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King Ranch bean casserole

The first time I cooked King Ranch casserole, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever had it before. While it’s a classic Texan standby, I’d been gone from the state for so long that some things had faded from my memory. This may sound strange, but it had been over 10 years since I lived at home, and an old-fashioned casserole made with canned soups had not been on my table or served to me in quite some time.

My grandmother gave me a recipe, one that she’d prepared for her 42 games with her friends back in the day. It called for said soups, tortillas, cheese, and chicken. There were also canned tomatoes with green chiles to give the heavy dish a kick.

I made the casserole, and the melange of flavors and textures between the soft corn tortillas, creamy sauce, and piquant tomatoes rang a familiar bell; I’d eaten this dish countless times in my life. What was unusual, however, was that when my mom had prepared it, she replaced the chicken with beans. So, it wasn’t King Ranch chicken casserole that I’d enjoyed most of my life, it was King Ranch bean casserole instead.

When I called my mom to confirm my hunch, she admitted that she had indeed substituted her homemade pintos or canned Ranch Style beans for the chicken. My family had some frugal years, so using a less-expensive protein made financial sense. But we’re also a family that enjoys our beans, and even when we were flush we ate them often.

King Ranch bean casserole | Homesick Texan

To this day, I’m still one to prepare a batch of beans at least once a week. Pinto beans are my favorite, but black beans are in heavy rotation as well. I will make enough to last a few days and ladle them into a bowl and serve them with cornbread or tortillas. Though I also include them in my queso, puree them and re-fry them, and toss them with peppers and aromatics for a hearty salad. But I had never cooked my mom’s King Ranch bean casserole, so I decided to give it a go.

Now, I’m known for having a fancier rendition of King Ranch chicken casserole, which I prepare mainly from scratch. It takes more time but it’s so full of flavor that you don’t mind the extra steps. I considered for the bean version to use canned soups to keep it more simple, but I wasn’t able to find any at the store that weren’t laden with fillers and ingredients I couldn’t pronounce, so I stuck with my homemade sauce.

For this version, however, I included mushrooms, which I don’t use with the chicken dish. Their meaty and savory nature give the sauce a lift, though in the final dish you can’t taste them. In the sauce, there are also aromatics, jalapeños, and cilantro, along with spices. It’s delicious and far better than anything that comes in a can.

King Ranch bean casserole | Homesick Texan

Because I had homemade pinto beans on hand, the first time I cooked the casserole I used those. However, I made it with canned beans and it was also very good. As for the rest of the dish, it comes together quickly, as after making the sauce you layer it with the tortillas, beans, and shredded cheese. A half-hour in the oven and you have a bubbling, hearty dish. A dollop of cool, tangy sour cream makes it complete.

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4.91 from 20 votes

King Ranch bean casserole

Course Main Course
Cuisine Tex-Mex
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 8
Author Lisa Fain

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup (about 6) diced button mushrooms
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 2 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 (10-ounce) can tomatoes with green chiles (such as Ro-tel), with its juices
  • 1 cup sour cream, plus more for serving
  • 3 cups cooked or 2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  • 10 corn tortillas
  • 3 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • In a large cast-iron skillet, melt the butter on medium-low heat. Add the onions and jalapeño and while occasionally stirring, cook until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
  • Add to the skillet the mushrooms, salt, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and cilantro. While stirring, cook until the mushrooms have reduced, about 5 minutes.
  • Keeping the heat on medium-low, whisk in the flour and cook for 30 seconds until it’s well incorporated. Whisk in the milk, and while stirring, cook until the sauce has thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, then stir in the sour cream until creamy and well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings then turn off the heat.
  • Pour the sauce into a mixing bowl, leaving about 1/4 cup of the sauce in the skillet. Spread it evenly along the bottom. (If you’d prefer to bake the casserole in a baking dish, spread 1/4 cup along the bottom of a 9×13 dish instead.)
  • Taste the pinto beans and add seasonings to taste if needed. Stir the beans into the sauce.
  • Tearing the tortillas in half, layer half of the tortillas into the prepared skillet or baking dish, overlapping if needed. Evenly spread half the sauce with beans over the tortillas, then evenly layer half the cheese. Repeat this layering one more time, ending with the cheese.
  • Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbling. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

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Recipe Rating




18 Comments

  1. Roxie Dolph says:

    I ❤️ U telling story about your grandmother’s 42 games…a true Texan you are‼️

    1. Lisa Fain says:

      Roxie–Thank you! Now I need to get her to teach me how to play it!

  2. Lori Riskin says:

    I LOVE 42. I grew up playing it with my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins as well as other friends of my parents – all from East Texas. I live in Seattle now, so don’t get to play it too much. 🙁 Lisa – if you are ever in the Seattle area and want to learn, I can teach you! And I will be making this casserole promptly!

    1. Lisa Fain says:

      Lori–Thank you so much for your kind offer!

  3. Diane Briel says:

    5 stars
    I didn’t have Rotel with chilies so I used a can of fire-roasted tomatoes and a can of Hatch chilies. This was fantastic and I’d throw in some rice for burritos for work. Yummy delicious thanks !

    1. Lisa Fain says:

      Diane–Love the idea to throw in some rice! And I’m delighted that you enjoyed the casserole!

  4. 5 stars
    I didn’t see rice in burritos in central Texas until sometime in the 90s, and was curious about the beginnings of this curious–to me–inclusion. The original burritos I remembered were meat, beans, salsa or pico de gallo, and cheese wrapped in a fairly large flour tortilla, but no where close to the giant rice filled versions now prevalent. I had long thought it a California thing, and looking into the history of burritos came across this article, which does indeed trace those rice filled behemoths back to California: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/1998/11/04/burritos-a-search-for-beginnings/8c8001cc-2ae2-4a9c-bdff-c57fd333f62e/

    Loved the casserole, and continue to prefer my burritos sans rice.

    1. Lisa Fain says:

      Janet–Yes, it’s definitely a California thing. Glad you enjoyed the casserole!

  5. We found that a couple of cans of diced green chiles added to the recipe helped perk it up nicely. Topped it off with Valentina’s Hot Sauce to add a nice little tang.

    1. Lisa Fain says:

      Steve–Those sound like fine additions!