This dairy free spinach artichoke chicken casserole is full of creamy goodness in addition to having plenty of veggies baked right in! We used chicken breast, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus and sundried tomatoes. It’s Paleo, Whole30 + Keto friendly, and you’re going to love this healthy comfort food recipe!
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!
How is the sauce so creamy and dairy free?
We looovveee making dairy free sauces that feel just as indulgent and rich, but without the dairy. The creamy sauce in this spinach artichoke chicken casserole is made with mayo as the base. We used nutritional yeast to add some cheesy, umami flavor. The sauce is actually a recipe we made for a spinach artichoke dip a while back!
It’s versatile and great for entertaining or taking to get togethers. It always gets eaten up real quick, and nobody has any idea it’s dairy free and healthier. Here are our preferred mayo options.
- Make your own in 5 minutes with our homemade avocado oil mayo recipe
- Primal Kitchen
- Chosen Foods
- Thrive Market Vegan Mayo – it’s made with chickpea aquafaba rather than eggs, so it’s a great option if you can’t eat eggs.
What is nutritional yeast and is it necessary?
There’s no need to be scared of yeast in the name. Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast, meaning that it doesn’t cause an issue for people with yeast overgrowth or candida issues. We love it because it adds a cheesy, umami flavor to whatever you’re making, which is great for dairy-free recipes like this spinach artichoke chicken casserole!
Some other low carb veggie ideas
If you’ve got picky eaters at home and want to make this but are wondering what other lower carb veggies would work in place of the asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes, here are some ideas.
- Broccoli
- Bell pepper
- Mushrooms
- Green beans
More healthy casseroles to try
We love casseroles for meal prep recipes because the leftovers are always great. We have a ton of other healthy comfort food recipes, too! Here are some of our favorite casseroles.
- EASY TACO CASSEROLE
- SPAGHETTI PIZZA CASSEROLE
- HEALTHY BAKED BUFFALO CHICKEN CASSEROLE
- CREAMY GARLIC SPAGHETTI SQUASH CASSEROLE
- HEALTHY PORK CASSEROLE
- CREAMY BACON RANCH CHICKEN CASSEROLE
Your turn to try our oven baked creamy spinach artichoke chicken casserole
Whether you’re meal prepping or just want a creamy, dairy free recipe to hit the spot when you crave comfort food, make this healthy casserole! Leave a rating and review below to let us know how it goes.
And take a pic to share on Instagram. Tag us @realsimplegood, so we can check it out. We love to see what you’re making!
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Oven Baked Creamy Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
For the spinach artichoke sauce:
- 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped, (14.5 oz can)
- 1 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 cups spinach, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, (or sub 1 tbsp garlic oil)
For the rest:
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 6 cups cauliflower, riced
- 1/2 tsp each sea salt and pepper
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
- 1 cup sundried tomatoes, (optional, omit for Keto)
- Fresh parsley, chopped, (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit, and grease a casserole dish with avocado oil spray.
- Make the spinach artichoke sauce by mixing all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Rice cauliflower and prep asparagus as noted.
- Place everything in casserole dish, season with salt and pepper and mix to combine the sauce with the rest of the ingredients.
- Transfer to oven and bake for 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove and drain excess liquid from the casserole dish. Serve with chopped parsley on top. Enjoy!
Notes
This site keeps reloading, so before I could submit my comment, it was erased. Any recommendations for freezing this meal after it’s cooked? I am hunting for new meal prep ideas and I’m planning to cook it in individual containers before freezing. My husband doesn’t want cauliflower, so I need to find an alternative which may end up being jasmine rice. I would like some guidance on that even though it changes the recipe entirely. Thanks!
Hi there! This recipe is so delicious, but it is not a great one for freezing unfortunately because of the mayo in the sauce. The consistency upon thawing and reheating won’t come out well. Save this one for making when you will be eating it in real time. It does re-heat ok from the fridge, just not optimal for freezing and re-heating. It could be done with jasmine rice, although we haven’t tested it out. I’d probably just make the sauce and chicken and then serve it over cooked rice. Hope that helps! Additionally, we have a category for freezer friendly meals. Check it out for more ideas!
Ok thanks for the info. I have never tried a mayo-based casserole, but I’ll have to keep looking because it’s not the right one for me. Too bad I already bought the ingredients. Storage and reheat information is always super helpful to the reader to decide if it fits their meal goals.
Okay, 3 cups of spinach seems like a ton. I’m hoping it shrinks up during the cooking process.
