Casserole is the quintessential comfort food. I don’t know whether it’s because you get a hot and bubbly complete meal out of one dish or because they tend to be not so light-handed on the carbs and the cheese, but they just have a way of warming you right up. This Fiesta Chicken Casserole is no different – it has a zesty kind of comfort that’s easy to love, but the quick preparation time wins some major points as well.

One thing that’s so great about casserole is that it’s more or less a one-dish dinner, which is why I tend to favor ones that don’t have a lot of prep involved. What’s the benefit of pulling a complete meal out of the oven if you first have to chop and sautee and boil a bunch of stuff? This one is more of a “dump and bake” operation. While it does require pre-cooked chicken (leftover rotisserie anyone?), you don’t even have to boil the rice ahead of time.

You just stir together the ingredients – some instant rice, chicken, Ro-Tel, black beans, corn, sour cream, and of course some cheese – and season it with a generous amount of taco seasoning, before covering the dish with foil and putting into a hot oven.

Thirty minutes in there and you’ve got a zesty and comforting meal to sit down to! There’s so little work to be done here (as in, little more than stirring ingredients together) and yet you still end up with a creamy, delicious filling meal. It’s a bake that’s totally worth throwing a fiesta over.