Meal planning and prep is what got us through life when we were both working full-time corporate jobs. We cooked up a bunch of Paleo friendly food over the weekend, and Justin prepped all his lunches for the upcoming week too. I typically just ate leftovers for lunch, and we were able to mostly breeze through the work week, at least when it came to food.
Nowadays, we still meal plan, but our lifestyle is a little more forgiving during the week thankfully. We do still love to make a big dinner Sunday most weeks though, like this Paleo + Whole30 healthy chicken and broccoli casserole and have the leftovers in the fridge the following week.
Comfort Food
There is just something about a creamy casserole that gives me all the feels. It’s cozy, soul-satisfying and just all around makes me feel good. This healthy chicken and broccoli casserole lacks nothing when it comes to creamy goodness! It is dairy-free and instead uses coconut milk to add in some healthy fats. And of course, bacon doesn’t hurt when you’re trying to up your comfort food game!
If you like this recipe, you have to try our creamy dairy-free chicken thigh casserole and also check out this roundup of healthy chicken casserole recipes. We know you’ll find a new favorite!
Don’t Worry – You Won’t Taste The Coconut
Lots of folks get a little scared when they see that there’s coconut milk in a creamy comfort food recipe. They don’t want the coconut flavor. Guess what? You won’t taste it! This recipe, and many of our creamy, comfort food recipes have coconut milk in them in place of dairy. BUT….Fear not, we’ve become masters at masking the coconut taste. You’ll just be enjoying the creamy, rich texture and flavors of the rest of this healthy chicken and broccoli casserole!
Cauliflower Rice Tips
You can of course rice your own cauliflower in a food processor, either using the grating attachment or the regular steel blade. Just be careful if you use the steel blade. It’s easy to over process the cauliflower. We recommend processing in batches if you go with the steel blade. An even better tip though is to get it pre-riced at your local grocery store. We are able to find it locally at Trader Joe’s – either in the fresh produce section or in the freezer section. You should also be able to find riced cauliflower at other health food stores like Whole Foods.
Some Other Comfort Food Recipes To Try
Your Turn To Try Our Healthy Chicken And Broccoli Casserole
Whether you just want a large meal to make over the weekend for dinner and then enjoy the leftovers the following week or you’re straight up craving comfort food, make this healthy chicken and broccoli casserole! Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below. Take a picture and share it on Instagram – tag us @realsimplegood. Also, if you don’t already follow us on Instagram, make sure to give us a follow so we can stay connected!
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Healthy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole (Paleo + Whole30)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 10 pieces bacon, diced
- 3 cups cauliflower rice
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups mushrooms, diced
- 1/4 cup arrowroot flour
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1.5 cups coconut milk
- Salt and pepper, about 1 tsp each
- 1 tbsp butter, ghee or coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil.
- Grease a sheet pan with avocado oil and place chicken on the pan. Season lightly with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in the oven to cook for 6 minutes. Remove, flip and place back in the oven to cook for 6 more minutes or until cooked through.
- When the chicken has finished, set it aside while you make the rest of the ingredients and turn the oven down to 400° Fahrenheit.
- Prep bacon, cauli rice, broccoli, mushrooms and garlic as noted.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add in diced bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it just starts to get crispy, about 6-7 minutes. Remove and place on a paper towel lined plate.
- Now, prepare the creamy sauce. Using the same pan you cooked the bacon in over medium heat, add mushrooms and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add in the arrowroot flour and minced garlic and stir around to mix well with the mushrooms, about 1-2 minutes.
- Next, slowly add in the coconut milk, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Be sure to mix well to dissolve all of the flour into the milk (you don’t want any flour clumps). Use a whisk to mix if needed. The sauce will bubble and thicken, keep stirring to prevent burning. After 2 minutes turn heat down to low and simmer. Stir in salt and pepper.
- Now, put everything together. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with butter, ghee or coconut oil. Chop the cooked chicken into bite sized pieces.
- Add the cauliflower rice, broccoli, chicken, bacon and creamy sauce to the baking dish.
- Carefully mix everything together well with a spoon.
- Place back in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool at least 5 minutes before serving.
Delish! My husband and I loved this recipe! It was better than I thought it would be! He isn’t fond of mushrooms but never even knew they were in the recipe. Someone mentioned theirs tasted like coconut. I didn’t taste coconut at all and used the coconut milk. It was very good and we will be making this again!
The chicken thighs – boneless skinless? You’re not cooking bone-in thighs and cutting the meat off, right? Meal prepping for this week. Thanks!
Yes, boneless skinless.
This was just ok. Unfortunately it tasted too much like coconut for my family’s preference. I had high hopes and other than the extra coconut flavor it was a good recipe.
Sorry to hear that the coconut flavor wasn’t great. Coconut is a strong flavor, so you could try it with a different milk next time or add a bunch of extra garlic. I’ve found that plenty of garlic helps to mask the coconut flavor.
