Chicken Broccoli Cauliflower Rice Casserole
Meet your dinner plans. 🙂 Creamy whole30 chicken, broccoli, cauliflower rice casserole. Your family is going to love this warm and comforting casserole! Kid proof and stuffed with three veggies, topped with the best herb cream sauce.
Is is just me, or is it casserole weather? It seems like that’s all I want for dinner; so warm, comforting. Soul food, baby. And not to mention, when a whole30 casserole comes along that I’m obsessed with, it’s pretty hard not to want to make another one… already scheming my next casserole bake. What would you like to see?
I seriously think this is the best fall ever. All the burning reds, bright oranges, and popping yellows seem somehow more burning, bright, and popping this year!! It might have something to do with the fact that I’m getting healthier, but needless to say, I am soaking in every last bit of this beautiful season. I’ve been burring my nose in good books that put me to sleep early, breathing in the crisp air on my walks through the aspens, and drinking more tea than I have all year!
I made a “fall bucket list” in September, and as I was browsing over it the other day, I realize that all the to do’s could be checked off! If you haven’t made a fall bucket list, I highly suggest filling your weekends and mornings with glorious pumpkin foods, fun family activities, and finding ways to get outside and enjoy the season with those you love.
tested and true chicken cauli rice casserole
Anyway, about this casserole. I seriously hope you guys love it, because everyone in this house sure did! Between my parents they demolished half the pan, with a few servings each! It’s a gooder, filled with warm chicken, crispy casserole edges of baked cream sauce, and who would know that there are three different veggies stuffed in there!?
My dad thought that the cauliflower was normal rice, and when I told him that it was cauliflower he was shocked and said he loved it!… For someone who normally doesn’t like cauliflower at all, he sure ate a lot! I think this is a good taste test to say, that this dish is pretty kid proof and family friendly. 🙂
If you aren’t whole30 or paleo, feel free to top this dish off with some grated cheese and pop it back in the oven to get all melty and golden. You won’t regret it!
More like this:
- 3 cups cauliflower rice
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast cubes
- 1/4 cup green chiles canned
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
| Info |
| Cook Time | 45 minutes |
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
servings (or 4 large servings)
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Rate this recipe!
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Ingredients
Casserole
Cream sauce
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- Preheat oven to 400F. Generously grease a 9" by 9" casserole pan with avocado oil (or olive oil).
- layer in the cauliflower rice, broccoli, chicken, and green chiles into the pan.
- In a medium sauce pan whisk together all the sauce ingredients, except the egg and tapioca flour. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- In a cup, whisk the egg and pour into the sauce while stirring continuously. The sauce will begin to thicken, continue to stir to avoid clumping.
- Next whisk in the tapioca flour and continue to simmer and whisk for about 1 minute until the sauce thickens and all the clumps are beaten out. Be careful to take it off the heat as soon as it starts to thicken, otherwise it will become too thick. Then pour the sauce over the casserole and bake on 400F for 45 minutes until the edges are browned.
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Nutrition Facts
Chicken Broccoli Cauliflower Rice Casserole
Amount Per Serving
Calories 455
Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21g
32%
Saturated Fat 14g
70%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 96mg
32%
Sodium 894mg
37%
Potassium 348mg
10%
Total Carbohydrates 27g
9%
Dietary Fiber 8g
32%
Sugars 7g
Protein 36g
72%
Vitamin A
71%
Vitamin C
244%
Calcium
11%
Iron
23%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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138Comments
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Hi,
I have everything I need to make this meal but no tapioca flour. Any suggestions? Thanks! Looks delicious
Hi Jenifer, yes- you can use arrowroot in it’s place.
Hi, I’m in the same boat. Just checking to see if Jennifer tried it with arrowroot and if so, how much she used (or how much others would recommend)? Thanks!
You could try 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Can you skip the yeast or will that mess with the consistency too much?
Hi Ashley, I think it would be fine to skip on the nutritional yeast- I haven’t tired but it should work 🙂
Does the cauliflower rice have to be cooked before baking?
No, if it’s cooked before it will turn out mushy.
I’m cooking this now and it’s been in the oven for 45 minutes. I went to take it out but it’s super watery. I put it back in the oven to have it thicken up hopefully. I used frozen cauliflower and broccoli. What should I do? I don’t want to waste it. I was excited to try it
Hi Katie, I would let it cook longer, some ovens just need more time to cook the same thing- the temperatures can be calibrated differently.
