Chicken 'N' Chips Recipe
My husband, Chad, is always ready to try a new recipe, so I surprised him with this creamy chicken casserole sprinkled with crushed tortilla chips. He loves the flavor, and I like that it's the perfect size for our small family.
My husband, Chad, is always ready to try a new recipe, so I surprised him with this creamy chicken casserole sprinkled with crushed tortilla chips. He loves the flavor, and I like that it's the perfect size for our small family.
- Carbohydrate 107.547218418241 g
- Cholesterol 138.251183333333 mg
- Fat 70.201191693907 g
- Fiber 7.11241638784842 g
- Protein 44.482203342503 g
- Saturated Fat 22.6949793364424 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (375g)
- Sodium 1305.01823365178 mg
- Sugar 100.434802030393 g
- Trans Fat 6.00861583550525 g
- Calories 1242 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, taco sauce and chilies. In an ungreased shallow 2-qt. baking dish, layer half of the chicken, soup mixture, cheese and tortilla chips. Repeat layers.
- Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 4-6 servings.
Baked casseroles rely on emulsion stability to prevent watery separation during heat application. Condensed cream of chicken soup contains modified food starch that binds free water molecules, while sour cream supplies lactic acid and butterfat to thicken the matrix further. Process American cheese melts smoothly at 150 degrees Fahrenheit because it contains sodium citrate, an emulsifying salt that prevents the proteins from tightening and oiling off.
Layering for Structural Integrity
Building this dish in an ungreased shallow 2-quart baking dish requires alternating dense protein layers with moisture barriers. Placing cubed chicken and the soup mixture adjacent to processed cheese prevents the meat from drying out during the 25 to 30 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Crushed tortilla chips act as a permeable crust. They absorb ambient steam without dissolving entirely, maintaining a contrasting texture against the soft interior. Scaling this recipe down to a smaller vessel requires reducing the bake time by approximately 8 minutes to prevent scorching the dairy solids.
- If the sauce curdles, the oven temperature likely exceeded 375 degrees, causing the dairy proteins to seize.
- Bake uncovered to allow excess surface moisture to evaporate.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days.
