Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Cauliflower Rice Casserole

5 from 14 votes

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Cauliflower Rice Casserole

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Cauliflower Rice Casserole is so comforting and delicious, it's hard to believe that it's actually low-carb and packed with healthy veggies.

Prep Time30

Cook Time23

Total Time53

Course: dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 462kcal

Author: Agnieszka

Ingredients

1 large leek
10 oz baby bella or white mushrooms sliced
1 tablespoon ghee or mild tasting oil such as avocado or canola
½ cup raw cashews
2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1 cup coconut milk full fat
⅔ cup chicken broth
24 oz frozen cauliflower rice thawed (I used two 12 oz bags)
1 garlic clove peeled
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Soak the cashews in boiling water for a couple hours or at least 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Place the thawed cauliflower rice in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze the moisture out over the sink. Keep squeezing until no more liquid comes out.
Cut the green part off the leek and discard or freeze for future use. Cut the leek lengthwise, clean it out under running water and slice into half circles.
In a deep skillet heat the ghee or oil and sauté mushrooms and leeks for about 5 minutes on medium heat until lightly caramelized. Add squeezed out cauliflower rice and shredded chicken. Stir together and turn off the heat.
Make the creamy sauce. Drain the cashews and place them in a high-speed blender with chicken broth, coconut milk, nutritional yeast and garlic. Blend until completely smooth.
Pour the creamy cashew sauce over the cauliflower rice, chicken, mushrooms and leeks, season with some salt and pepper and give it a stir.
Spray a 9x13’’ or similar casserole dish with oil or lightly grease with oil and transfer the cauliflower rice mixture into the dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese or more nutritional yeast on top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Turn the broiler on and broil for 1-3 minutes watching the casserole the whole time so the top crisps and browns lightly. Be careful not to burn it.
Take out of the oven and serve immediately.

Notes

Squeezing the moisture out of cauliflower rice is a crucial step that will prevent the casserole from getting watery and mushy. Just thaw the cauli rice until room temperature, place in a clean kitchen towel, make a little “packet” and squeeze using both hands oven the kitchen sink. Try to get as much liquid out as possible.

This casserole is very forgiving when it comes to the ingredients ratio. If you like lots of protein, use big chicken breasts. If you want to skip the meat all together and make it vegan, just use mushrooms and leeks, swap vegetable broth for chicken broth and skip the cheese. You can also add more or different vegetables such as spinach, kale or broccoli. It will be delicious either way you make it!

Nutrition