This is FANTASTIC!!!! My husband and I love it! It’s good right out of the oven and as leftovers. Thank you so much!
We are so happy this one is a hit for your guys! Thanks so much for trying our recipe and coming back to share how it went! 🙂
Can I put this all together in the morning and then bake later in the day for dinner?
Yes, that would absolutely work. I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
This might be a silly question – but do you keep the bacon grease in the pan for the next part? (after removing bacon bits and drying them off)
We leave the bacon grease in for flavor but you can pour it out if desired.
Hi! My son likes creamy flax milk or creamy oat milk so i am curious how this will turn out! I have also seen lite coconut milk canned as well.. wonder if anyone has used that!
Hi Heather – A creamy oat milk will probably be your best option. I’m not sure what the consistency of creamy flax milk is. Either way it will probably be a little watery though. For that reason we don’t recommend using a lite coconut milk either, it’s basically water. We’ve only made this with full fat coconut milk and that gives you the best result.
I made this for meal prep and it is so good reheated!!
So glad you enjoyed it Laura. Thanks for giving our recipe a try and for returning to leave your review. We really appreciate your support!
This was really good, thank you. Question, I didn’t mind the slight coconut taste from the milk, but my husband could tell. Do you think that evaporated goat milk could be used in place of the coconut milk?
You’re welcome! We haven’t tried anything like evaporated goat milk so I’m not sure how it would work for flavor and consistency. You are welcome to try it though!
A dairy free casserole that tastes great! Love the veg-heavy approach with this one too. We make this relatively regularly and sometimes to speed up prep, we sometimes buy pre-riced cauliflower and pre-chopped broccoli and just use cooked leftover chicken. Thanks!!
Made this today….and added Rosemary, which gave the casserole a nice subtle herb flavor. I have to honestly say, I’m not a huge fan of riced cauliflower. However, I want to like it so tried this casserole. Will probably use rice next time. I am allergic to coconut so used a creamy oatmeal milk instead, which worked well. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Thanks so much for giving it a try! And thanks for taking the time to come back and share your experience with us. We appreciate the feedback! 🙂
So I’ve been following the Whole30 for two weeks and am so excited to try this! If I made it on Sunday for lunches would it last all week in the fridge or would you suggest freezing it?
Emma, so glad you’re going to try this one. If you are using fresh ingredients, it should be fine for 4-5 days in the fridge. We’ve definitely made it Sunday to eat on all week :).
I added onions in with the mushrooms, and I used frozen cauliflower rice… it all came out beautifully!! I used a pointed wooden spoon to stir the arrow root into the mushroom mixture before adding the coconut milk and it came out thick and smooth. I also love how your recipes print out on one page.
Glad you liked the recipe and the easy printing!
I stumbled on this recipe while I was looking for healthy casseroles. I made it for my husband and a few friends and we all really enjoyed it. It left us full but we were so happy because we knew how healthy and nutrient-packed it was! Not to mention it was super easy to make! I’ve added it to my favorites to make again in the future.
So glad you all enjoyed the recipe Leslie :).
Super tasty and easy recipe! Will definitely make again!
Perfect, glad you enjoyed it!
I ended up not having coconut milk, so I used whole milk and it was still delicious. My kids asked for this to be part of the normal rotation this fall and winter. Great recipe!
So glad you all enjoyed it!
It was excellent. We subbed long grain rice for the cauliflower rice and I was concerned it would be too dry so I added some chicken broth once it was all mixed in the 9×11 pan. All of my kiddos loved it. Many of my kids have severe food allergies so we are delighted to have a “safe” casserole.
Great! So glad it turned out well 🙂
Can I sub in regular rice and if so cooked or uncooked when added to recipe?
We haven’t tried this, but I don’t think there would be enough liquid in the recipe to use uncooked rice. I’d try it with cooked rice. You’ll have to let us know how it goes 🙂
I tried this just last night actually- I added one cup of water and later a little more coconut milk. I would have added bone broth if I’d had it. It was very good!!
Looks great! Do you think you could do this in the slow cooker?
It’s possible, but we haven’t tried it so I’m not sure. If you do try it, I’d suggest putting the cauliflower rice and broccoli in at the end or they will get mushy.
Can this be made without chicken?
We’ve never tried it without chicken so I couldn’t say how it would turn out.
Hi there, can this recipe be freezed? Thanks!
We haven’t frozen this recipe so we can’t advise the best way to do it.
My mouth is watering this looks so good.
It tastes just as good as it looks!
I made this today! The only change I made was to use home-made coconut milk (due to my dietary requirements). It was a really wonderful dish that I really enjoyed; the flavor combination and texture was very satisfying. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for trying and we are glad you enjoyed the recipe!
