Ground Chicken Casserole • The King Of Casseroles

Everybody loves chicken, and when that chicken is combined in something as delectable as casserole, the resulting ground chicken recipe effect is mind blowing and oh-so-wonderful.

Casserole is of different types, made up with various fillings and toppings and is your go to source for a quick weeknight dinner or bake-and-take at your neighbor’s place. If you ask me, the casserole really excels as a meal because of its quick and easy to make nature. What you need, you already have, and what you don’t have can be substituted.

You could also choose to bulk up the casserole and turn it to a main course or leave it next to bare and have it as a side. When it comes to making casserole, the possibilities are endless.

The iconic casserole

Did you know that the meal casserole got its name from the dish in which it is made? True story. The original casserole is a large, deep pan of varying sizes used mostly for baking and as well serving. You will easily recognize the casserole pan from the number of times you’ve had lasagna. In fact, lasagna is a type of casserole.

Casserole has some very basic constituents: pieces of meat (like chicken) or fish (could be tuna), an array of chopped vegetables, a starchy binder such as rice, flour, potato or pasta and a cheesy or creamy topping. So what we have here is protein, vegetables and carbs – the casserole is looking healthy already.

Another reason the casserole is so versatile and iconic is because it’s one of those foods that you can build by yourself. You’re not restricted to using some specific ingredients and tweaking the meal is allowed yet the meal still comes out tasting absolutely divine. So if you have your basic four constituents, you can make yourself a superb casserole that’s to die for.

Now that’s just regular casserole.

Ground chicken when cooked gives a thick, very tasty and meaty flavor to the dish. When used in casserole, the chicken just sort of melts into the dish yet you taste the flavor and fill the fullness of the chicken in every bite. The chicken mixes in with all the other ingredients and doesn’t stand out as chunks like chopped chicken does which is just awesome.

Ground Chicken Casserole Recipe

There are many casserole recipes that call for ground chicken including low carb, easy styles, simple baking, healthy and pasta. They are variations from the ‘normal’ recipe and we’ll take a peek at some of them. But right now, let’s look at some simple ground chicken recipes to get us started.

What you’ll need:

• 2 ½ cups of ground chicken
• 21 oz condensed chicken soup cream
• 8 oz of shredded Cheddar cheese
• 3 cups of bread crumbs
• 6 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 diced onion
• Salt and pepper

Quick tip: every ingredient here can be substituted if you don’t particularly like this one or you don’t have it. The only staple here is the ground chicken.

How to Make:

1. Preheat your oven to 350⁰F.
2. In a bowl, dump the ground chicken, diced onions, bread crumbs, butter and salt and pepper to taste. Mix them all up together; use your hand to be sure the seasoning really gets in there.
3. Now take your casserole pan, could be 9×13 inches or 8×8, and layer the mixture on the bottom of the pan. Just spread it evenly all around. Then pour the chicken cream soup all over the mix and sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on it.
4. Put inside the oven and allow to bake for 20-25 minutes, covered for the first 15 and uncovered for the remaining 10 minutes.

Your simple ground chicken casserole dish is ready!

Italian ground chicken casserol­­­­e

The casserole is originally Italian, so at this point, we want to pay homage to Italy and look at a recipe for Italian ground chicken casserole. This recipe uses pasta so it also doubles as a ground chicken casserole pasta recipe.

What you’ll need:

• 1 packet of ground chicken
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 diced onion
• 4 gloves of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of dried Italian herbs
• ¾ tablespoon of salt
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 12 oz orecchiette pasta, cooked and drained
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup of chopped fresh parsley

How to Make:

1. Heat up your oil in a skillet set over medium heat. Toss in the ground chicken. Cook for a couple minutes until the chicken browns.
2. Add your garlic, herbs, onions and salt. Keeping cooking and stirring for a further five minutes until the chicken softens.
3. Add your tomatoes and bay leaf and allow to boil. Reduce the heat further and allow to simmer for another 20 minutes.
4. Then add the pasta and mix well. Transfer the mix to your casserole dish.
5. Sprinkle the mozzarella, parmesan and parsley all over your tomato sauce and pasta in the casserole dish.
6. Bake on high for about 10 minutes and your Italian casserole is ready!

Be sure to wait five minutes to allow the casserole cool down a little before you serve.

Quick tip: if you can’t find orcchiette pasta, you can substitute with ziti, penne, elbows or medium shells.

Like I said before, when it comes to casserole making, there is something for everybody. For some people, these recipes may contain too much fat and calories so I have here a low carb ground chicken casserole recipe that’s just as delicious as can be.

What you’ll need:

• 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1 diced red onion
• 32 oz of cauliflower rice
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 2 Lbs ground chicken
• ¼ cup low carb taco seasoning
• 5 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chili peppers, drained
• ½ Cup Water
• 8 oz of cubed cream cheese
• 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

How to Make:

1. Preheat your oven to 350⁰
2. Heat up a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add your onions and sauté until it softens. Then add your riced cauliflower, salt, pepper and cook until the cauliflower begins to soften.
4. Set out your casserole dish and spray with cooking spray to prevent stickiness.
5. Layer the veggies in the dish. Add a cup of the cheddar cheese.
6. Heat remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil in the same pan over medium heat.
7. Now add your ground chicken, using your spatula to break up the pieces. Cook until the chicken is brown.
8. Now you add the diced tomatoes with the green chili peppers, water and taco seasoning. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a further five minutes until it dries up, but do not let it burn.
9. Turn off the heat and add the cubed cream cheese, stir well until it fully melts.
10. Now add the chicken to the casserole dish, spread all over the cheddar cheese. Cover with the remaining two cups of cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

Your low carb ground chicken casserole is ready!

Ground chicken casserole is ready to be served as is, but can be served with sliced avocadoes, avocado sauce, sour cream and cilantro. You can also add some margaritas and tortilla chips.

For the best results and to really bring out the juiciness of the chicken in this healthy ground chicken casserole recipe, cook the chicken with a little water and the spice mix before adding it to the casserole dish.

In place of cauliflower rice, you can use broccoli rice or regular rice (although this will add more carbs to your meal) but be sure to cook the rice first. You can also use your favorite cheese, pepper jack for one will be really good in this recipe. Feel free to add as many vegetables as you like. Some red bell peppers and green beans will add a nice coloring to the meal.

If your casserole is in excess, simply place it in a resealable bag and place in the freezer. When next you need it, take it out and microwave it or put it in the oven.

Ground chicken casserole is such an easy dinner to make – the whole thing comes together in under thirty minutes. It’s not a messy meal to make which makes clean up very breezy and a few toss-ups of ingredients here and there give so much in the final meal output. So what are you waiting for? Tweak this recipe to your taste and enjoy the savory goodness that is ground chicken, cheese and casserole.