Made this last night for my husband and dinner guests who are non paleo and non whole 30 and they LOVED it. I did substitute the nutritional yeast for cheddar cheese because I didn’t have any nutritional yeast on hand and I used fresh veggies rather than frozen. We ate the whole pan, I ended up putting it in a 9×13 because the 9×9 was so full. Thumbs up for this one!
I am curious as I am considering this Whole30 diet.. I thought diary was off limits but there is “full fat coconut milk” in this receipe..?
Hi Melanie, full fat coconut milk is milk made from coconuts- its delicious and dairy free!
Coconut isn’t dairy…
I’ve made a few recipes from PGFE lately due to some allergies and I have yet to be disappointed. I made this last night and I cannot get over how good it is. No, you don’t understand. IT IS SO GOOD. It’s so unbelievably cheesy and tasty. I’m still in shock. For those unsure about the arrowroot flour, I used 1/4 cup of it instead of tapioca starch and it worked PERFECTLY.
Wow, thank you for such a sweet review TeeDee! 🙂
This looks so yummy ! I want to try it this week forsure. I had one question tho. When you say layer them in the pan is there a certain order i should put the veggies in? Or just got it all I’m?
Hi Kate- It doesn’t really matter, but I put the rice in first, then the rest of it. 🙂
Is this something you could make and put in the fridge before cooking in the oven?
Hi Ali, that would totally work!
Can I use frozen cauliflower rice? Don’t want to cook it prior and have it ‘mush’ out on me, but Im also concerned about the liquid as it thaws and cooks in the oven 🙂
Hi Brittany, I’m not sure how well that would turn out- it might be fine! I’d give it a try.
SO delicious looking! Will be tonight’s dinner! Thank you!!! Merry Christmas and New Year Blessings to you and yours! now off to buy your Ebook:)
Thank you Michelle!
I’m trying this with Wheat Flour instead of tapioca. I am not on a strict gluten free or paleo diet but I like to use the recipes once and a while to stay healthy within my limits.
how did it work with the wheat flour?
I’m making this dish tonight and was confused how to make the cauliflower rice??? There wasn’t instructions for it for us need everything step by step kinda cooks lol help!!!
Hi Alicia, to make the cauliflower rice, chop a head of cauliflower into bite size chunks and run them through the food processor until they reach rice like consistency. 🙂 You can also buy this at Trader Joes, whole foods, etc.
This looks really good and I can’t wait to try it. Is there an alternative I can use instead of coconut milk? Coconut milk has a lot of saturated fat which I am trying to stay away from so even if I can just cut the amount in half that would be great. Please let me know. Thanks.
Hi Marcia, other subs won’t work because I use full fat coconut milk which is what makes it creamy!
Not all saturated fats are equal. Fat from full fat coconut milk is a healthy fat and quite good for you.
I want to make this tonight. The recipe says to use cooked cubes of chicken. If I cook my chicken prior to making this, will the cooked chicken not dry out from baking for 40 minutes?
Hi Karen, mine doesn’t ever dry out- but you don’t want to over kill the chicken on the first round of baking. 🙂
Did anyone try this with the frozen riced cauliflower? I wanted to make this tonight but that’s all i have. Should I steam the frozen broc and riced cauliflower in bowl for a min or two and drain out the water or just throw it all in frozen? Thanks for any advice!
Hi Kristen, you can use both frozen cauli rice and broccoli (without thawing first). Yay! 🙂
Brittany did you try the frozen cauliflower? If so how did it work?
This was delicious 😋 my husband kids and friends gobbled it up. They all thought it was rice!
Great to hear!
Could I use coconut flour if I don’t have tapioca flour on hand? If so, is the conversion equivalent? Thanks in advance!
Hi Nicole, coconut flour will not work, but arrowroot will! 🙂
Just made it tonight. Thought it was very good and the husband gave it a thumbs up. I am wondering why the chicken was cooked before and not during the 45 minutes. I feel like the chicken is a bit dry. Do you think you could put the chicken pieces in raw and let it cook in the casserole?
Hi Lisa, I haven’t tried that before, but it sounds like it would work!
I was wondering on how some of you cooked your chicken before adding it to the casserole.
Hi Sheryl, I usually have pre-cooked chicken in my freezer all the time, so I just use that. But if you don’t have that you can just bake with olive oil on 350 till cooked through. Boiling chicken is also great!
