White Chili Casserole

Chicken and white kidney beans in a creamy sauce, stacked between whole wheat tortillas and topped with cheese.

1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 celery stalks, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chicken broth
1 can chopped green chilies, drained
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 can low-fat condensed cream of chicken soup
4 large (or 8 small) whole wheat tortillas
4 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
2 cups shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions, sliced

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a 9×13 dish with cooking spray. In a large non-stick pan, saute onions, garlic, celery and green pepper until soft, about 5 minutes. Add kidney beans, broth, chilies, sour cream, salt, cumin, pepper and soup. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in shredded chicken. Spread 1/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the dish. Top with 1/2 the tortillas, overlapping and cutting as necessary to fit. Top with 1/3 sauce mixture, then sprinkle on 1/2 the cheese. Cover with remaining tortillas, followed by remaining sauce. Sprinkle remaining cheese over sauce and top with green onions. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing for serving.

This recipe is a hybrid of my two other Mexican casserole posts: New Mexican Style Chili Chicken Casserole and Mexican Lasagna. The Mexican lasagna has been my absolute favourite, but this one definitely rivals it!  We all loved it, except Cole of course. He ate all the beans but woudn’t touch the rest of it. It was delicious though, I think it was a nice improvement on the New Mexican casserole, which I always felt was missing something. This meal feels more complete with the addition of beans and vegetables. It’s good for you too, thanks to the low-fat ingredients and whole wheat tortillas.