, preferably a low sodium blend. You may need to adjust seasoning depending on the brand and personal preference.
    • Cheddar: shredded cheddar is great for getting that cheesy melt on top. You can also substitute with Monterrey Jack or any Mexican-style cheese blend you like.
    • Cream Cheese: cubed softened cream cheese will melt much easier into the dish. Reduced fat cream cheese works well here.
    • Storage: store leftover chicken fajita casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 425kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 478mg | Potassium: 368mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2689IU | Vitamin C: 72mg | Calcium: 321mg | Iron: 1mg
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Recipe Rating




13 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I always have leftover chicken and this is the perfect way to use it and so easy too.

  2. 5 stars
    Yum! Great use of leftover ingredients. Served it with rice and salsa last night and it was every bit as delicious as the fajitas we had the night before 🙂

  3. 5 stars
    This fajita looks delicious. I made it last night and it’s way better than the traditional chicken fajita.

  4. 5 stars
    So freaking much yummy going on here! I can’t wait to make it again! Thank you for an awesome recipe!

  5. 5 stars
    This fajita bowl recipe was so easy to make and the taco seasoning gave the whole dish great flavor! Perfect for a busy weeknight!

  6. 5 stars
    I made this recipe for our lunch today, and it turned out perfect! We are never tired of trying new chicken recipes. Please, create more. 🙂

  7. 5 stars
    I love sheet pan dinners! And we are huge fans of burrito bowls around here, can’t wait to try this for dinner!

  8. 5 stars
    This was such a hit here and so flavorful! Definitely one of our favorites to make for dinner! Making this again soon.

  9. 5 stars
    Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it did not disappoint! Quick, easy and perfect for busy weeknights!