Kitchen Adventures || Guilt Free Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Happy Hump Day! Hope everyone is having a great week! With the Whole Life Challenge coming up I’m already starting to adjust my ingredients a bit based on what I know is on the compliance lists. Luckily, I have a pretty good arsenal of recipes that keep things interesting and we don’t end up eating like robots (although Tim would be fine with that…) I get bored eating the same thing over and over and I need some variety!

I’m also a big fan of recipes where everything can go in one dish and come out as a whole meal. This recipe ticks so many boxes for me and I’m thrilled with how it came out! Whether you’re doing the Whole Life Challenge (which I highly recommend!!) or just looking for a clean, simple, TASTY option this is a great recipe for you!

Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower Casserole

INGREDIENTS

1 Large Head of Cauliflower – chopped or you can pulse in a food processor, but don’t make it too fine. You want a few chunks 🙂
1/3 Cup yellow or white onion – diced
1 bell pepper (I used red) – diced
2 cloves garlic – minced (optional – sub 1 tsp garlic powder)
6 large eggs
1-1.25 lb shredded chicken  (see notes for cooking below)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 – 3/4 cup buffalo sauce (we like Louisiana, but you can use Frank’s, or whatever you prefer!)
*Optional – rather than TOPPING your casserole with carrots and celery – dice it up and throw it in for some extra veggies baked right in!

For Topping –
Bacon (cooked and chopped)
Diced red onions
Sliced green onions
Matchstick carrots
Diced Tomatoes
Avocado
Celery
Diced Jalapeños
Ranch (see below for my greek yogurt ranch)
More Buffalo sauce!
Tim and I even talked about putting this IN a lettuce wrap!

INSTRUCTIONS 

Season, pre-cook, and shred your chicken. I used some salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cooked mine in the instant pot, but you can poach or bake your chicken as well. Just make sure you don’t over cook and leave it dry as it’s going back into the oven with the casserole! **Quick tip – a rotisserie chicken would be a great shortcut for this recipe if you don’t want to mess with cooking the chicken yourself!

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Dice the onion and bell pepper and chop (or pulse in food processor) the cauliflower. Mince the garlic. In a large bowl, combine cauliflower and all 6 eggs (yolks too!) until mixed well. Stir in the remaining casserole ingredients and seasonings (you’ll prepare your toppings while it cooks). Make sure the chicken is mixed well with all the veggies.

Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish. I used a 9×13 glass dish. Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on the depth of your dish). I loosely covered my baking dish with foil until the last 15 minutes, but this is optional. Just make sure your rack is not set too close to the top if you’re baking uncovered.

While it’s baking – chop/dice/mix whatever you plan to top it with so you’re ready to go when it comes out of the oven!

For the Greek yogurt ranch –
Seasoning 
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion granules
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon dried chives
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Combine well in a jar until ready for use.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt with 2 tablespoons of water and add seasoning until you are satisfied with the flavor. I usually use 2-3 TBSP. You can adjust consistency with water and flavor by adding more seasoning or yogurt.

Once it comes out of the oven, top it with whatever you like and enjoy! This dish would be very easy to portion into individual bowls for your lunches as well.