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healthy chicken casserole
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Chicken Casserole with Spaghetti Squash

This delicious chicken casserole is packed full of yummy ingredients including bacon, artichoke hearts, spinach, spaghetti squash and more!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author Lisa

Ingredients

  • 1 small spaghetti squash or half of a medium one
  • 6 oz bacon
  • 1 shallot chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves chopped
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 bag frozen cauliflower
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper plus more to taste
  • 1 tbs garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 lb chicken cooked and shredded (a rotisserie chicken from the store works well!)
  • 2 cups spinach
  • ¼ onion diced
  • 1 can artichoke hearts chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400°F and grease large casserole dish.
  • Cut the spaghetti squash in half* and lay face down on a lined baking sheet. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and let them cool enough to be handled. Scoop out the seeds and then using a fork scrape out the rest of the stringy squash and place it in a large mixing bowl.
  • While the squash is baking cook your bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat. Set aside to cool and then chop into small pieces.
  • Using the leftover bacon grease or another fat of choice (like 2 tbs olive oil), sautee the chopped shallot and garlic.
  • In a medium pot, add water and cauliflower. Bring to a boil and cook for 5-10 minutes or until cauliflower can be pierced with a fork. Remove from heat and the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Using a hand blender or transfer everything to a food processor/blender, blend the cauliflower mixture until well combined and everything is in a liquid sauce state. It will be slightly gritty due to the cauliflower.
  • In the large mixing bowl add the cauliflower sauce, garlic, shallot, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, shredded chicken, spinach, diced onion, chopped artichoke and the chopped bacon to the spaghetti squash and mix until well combined. You can also add more salt and pepper here.
  • Pour into greased casserole dish and bake for 1 hour.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

If using half of medium spaghetti squash still cook both halves and just save the unused half for another dish! 
The idea for this recipe was inspired by Julie Bauer's Paleo Cookbook, Chicken Carbonara.