King Ranch chicken is the Tex-Mex casserole named for King Ranch in South Texas.
The dish usually layers cooked chicken with corn tortillas, cheese, canned tomatoes, green chiles, and a creamy sauce. Many modern recipes use condensed cream-of-chicken soup, although older versions vary considerably. Its name connects the casserole with King Ranch, one of the largest ranches in the United States, founded in South Texas in 1853.
Despite its strong Texas identity, the casserole is not a documented historic dish from the ranch itself. It became especially popular through community cookbooks and newspaper recipes during the twentieth century. The recipe is sometimes confused with enchiladas because both use tortillas, cheese, and chile-based flavors, but King Ranch chicken is generally assembled as a layered casserole rather than rolled individually.
Versions differ in tortilla type, vegetables, and sauce, so the exact recipe is not fixed. The identifying combination is chicken, tortillas, cheese, and tomatoes or green chiles in a baked casserole.