Looking for a nutritious low carb item to add to your dinner menu? Then you’ll love this cauliflower chicken casserole made with riced cauliflower, chicken and cheese.
Low Carb Cauliflower Chicken Casserole
Today is going to be the start of a long couple of days for me. I’m in the middle of moving 5 1/2 hours away, and I’m up very early today to start my drive.
This will generally be my life for the next few days, but I should be completely moved out of my apartment by the weekend. The plus side of my move is that I will be near my favorite running track again.
I haven’t really gotten into a good running routine this season since the area I’ve been living in doesn’t have the availability of easy to find running tracks. Unlike the place I’m moving to, I can’t just open the door and go for a run.
So, I’m really looking forward to getting back into a good running routine. I also need to clean up my eating a little bit as I’ve been swaying towards eating a lot of junk due to the stress of the move.
And since I shared my “How to Make Cauliflower Rice” post yesterday, it really got me in the mood to try and make something delicious with what I had left over. I haven’t had too much time to experiment with using cauliflower rice in my own recipes, so decided a day of testing was in order.
The result is a deliciously cheesy and low carb cauliflower chicken casserole. My secret ingredient is definitely the Mama Francesca Parmesan & Garlic Cheese.
I found mine at my local Walmart, along with other flavored Parmesan cheeses. These flavored Parmesan cheeses have become a life savor when it comes to spicing up dishes.
Don’t skimp on this ingredient! I’m sure Parmesan could do just fine but to me, it doesn’t come out the same without having to add more spices.
This was my main course for dinner, and I didn’t even add any sides with my meal. The low carb cauliflower casserole was really filling as is.
It’s loaded with protein from the chicken, and a cup of cauliflower is 25 calories so I felt free to indulge. I may add in some chopped up broccoli and maybe even try another meat next time, but those are the only tweaks I was thinking of making.
Oh, and of course shopped up bacon. Yummm!
- 2 cups cauliflower rice, uncooked
- 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced
- 4 egg whites
- ½ cup Mama Francesca Parmesan & Garlic Cheese
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- mozzarella cheese (optional for topping)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine cauliflower rice, Italian seasoning, mushrooms and chicken. Spread
- into the prepared casserole dish.
- In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites, ½ cup cheese and milk. Whisk until well combined.
- Pour over the cauliflower rice.
- Bake casserole for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.
- Let cool before serving, and top with mozzarella cheese..
I love chicken and mushroom with cream and adding the cauli rice is a brilliant idea.
It is delicious! If you really want it extra cheesy, toss in some melted cream cheese.
This looks delicious– I am a huge fan of using cauliflower to replace carbs. Other cauli “rice” ideas– I love it for Thai pineapple fried rice, and have used it to make a mexi rice. Both are huge hits around here.
I hear you on being motivated by good running tracks 🙂 I miss living in Oregon where there are so many gorgeous trails to run on. I have been living in Asia, and have barely run in the past 2 years because it’s just too difficult– and it’s not a peaceful experience. I have to watch out for holes in the sidewalks, watch out for cars since pedestrians DO NOT have the right away… watch out for thieves who want to steal my iPod and running shoes. Not kidding on the last one either. Haha, I am making it sound awful here, but there really are some pluses too!
Cauliflower is def versatile! I have yet to try making mashed cauliflower so it is on my to-do list. I can imagine it tasting REALLY good if done right. I don’t know if I could ever say that it would replace my beloved mashed potatoes, but I’m willing to try esp since I have 30+ pounds I’d like to lose!
There is a really good running track where I live. I usually start up running in May, but I haven’t gotten back into my schedule this season due to where I was living. It was hard to find a place to run, which is kind of funny to say. I wasn’t living in one of those areas where you could just walk out of your apartment and go for a run. The area I was living in was near NYC, so you can imagine the traffic and busy life it was out there. I’m looking forward to being able to run at my old track. Let alone, I’ll be able to go biking again. 🙂
Your new site looks great, and so does this recipe! Now that you’ve taught me to make cauliflower rice I’ll have to give this a go. Do you think kids would like cauliflower rice? I bet they wouldn’t notice the difference. I’m trying to be more conscious of carb consumption (as I stand here, eating toast). Can’t wait to try this!
