Keto Chicken & Cauliflower Rice Casserole
This Keto Chicken & Cauliflower Rice Casserole is cheesy, creamy, and best of all, can be prepared using ONE skillet. Make it ahead of time and bake it off last minute for a quick, low-carb weeknight dinner that everyone will rave over!
Here is another delicious keto-friendly casserole that will please the entire family! It is made with shredded chicken, three cheeses, riced cauliflower, and cream, so you know it will be super creamy and also have some serious cheese pull!
If you love cheesy keto casseroles, you need to check out these 37 Keto & Low Carb Casserole Recipes.
The riced cauliflower is a staple in this recipe because it adds lots of fiber without adding carbs. You can use riced broccoli as well or a combination of the two,
To make this low carb casserole quicker, I suggest preparing your shredded chicken in advance so that you can pull it straight out of your fridge or freezer with little prep. Once your chicken is ready to go, this casserole can be on the table in LESS than 30 minutes!
Chicken Casserole Ingredients:
- Riced cauliflower: I like using frozen pre-riced cauliflower, which steams in the bag quickly with little mess.
- Celery, onion, mushrooms: Adds flavor and nutrients to your casserole while keeping it low in carbs.
- Shredded chicken breasts: I use skinless, boneless chicken breasts and cook it in my slow cooker until I can shred it in bulk. Do this in advance to save time!
- Heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese: Adds fat and protein to your casserole while helping to achieve a creamy, thick consistency.
- Cheddar and Gouda: The combination of these cheeses work really well together and add a ton of flavor to your casserole.
- Xanthan gum– This will help to thicken your casserole without needing flour.
Steps for making your chicken casserole:
Step 1: Boil your chicken breasts until they are cooked through and begin to fall apart. Shred with two forks.
Step 2: Melt butter in an oven-safe skillet and add the mushrooms, onions, celery, and spices. Sauté for 5 min on medium heat. Meanwhile, steam the cauliflower rice in the microwave.
Step 3: Add steamed cauliflower and 1 tbsp. More butter in the skillet and sauté for 7 min.
Step 4: Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, sour cream, softened cream cheese ¾ of the gouda, and ½ of the cheddar cheese, then bring to a boil and boil on medium heat for 8 min with the lid off. Add ⅛ tsp xanthan gum and simmer for 5 min or until it thickens.
Step 5: Add the chicken and stir to combine.
Step 6: Sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top and pop the skillet in the oven until nicely melted. Sprinkle parsley on top and serve warm.
Variations to your casserole
You can swap out a few ingredients in your chicken casserole while keeping the flavor and consistency. If you do not like mushrooms, feel free to leave them out or use other keto-friendly veggies like spinach, brussels sprouts, or broccoli.
You can add bacon to your casserole for more flavor, fat, and protein.
If you don’t have gouda cheese, you can use all cheddar in place of it or use other cheeses like Monterey jack, mozzarella, Colby, or Gruyere.
Riced Cauliflower Options
I love purchasing bags of riced cauliflower, which they sell in the frozen food aisle. It makes casseroles like my Keto Buffalo Chicken Casserole (w/ Cauliflower) super fast and leaves me with minimal cleanup, which I love! They steam up in the microwave in no time and won’t make your casserole watery as it can sometimes do.
The advantage of making your own riced cauliflower is that it is cost-efficient. If you want to save a few bucks, I suggest purchasing a few heads of raw cauliflower and ricing it yourself. Use a large food processor to do it quickly in bulk. Store your riced cauliflower in freezer bags (in 12 oz. portions). This way, you will have portioned out riced cauliflower ready to use when you need it!
Then, when you want to use it in a recipe, add it to a microwave-proof bowl and cover it with a lid (or plastic wrap) so it steams. It should be ready in 5 minutes. Here you can learn how to make your own cauliflower rice at home using the microwave.
Other keto chicken casseroles you will love:
Keto BBQ Chicken Casserole Recipe
Keto Buffalo Chicken Casserole (w/ Cauliflower)
Keto Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli Bake
Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole With Broccoli
Keto Chicken & Cauliflower Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 cup chopped baby bella mushrooms
- ½ small onion chopped
- 2 celery ribs chopped
- 2 12 oz packages steamed cauliflower rice
- 1 ¾ tsp poultry seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp parsley
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 1 ¼ salt
- ¼ pepper
- 1 ⅔ cups chicken broth
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 3 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 tbsp sour cream
- 4 oz gouda
- 6 oz medium cheddar
- 1 ¾ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ⅛ tsp xanthan gum
- Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the boneless skinless chicken breasts in a crockpot on low for 4-5 hours or high 2-3 hours then shred.
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Melt 2 tbsp butter in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet and add the mushrooms, onions, celery, and spices. Sauté for 5 min on medium heat.Meanwhile, steam the cauliflower rice in the microwave.
- Add steamed cauliflower and 1 more tbsp butter in the skillet and sauté for 7 min.
- Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, sour cream, softened cream cheese, ¾ of the gouda, and ½ of the cheddar cheese, and bring to a boil over medium heat for 8 min with the lid off.
- Add ⅛ tsp xanthan gum simmer for 5 min or until it thickens then add chicken and stir to combine. (If it gets too thick, you can add more chicken broth.)
- Sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top and pop the skillet in the oven until melted.
- Sprinkle parsley on top and enjoy!
Love your keto recipes
Thanks! So glad you enjoy it.
Does this casserole freeze well?
I haven’t tried freezing it so I’m not sure.
Amy, have you ever tried freezing it? I was going to make it to specifically freeze. Thanks
So flavorful 🙂 We barely had leftovers (family of 4).
Hey Kasey,
I just wanted to tell you how wonderful this and all the recipes I have tried of your!! I look forward to trying something new every week. Thank you for sharing them with us!
Dawn Clark
Thanks Dawn so very much for your kind words.
Can you add Sherry to this dish?
I haven’t personally tried it, but it’s worth a try.
This is one of the most satisfying comfort type meals I have found since starting Keto. Wonderful recipe!!
Awesome. I am thrilled to hear. Thank you!
Any side dish suggestions that would complement the flavour pallet of this dish? Much appreciated!
Green Beans, broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, sauteed zucchini and squash – really any favorite veggie goes great!
This is absolutely delicious! Quite possibly our favorite Keto casserole ever and I’ve been cooking Keto for 10 years! I wouldn’t change a thing.
Great balance of flavors, excellent texture, and literally the first cauliflower rice recipe I’ve tried where the cauliflower totally fades into the background! It could seriously be rice. Even littles will love this recipe. It will easily feed my family of three adults twice, so planned-overs!!! Yea!
Highly recommend. Thanks, Kasey!
Fantastic!!! So glad you loved it. It took a lot of testing to get rid of the cauliflower taste. It’s good to hear your littles enjoyed it too. I appreciate you taking the time to comment and review the recipe. Thank you!
Xanthum gum necessary? Don’t have it and most likely wouldn’t use it enough to purchase it.
The Xanthum gum is a thickener. If you don’t use it the soup won’t thicken up, but it will taste the same.
It is per servings. The number of servings is listed on the recipe card for each dish so you know how many servings to divide the recipe.
OMG I made this recipe and it is absolutely delicious. I used smoked gouda because that’s what I had. I will definitely make again. But, I might use small cauliflower florets rather than rice as I like chunks. Thank you for this recipe.
Sure! So glad you enjoyed it.
Absolutely Delicious!
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you once again for an amazing new recipe. We just tried this tonight and my husband and I love it. Very flavorful and easy to make!!!! Thank you so much!!!!
Awe, thank you, Liz. You are so sweet. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!