Do you have calories, fat, sugar, fiber, protein
Yes, the nutritional info is at the bottom of each recipe. 🙂
Do you think frozen cauliflower rice will work ok in this recipe?
Yes, frozen cauliflower rice will work. 🙂
Will Almond Flour work in this recipe?
Arrowroot and tapioca flour are your best options. 🙂
I used almond flour and it tastes great to me! My husband also enjoyed it. The sauce did thicken up but not as much as it would have with the tapioca flour.
I’m making 2 of these ahead to freeze….. do you think I should freeze after baking them, or freeze before baking…… wondering if the cauliflower would do better one way or the other…..
Hi Kelly, I would freeze before cooking. 🙂
as a personal preference, i just added more chicken and only used half of the rice. I loved this recipe! I miss cheese so much and felt like the sauce tasted so similar! Thank you!
Great to hear!
This was delicious! I bought pre-made rice & used coconut flour and it turned out awesome! Thank u 😋
Great to hear!
Do you think I could use some brown rice (cooked first) with the cauliflower rice? I’m approaching reintroduction.
Yes! That will totally work!
So when I rice the cauliflower do I just put it in raw and it cooks with the casserole or do I need to cook it first
It goes in raw and then cooks. 🙂
Hi, I’m going to try this tonight. Would gluten free flour work in place of the tapioca flour? Thanks!
That should work- others have tried it with success as far as I’m aware of. 🙂
Wow! Scrumptious! I don’t cook a lot these days. (Though I love healthy food!) Just harvested Organic Broccoli from my mini Winter garden (Yep, in February, San Diego!), and thought I’d try your recipe. This Sauce is incredible!!! Just looked at the questions and saw that someone used Coconut flour. Was about to try that, but found some Rice and Tapioca Flour Mixed at TJ’s. Thanks for inspiring me to cook!!
Oh glad to hear you liked this! So cool you are harvesting vegetables at this time of year!! 🙂
Is there a substitute for the egg? I have a child with a severe egg allergy.
Hi Katie, I think it should be okay subbed with a flax egg. 🙂
Can you use coconut flour instead of tapioca?
Hi Kristy, I have heard others having success using coconut flour, but I haven’t personally tried it.
This dish was so good!
I don’t have any dietary restrictions. Do you think that substituting regular flour would mess up the recipe/consistency?
Hi Cassandra, that should work! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe, Kaylie! I am making it for the second time tonight! Last time I made the sauce as the recipe is written. My husband liked the casserole just fine. For me, the spices and nutritional yeast flavors were a little strong. Tonight’s sauce had me licking the spoon after the casserole went in. For those who might like a less seasoned version: I used 3Tablespoons of nutritional yeast, 2teaspoons Italian herb and 1/2 tsp of poultry seasoning. Then I added several tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley because i had it in the fridge and it was going to be wasted otherwise. I thought the fresh parsley added a nice bright note to the sauce.
I don’t have any dietary restrictions so I wasn’t planning on making the cream sauce from scratch. Is there a particular store bought cream sauce that you would recommend and at what quantity? Thank you!
Hi Brianna, I use Thai Kitchen brand of full fat coconut milk cream. 🙂 There is a link to it in the recipe.
Are the fat/calories listed per serving? And that would be six servings in this? It was delicious, but I think my kids and I went way overboard on how much we ate!!!!
Hi Riley, yes there are six servings. 🙂
This was really good! It had the nice comforting feeling of a casserole but didn’t have the super heavy feeling afterwards since it’s so much veggies! I’m not a huge fan of cali-rice but I am trying out more recipes to try to get more into veggies into our diet and this was a win! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you Meg!
Hi! I don’t leave many reviews but I felt like I had to on this one. I’ve made this casserole MANY times. And each time, I fall more in love with it. I did the whole 30 and I made this casserole for 2 weeks of the whole 30 for lunch. But I wanted to share my tid bits, in case they help someone else. I saute the chicken first, but I cook it about half way. I use Trader Joes frozen cauliflower. I don’t cook it, but leave it out while I cook the chicken so it’s fallen apart some and I can spread it in the dish. I use 2 packages. I layer the chicken over the top, then the chilies, then I add a bunch of fresh sauteed mushrooms, which I love. I then add a package or two of frozen broccoli over top. I pour the sauce over top and bake it until brown. This makes a ton. I let it cool, throw a lid on it and throw it in the fridge and eat it for the week. It does get a bit watery due to the cauliflower, but honestly, it helps out when reheating. I don’t double the sauce, and I probably could. Also, when I use the coconut milk, I use only half of the solid part of the can to cut down on the fat. It does NOT taste like coconut at all. Hope this helps yall, totally make it – and make it your own!
