The Old-School 'Royal' Casserole That Only Texans Will Remember

When my mom would pick me up from school but had to to swing by the supermarket on the way home, she knew I'd need a snack to tide me over. Often that was something like an apple or half a peanut butter sandwich that I'd munch on in the car. Other times, when I was particularly fortunate and she was short on time, I'd get to pick something from the store. My choice was always King Ranch from the hot foods section at the H-E-B deli.

The lightly browned, cheese-covered casserole was scooped from a metal hotel pan into a small styrofoam side cup, smacked with a printed-out label, and handed over the counter along with a plastic spoon. Trailing behind as my mom pushed the cart, I savored each spoonful of the creamy mixture like it was the sweetest ice cream. Ask any Texan and they'll tell you that there's just nothing like the combination of chicken, chile peppers, corn tortillas, melted cheese, and savory sauce in the state's most legendary casserole.

For those who are unfamiliar (and I'm personally sorry about that), this casserole has nothing to do with a royal court or ranch dressing — it's actually named for King Ranch. Founded by Richard King in the late 1800s, the sprawling 825,000-acre South Texas ranch is known for cattle, horse breeding, and oil. The casserole — despite its namesake — has nothing to do with said ranch, either. It's just a catchy name for a must-try Texas food everyone should eat at least once.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to how to prepare King Ranch: semi-homemade or from-scratch. I'm not here to be a hater, because frankly, all King Ranch casserole is good King Ranch casserole in my book. Either way, you'll need some cooked chicken, whether that's shredded from a whole rotisserie-cooked bird or diced-up grilled chicken breasts, and some canned Ro-Tel tomatoes with green chiles — this canned tomato brand has several varieties with different heat levels, so choose what's best for you.

You'll also always begin by sauteeing your base, which typically includes onions, bell peppers, and garlic as well as spices like cumin and chili powder. This is where the two recipes diverge. For the shortcut version, add a can each of cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup. The other option is to substitute the canned soups for a roux, chicken broth, and a little bit of elbow grease — sprinkle the flour over the sauteed veggies, and whisk in the broth right in the same pan. Towards the end of the process, you'll stir in a good amount of heavy cream and sour cream as well as the tomatoes. If you skipped the soups and are missing the mushrooms, add fresh ones in with the aromatics.

From there, King Ranch becomes a fairly typical casserole. Fold the chicken into the sauce, and create a couple of alternating layers with quartered or whole corn tortillas (for a slightly different texture, tostadas are also acceptable) and lots of shredded cheese — a combination of cheddar and Monterey Jack is classic. All that's left to do is bake until browned and bubbly. Enjoy, y'all!