Yes, it wilts significantly when cooked.
Hi! I’m so late to the party on this but SO excited to try it! It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for 🙂 Quick question – do I have to rice my cauliflower or can I keep it as small florets instead if I don’t have a food processor?
If you chop the florets up into small chunks that would be best. If you do larger florets you may need to add a little cooking time and the consistency wouldn’t be as good. I suggest just chopping them into small chunks and following the recipe as is. Hope this helps 🙂
Okay, I hope this question doesn’t get me kicked off this site … but is there any way I can make this with dairy products instead of the mayo? Just starting keto, and I’d sure love to use all of the dairy products I’ve recently bought! Thanks!
Hi Laura – Ha, we’d never kick you off :). The best option would be to substitute some shredded cheese in place of the mayo (feel free to add more than one cup if desired). You could omit the nutritional yeast if you substitute cheese. Hope you enjoy it and let us know how it goes.
This is seriously delicious! I used thighs instead of breasts, because that’s what I had on hand. Loved the combo of veggies, especially lesser common ones like artichokes and sundried tomatoes, and it being a one pan meal!! Thanks for another winner.
So happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let us know how it went. 🙂
Do you think I could substitute another vegetable such as zuccini or green beans? Not a huge fan of asparagus.
Green beans would be the best substitute. I think zucchini would get too watery. Enjoy!
Hello,
I haven’t baked a chicken casserole in ages but I don’t think I have ever used chicken that wasn’t previously cooked. Your recipe does not specifiy that it should be cooked. Do you put it in the sauce and vegetables uncooked?
Feeling stupid….
Hi there! Yep, it goes in uncooked with the sauce and veggies. No need to add an extra step for cooking the chicken separately! Hope you give it a try. We’d love to hear how it goes if you do. 🙂
Hello!! I realized I only have a 12oz back of cauliflower rice, will that be okay? Can I add normal rice instead? ☺️
That amount of cauliflower rice should be fine. Adding normal rice should be ok too. If you add normal rice you might just want to stir in the cooked rice at the end so it doesn’t dry out in the oven. Enjoy!
Excellent recipe. Easy prep and bake. I have made it 3 times. Twice without incorporating the sun-dried tomatoes. It stands on its own with or without them.
Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try! Also, thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review! We really appreciate it! 🙂
I’ve made this several times and froze individual portions. I put it in my hot logic when I get to work and have a hearty warm casserole for lunch!!
Sounds amazing Karen, thanks for coming back to leave a rating and review 🙂
Update: I gave it a shot with frozen cauliflower rice and it was delicious! I just microwaved my packages of the cauliflower rice first. Worked perfectly! Love all your recipes that I’ve tried so far!
That’s great! Thanks so much for coming back to share how it went! 🙂
Can I use frozen cauliflower rice?
I think frozen cauliflower rice would release a lot of liquid while cooking so I wouldn’t recommended it.
I made this and was sad when I ate the last portion. I am currently making it again! This is so very delicious. And it is easy – one bowl – and packed with veggies!!! This is definitely a favorite for meal prep.
Thanks for coming back to leave such a great review, we appreciate it 🙂
So yummy! I added goat cheese on top since I’m not doing whole 30!
It was super delicious! I followed the exact recipe my husband gave two 👍👍 and said it was awesome. Shhhh don’t tell him it had riced cauliflower and avocado oil mayonnaise
Glad you both enjoyed this one! Thanks for coming back to leave a review, we appreciate it 🙂
This recipe was delicious! Definitely tastes like a comfort food dish, but packed to the brim with veggies. I doubled the salt and pepper, and sprinkled some Italian blend cheese on the top. The cheese is what made it for us, so I definitely recommend adding that!
Delicious – Bet that cheese on top really took it to the next level! Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try and for coming back to share your review. We really appreciate it! 🙂
This is the first recipe of yours I haven’t loved. As written it’s very bland. I added copious amounts of garlic powder and italian seasoning, and we ate with hot sauce. I’ll make it again with more seasoning
Can’t win them all I suppose! 😉 Glad you were able to tailor the seasonings to your taste and make it work for you! Thanks for giving our recipes a try and for taking the time to come back and share your experience. Appreciate it!
I made this tonight and I tell you, you cannot go wrong with any of Erica’s and Justin’s recipes. They have become my go to site when I am searching for recipes.
We love hearing that so much! Thanks for trying our recipes and inviting us into your kitchen! We love that we get to connect with you on here and on facebook too! 🙂