Oh – and I only cook the chicken half way before I bake it so when I bake it, it doesn’t dry out. It always ends up completely cooked and still moist.
I accidentally bought reduced fat coconut milk. Will that work??
Hi Jan, it will be more liquidy, so I would suggest using full fat or thickening your milk with 1-2 tablespoons tapioca flour. 🙂
Hi I want to try this recipe but do I have to cook the chicken before baking it? Has anyone tried putting in the chicken raw? Please let me know thanks!
Mine came out with gelatinous sections. Do you know why that might be?
Hi Tara, it is probably because the tapioca flour got cooked in the sauce for too long- see my recipe notes on how to avoid this. 🙂
Are the green chillies spicy? Not a fan of spicy food are they needed?
Hi Janina, no they are really mild. 🙂
I have almost cooked mine 1 1/2 hr bc it still has liquid. I left my husband to pull it out bc I had added another 20min. I don’t know why mine has some much liquid. I’m a vet to cooking. I’m worried now that it’s going to make veggies really soft.
Hi Michele, it sounds like your cauliflower had too much liquid- did you use frozen cauliflower rice? If so, sometimes it gets really icy in the freezer and results in more liquid when thawed or cooked. My advice is to strain your cauliflower before hand to get less liquid. Also, make sure you are using full fat coconut milk! 🙂
This was delicious!! I like comfort food and it was so easy! Thank you!
Thank you Bethany! Glad you enjoyed it!
I used arrowroot in place of the tapioca ans sadly the sauce got a little gummy. I’m hoping as it bakes that maybe t won’t be noticeable once’s it’s combined with all of the other ingredients. Or do you think it’s a lost cause?
Hi Nicole, any update on how it turned out with the arrowroot?
Sorry for stupid question… what are green chiles? What do they look like and where can I get them? And they are canned? Obviously I never bought them or cooked with them before but I really want to try this recipe and want to make sure I don’t put the wrong thing and ruin it! TIA!
Hi Dalia, yes- they are canned and you can usually find them in the Mexican aisle in Safeway. 🙂
is this a freezable casserole.
100%! I freeze it all the time.
My family has an allergy to eggs, any ideas of how I could substitute? Thanks
Hi Pam, I haven’t tried making this without the eggs, but you could do it by subbing for 1-2 tablespoons tapioca flour with 1 tablespoon cold water.
Hi Kaylie,
Can I try almond flour in place of the tapioca?
Thanks!
Hi Kate, that won’t really work the same- you can use arrowroot flour though!
I don’t ever leave comments but I had to here because this was amazing! I was looking for something easy to make with ingredients I already have on hand that is Whole30 compliant and this fit the bill. I subbed vegetable broth for the chicken broth and arrowroot flour for the tapioca flour. I also did NOT use nutritional yeast because I don’t like the flavor. I used frozen cauliflower rice and fresh broccoli and it turned out perfect! It has soooo much flavor and I can’t wait to take leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Great to hear, thank you so much Shelby!
Oh I am sad to say that I made this tonight and had several errors. I used cauliflower ‘pearls’ by mistake and mine was not white looking… it was more brownish and gelatinish…I used arrowroot instead of tapioca. And maybe the seasonings are too strong…Yours looks so fabulous and all the comments… I’ll have to try again.
Do I have to use an egg? I’m allergic…. really want to try this though
Hi Michelle, you can sub the egg for 1-2 tbsp arrowroot flour mixed with 2 tbsp cold water, then incorporated into the sauce until thickened. Hope that helps!
My family thought it was great! We left the yeast out. Well done Kaylie!
Thank you John!
Made this for first time yesterday and am eating it for lunch today. This tastes amazing! Question: my broccoli cane out extremely mushy. Is there a way to prevent that from happening?
Hi Jen, did you use fresh or frozen broccoli?
Can I use frozen cauliflower rice?
Hi Kasey, yes- that should work! 🙂 Enjoy.
Can you taste the coconut milk in the sauce? As much as I want to like it (because it’s in so many recipes), I just can’t stand the taste of coconut milk. Thanks!