My family is picky and I have a hard time finding a dish that we can all eat-and like. I followed this recipe without any changes. It turned out to be great for my entire family. I appreciate the time you took to post your recipes. Thank you!
You are so very welcome! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing this. I tried this with a few of my own modifications and it turned out wonderful! I roasted the fresh broccoli florets in a little olive oil, salt and pepper for about 20 min at 400. After cooking bacon, I omitted the mushrooms, sauted the garlic in the bacon grease, and added the arrowroot after a few minutes, stirring to ensure no clumps. At this point, I added salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and italian seasoning. I used riced cauliflower, but I used the pilaf version with peas and carrots. I also added 2/3 package of shredded Daiya brand vegan Mozzerella. Everyone in my house had 2 servings – they didn’t know I used cauliflower or Daiya shreds instead of real cheese!
Sounds great, glad you were able to modify it for the whole family to enjoy!
This recipe was an epic fail… I used Tapioca Flour (as noted on the Whole30 Instagram post) and followed instructions accordingly. When I added the flour to the mushrooms and combined, it created little clumps. I was unable to break up them up after adding the coconut milk & whisking a ton! The “sauce” ended up binding together too much and created more of a gravy and since it was so thick, there wasn’t enough to spread and cover the veggies & meat. Please consider adjusting the ratios going forward if you are going to suggest Tapioca Flour… I think that was the issue for me. In the end, I just mixed everything up again and served in a bowl as it looked more like a stir-fry. Honestly, the flavors don’t really marry well either… the coconut milk overpowers everything & the Tapioca just gives it an odd texture.
Sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t turn out for you. We tested it several times and have used both arrowroot & tapioca flour so I’m not sure why the consistency didn’t work out.
Hi! If I use frozen cauliflower rice, should I microwave it before I add it or leave it frozen and let it cook within the casserole? Thanks!!
I think you should thaw it before putting it in, otherwise it might get watery.
Could you make this in a crockpot? Cooking the bacon first then adding all the other ingredients?! I’m a mom of 6 and like things as simple as possible ? thanks!
Sarah – we haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure. I’d worry about the broccoli and cauliflower getting overcooked, so maybe add that in after the chicken?You’ll have to let us know how it turns out.
Didn’t realize this recipe calls for coconut milk out of the can, rather than coconut milk you’d find in a carton in the dairy aisle. Guess I should have clicked the link to Amazon before buying ingredients. Used chicken breast and turkey bacon to make this healthier. Smells good but is more like a hash than a casserole because nothing set. Bummed out.
Sorry this didn’t turn out as anticipated, but hopefully it tasted good! Any full-fat coconut milk should work, the link is just a recommended brand that we know doesn’t have any additional unwanted ingredients. Either way, it won’t “set” completely but will have more of a creamy hash texture.
This was very good. I used almond flour. I would definitely make this again.
Can you use almond flour?
Almond flour wouldn’t thicken as well so I’d recommend tapioca starch or cassava flour instead. If you omit the flour entirely it would work too, the sauce just won’t be quite as thick. Let us know how it goes!
I used almond flour and it turned out great. My teenage son loved it.
Oh that’s great to know that using almond flour worked. Thanks for letting us know and we’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Made this tonight. Was just okay. Took a while to prepare – almost two hours, so will probably not make this again.
Sorry to hear that it just turned out ok for you. We hope you find some other recipes on our site to try that you prefer.
Wow! So good! My whole family enjoyed it!
Thanks Jenni! So glad to hear that you all liked it. 🙂
Do I put the casserole in the oven at broil again for 20-25 minutes once it’s all mixed? The directions didn’t say what temperature to put it in for.
Hey there! So you cook the chicken with the oven on broil (steps 1 + 2 of the instructions). Then, once the chicken is done you remove it from the oven and turn the oven to 400° Fahrenheit (step 3). Then, when the rest of the casserole is ready to go in the oven it will be all set at 400°. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Looks delish! Do you cook the broccoli at all before or just add it in raw prior to baking in oven?
We just add it raw to the casserole. We do like our broccoli to retain a little bit of crunch, so the amount of time in the oven ends up cooking it just right for us. Hope you give it a try! 🙂
This looks amazing! Reminds me of a healthy paleo version of a casserole my mom use to make us as kids. I’d love to know a substitute for the coconut milk. I have a sensitivity to coconut proteins. Could a nut milk w/ added gelatin help? I’m assuming coconut milk was used because it’s much thicker. TIA!!!
Hey! Yes, we use full fat coconut milk for the extra rich and creamy texture. You could try a thick cashew milk. We haven’t tried it with anything other than coconut milk, so you’ll have to let us know how it goes. I’m not sure adding gelatin in would help because it only thickens as it cools and I don’t think you’d want to the jello texture once it did cool. Let us know if you end up trying cashew milk. 🙂