Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Preheat the oven.
- Preheat to 375°F and lightly grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish.
Crush the chips.
- Before opening the bag, crush the tortilla chips right inside it. You're looking for small pieces and crumbs—not tortilla-chip dust. This is also considerably more fun than chopping anything.
Mix everything together.
- In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, celery, onion, garlic, crushed tortilla chips, chicken broth, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of the cheddar cheese.
- Stir until everything is thoroughly combined and the chips have started soaking up some of the broth.
Assemble.
- Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared casserole dish.
- Top with the remaining 1 cup cheddar cheese.
Bake.
- Bake uncovered at 375°F for about 30 minutes, until the casserole is hot and bubbling and the cheese on top is completely melted.
- Let it sit for about 5–10 minutes before serving so everything has a chance to settle.
Notes
Yes, an entire bag of tortilla chips.
They're not just a crunchy topping here. The crushed chips absorb the chicken broth as the casserole bakes and essentially become the starch that holds the whole situation together. Use leftover chicken.
This is PERFECT for your Weekly Roast system. I'd actually write the recipe as “2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I use leftover Weekly Roast chicken)” and cross-link the recipes. Bone broth:
Regular chicken broth works perfectly well. I use homemade bone broth because I almost always have it around and I love the extra flavor it brings. Watch the salt.
Between the tortilla chips, cheddar, and broth, there's already quite a bit of sodium coming into the casserole. If you're using a particularly salty broth or heavily salted tortilla chips, I'd actually start with ½ teaspoon added salt, then adjust next time if necessary. Your original Mama Tammy version can absolutely remain 1 teaspoon; this is just a useful reader note. Want some heat?
The original isn't really a spicy casserole. Add diced jalapeño, green chiles, or hot sauce if that's your thing. Cheese:
Mama Tammy uses cheddar, so cheddar is what belongs in the actual recipe. Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or a Mexican-style blend would all work if that's what someone already has.
They're not just a crunchy topping here. The crushed chips absorb the chicken broth as the casserole bakes and essentially become the starch that holds the whole situation together. Use leftover chicken.
This is PERFECT for your Weekly Roast system. I'd actually write the recipe as “2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I use leftover Weekly Roast chicken)” and cross-link the recipes. Bone broth:
Regular chicken broth works perfectly well. I use homemade bone broth because I almost always have it around and I love the extra flavor it brings. Watch the salt.
Between the tortilla chips, cheddar, and broth, there's already quite a bit of sodium coming into the casserole. If you're using a particularly salty broth or heavily salted tortilla chips, I'd actually start with ½ teaspoon added salt, then adjust next time if necessary. Your original Mama Tammy version can absolutely remain 1 teaspoon; this is just a useful reader note. Want some heat?
The original isn't really a spicy casserole. Add diced jalapeño, green chiles, or hot sauce if that's your thing. Cheese:
Mama Tammy uses cheddar, so cheddar is what belongs in the actual recipe. Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or a Mexican-style blend would all work if that's what someone already has.