Hi Jessica, I can’t and others have reported not being able to taste it either. 🙂
I’m a very novice cook so I’m sure I did something wrong but I made this tonight and it was like soup. Used 12 Oz bag of frozen cauliflower rice, 11 Oz bag of frozen broccoli, and all the other ingredients. Recipe called for using a 9 x 9 pan which I didn’t have. I researched online and ended up using a 2 1/2 qt Pyrex like dish. Online it said if using dish instead of metal pan to lower temp by 25 degrees so I Baked at 375 instead of 400. As far as any time adjustment, I found all kinds of conflicting advice. I ended up cooking for the 45 minutes, checking, then baking for 10 more minutes. The flavor was good but it was extremely soupy. Please help!
Hi Barbara, sometime frozen vegetables can have a high liquid content when they thaw, so I think that’s what happened here.
I just made this, had a hard time getting the sauce to thicken up. I made the cauliflower rice yesterday and put it in a bowl with paper towels in the fridge to soak up some moisture, but also came out pretty runny. Should the rice be precooked? I was afraid that would make it just mush.
Hi Tish, what brand coconut milk did you use and was it full fat?
Hope this turns out for me! I actually steamed my cauliflower first (should have read these comments!) It’s almost like mashed potatoes hahah and just added broccoli. I used Parm cheese as didn’t have Yeast! Didn’t have only green chilies so used diced tomatoes with green chilies! Lots of substitutions so hopefully with set up and taste great!
Just made mine and it’s kinda soupy! It tastes really yummy, even my husband enjoyed it :p my husband said it looks like dip so he was looking for chips!!! I wonder if I need to use less chicken broth? The sauce came out a nice consistency when I mixed and whisked the ingredients, I used a gluten free flour blend that had tapioca flour in it. So I don’t know what I did wrong. I did make the mistake of blanching the brocolli for one minute prior to putting it in the oven, so I won’t be doing that again cz the broccoli came out mush! Could it have possibly been because I used a 9×13 Pyrex dish? Also, someone recommended to cook the chicken halfway before baking and that was a really good tip. The chicken was moist! I’m going to try this again, Kaylie any suggestions would help! 🙂
I made this recipe the other day and there was so liquid at the bottom of the pan! It was like clear broth but with chunks of partially cook cauliflower rice and broccoli. I’m not sure why mine didn’t come out creamy like the picture because I followed everything exactly! The recipe was easy and the flavors were pretty good.
Sorry to hear that Vanessa, were you able to stir together the sauce until it thickened before cooking?
The only thing I wish i did was stir the layers up before adding the mushroom cream sauce. The canned chilies made it salty. Not sure if it was that or i poured too much salt in the cream sauce as I eyeballed. There was some excess water in the dish after baking it. It could have been from the broccoli. Otherwise, this wasn’t bad.
Hi, I’m currently doing my first Whole30, and this sounds amazing! Do you think it would work with cooked shredded chicken instead of cubed? Thanks for the great recipe idea.
Hi Annie, yes that will work great too!
Will coconut cream work for this or only coconut milk? Looks super yummy and can’t wait to make it!
Hi Emily, that should work too!
Can I use almond milk in place of canned coconut?
Hi Laura, unfortunately this recipe needs a full fat milk, so the coconut milk is essential! Thanks for asking!
Can I used frozen cauliflower rice? The package gives cooking instructions so I don’t think it is pre-cooked.
Yes, that should work!
This was so easy! I took a few cheats and used frozen veggies but squeezed liquid from them before assembling. I cooked the chicken in my crockpot all day then assembled when I got home. I was a little intimidated by the sauce but these instructions were spot on. Doubled the recipe. Put jalapeños in the adults and no peppers in the kids. Delish! Thanks this is a keeper!
Great to hear Brandy!
Hi, can’t wait to make this recipe, l was wondering if this recipe is good for freezing?
Hi Sonya,
Yes, get it all ready, put it in the pan, and freeze. Pop it in the oven when you’re ready to eat! Enjoy!
The sauce was intimidating for me. It got clumpy no matter how much I whisked, so I decided to run it through the food processor. That made the trick. The casserole came out amazing! I didn’t add the peppers cause I didn’t have but I added some Tabasco sauce and wow!!!! Delicious! Any advise to avoid clumps when making the sauce?
Hi Dina, you can mix the starch together with cold water and then pour it into the sauce and it won’t clump that way! 🙂 Enjoy!