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This low carb and cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Rice Chicken Casserole recipe is perfect for dinner and makes great leftovers. It’s also gluten free!
It may shock some people to hear this, but casseroles were never really a part of my childhood. Sure, there was the occasional attempt at making lasagna and maybe a hamburger helper type of dish, but that was rare. (Wait – are lasagna or hamburger helper even considered casseroles? No clue. See, that’s exactly my point.)
Though my family liked all the ingredients in the typical casserole, we didn’t like them all mixed together. We wanted the ingredients separate just so we could assemble them on our own plate. Think about it – rice, beans, cheese, a protein, salsa and corn tortillas. All those ingredients would make an amazing casserole. But instead we wanted to make our own thing like carnitas, chicken tostadas, sopes, you name it.
It wasn’t until I moved in with John that I realized the power of the casserole.
- Usually, very few pots and pans are required. Less dishes to wash equals a win in my book, because let’s get real – washing the dishes after getting home from work is the last thing John and I feel like doing.
- Most importantly, casseroles are often huge! Which means lots and lots of leftovers. If we didn’t feel like cooking the next day, no worries – we’ve got some leftover casserole. SCORE.
Like many people, John doesn’t always like eating vegetables. And because I love him and care about his health, I’m always trying to come up with new ways to incorporate more of them into our meals.
And that’s where cauliflower rice comes in. If you’ve never made “cauli-rice,” prepare to have your mind blown. Here’s what you do. Ready?
How to make cauliflower rice
- Grate a head of cauliflower using a large cheese grater, or lightly pulse cauliflower florets in a food processor.
That’s it! It’s a brand new way of enjoying cauliflower that kids even like! If you need more of a step-by-step tutorial, check out my recipe for Mexican Cauliflower Rice.
Aside from all the “hidden” veggies in this dish, my favorite part of this Broccoli Cauliflower Rice Chicken Casserole is all the cheese!
4 cups of shredded cheese to be exact. Some people may not think that’s enough, so if that’s you, go for it. Sprinkle some more in there.
More recipes you’ll love
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice
- Healthy Turkey Fajita Rice Bowl
- Mexican Carnitas Recipe
- Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
- Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Fried Jalapenos
Broccoli Cauliflower Rice Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 10-ounce bags frozen cauliflower rice (or 1 head of cauliflower, riced and cooked)
- 1 16-ounce bag frozen broccoli cuts
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 3 cups, shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a large 3-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil. Set aside.
- Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally to make them thinner, lightly coat them in olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Liberally season with salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes.
- While the chicken is baking, heat the bags of frozen cauliflower rice and broccoli according to package instructions. Discard any excess water or moisture.
- Remove chicken from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully chop baked chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- In a large bowl, add cooked cauliflower rice, broccoli, chicken, eggs, mozzarella cheese, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and butter. Toss together until fully combined.
- Transfer casserole mixture to the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining Italian blend cheese.
- Bake for 50 minutes, until the cheese on top has fully melted and started to brown slightly. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published in April 2016. It was retested, rephotographed, rewritten, and republished based on reader feedback in March 2018.
Made this for dinner, and it was great! Changes for me would be a little less on the salt, but if I add more broccoli it may balance it. My chicken was not dry or bland, I chopped it up in bite sizes before cooking, therefore didn’t need to cook as long. But I will add the pepper flakes next time for a little heat..
This was a huge hit with my family! I only had one bag of cauli rice and I used 1/2 of the bag of broccoli. I used the same amount of cheese and two eggs and seasoned well….I also used a little bit of steak seasoning on the veggies. I only cooked for 30 minutes and only steamed the veggies for 2-3 minutes. I crumbled Italian chicken meatballs and it was delicious! My picky eaters had no clue they were eating cauliflower!
We love this recipe. My only tweak was adding heat with small peppers and broth to moisten. My husband asked me to put on “regular” list.
Have you tried not cooking the rice and broccoli first? If it’s in the oven for so long perhaps it could all cook together?
Has anyone ever tried this? It would definitely make it an easier recipe.
If you dont get rid of the excess water it makes the casserole soupy and sometimes it makes the cheese separate. It’s not pretty.
I don’t eat a lot of cheese so only put one cup of Mozza in the mix and sprinkled the Italian blend cheese to cover the top. I added nutritional yeast to the mix to add flavour as I’d used less cheese.
Didn’t have any garlic powder so chucked in a blob of minced garlic instead.
Turned out great. Seasoning the mix is a must!
The 50 minute cook time was too long, casserole came out really dry and cheese on top was hard. If I make it again, I would reduce cook time to 30 minutes. Good low carb option.
It was too dry and bland. I added 1/2 cup of chicken broth, 1/4 cup of cooking sherry, 2 tbs cayenne pepper, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Then topped it off with Mexican blend cheese. It was yummy!
Im going to use rotisserie chicken
for the people who have made this is it dry
I might try using chicken broth
Can you make ahead and put in the fridge for baking the next day?
Yes!
Hi! This sounds like a wonderful recipe. If I left out the eggs (allergy), do you know if it’d still turn out ok?
Hi Nikol,
I’ve never made it without eggs so I’m not sure, but I think it would turn out okay. I added in the eggs to hold together some of the ingredients, but it shouldn’t affect the flavor too much.
I’m confused on how much cheese… Your blog says to use 4 cups but the recipe says one?
Hi Carol, the recipe says 3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 cup of shredded Italian blend cheese.