I think cauliflower rice is really easy to flavor, so you should be able to disguise the taste for the kids. What my friend did for her husband and three kids was make it into cauliflower “mashed potatoes” but still added a few potatoes to the recipe, as well as added some ranch. A food processor is wonderful for this, as well as butter. 🙂
I totally understand the carb consumption. I’ve been uber stressed and haven’t been sticking to plan!
Looks like my new comfort meal! 🙂
You should try “cauliflower mash” which is a good replacement for mashed potatoes.
I am definitely sharing this with my friend who is doing low carb! Looks great!
Thanks for the share! I wish Cauliflower was cheaper here. It’s one way I’m able to get my veggies in. I’m kind of a picky eater in that department.
Mmmmmmmmm… this recipe is just begging to be eaten. Love the pics. I’m drooling. Honestly! 🙂
It was pretty good!
Comforting and good for you. Good luck with your move, hope it all goes smoothly.
Thanks! I got all moved last night. Man am I sore today! It will be a while before I’m completely done unpacking.
I’ve never used cauliflower rice before yet this recipe looks delicious it makes me what to try it. Thanks for sharing such different recipes 🙂
Anytime! Cauliflower rice is versatile, so I’ll be experimenting with it more.
Looks so amazing!
Thanks!
I never even though of using cauliflower rice in a casserole!
It is super easy. You should try it!
How many servings? I would like to log it into My Fitness Pal.
Hi Ruth, I don’t think I’ve actually figured this out when I originally made the recipe. I’ll get back to you when I remake it as I do need to update this page with that information. Thanks!
I made this yesterday and I really like it. I did have a problem with quite a bit of excess
liquid in the bottom of the baking dish. I just drained it off and it was fine. I still wonder where all that liquid came from. Possibly the mushrooms. I’m going to try browning them in butter first and see if that might reduce the excess.
Is it possible the liquid could have come from the cauliflower? I love cheesecloth to remove extra moisture but then I found I end up accidentally making the cauliflower more into a mash than anything!
I have the casserole in the oven right now. I sauteed the mushrooms in bacon grease and drained the very well beforeadding them. I’ll let you know if that helped.
Just finished dinner. Sauteing and draining the mushrooms took care of the extra moisture. There was only about a tablespoon or two in the bottom of the dish. I think that can be expected.
How many servings does this make? and how many calories per serving?
is there a reason you use the egg whites only? why not use the whole egg?
No reason.
I know I am late to the party, but, could I use 2 whole eggs, beaten ,instead of the 4 whites?
I don’t see why not! I just used what I had on hand.
I just finished dinner with my husband. He said this is a keeper. I did make several additions. I fried 3 strips of bacon and set on cauli n chicken while next I sautéed 1/2 cup each celery n onion in the bacon grease. Add the celery n onion with crumbled bacon to the cauliflower n chicken mix and stir well. Add whisked eggs, Parmesan cheese n cream to top of casserole and spread top with mozzarella cheese. I sliced 1 green onion to garnish top. I baked for 20 minutes but it could have gone another 20 minutes to dry up some of the moisture from the cauliflower and to brown the cheese. It was delicious! 6 large servings with 6 carbs per serving.
Hi Linda,
GREAT ideas! I’ll def keep this in mind for the future!
Love mash calilower,looking in try it other ways for this recipe Low Carb Cauliflower Chicken Casserole…I’m doing a low carb/high protein ..What is the protein on this dish. for the cup protion..
Hi Daisy – I did not do the nutrition on this recipe, so I’m not sure. You can use a recipe analyzer on one of the calorie counting websites, like My Fitness Pal or Calorie Count, when you follow this for your recipe. 🙂
Hi! I can’t wait to try this! My family isn’t a fan of mushrooms though…any ideas on what I could use instead?
Hi Tanya, you could really add anything low carb. 🙂
If you like diced tomatoes, you could add that in. However, it would up the carb count. If you have an Aldi’s near you, you can buy a can of diced tomatoes. In a small can of the Aldi’s Happy Harvest brand, I believe it’s 18 net carbs for a whole can. If you get the fire roasted, it’s a little bit more. Just be careful as it does have sugar in it, but it is still low glycemic.
Can you use 2 whole eggs instead of egg whites?
Hi Sandra – I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why not!
Is this freezable?
Hi Rochelle! I’m not exactly sure as we never have enough to freeze.