Do you like easy recipes that pack in the veggies and lean protein? You’ll love this four-ingredient recipe for EASY Cheesy Chicken Vegetable Casserole. It’s moist and so full of flavor no one will miss the carbs.
Easy Recipe: Cheesy Chicken Vegetable Casserole
I don’t know about you beloved reader – but out here in the rocky mountains the weather is getting chilly! You know what I say? Set your oven to 350 degrees and bake up this carbohydrate free, gluten-free, easy Cheesy Chicken Vegetable Casserole. This delicious dish combines only four main ingredients, but when you put them together – it’s a high protein, high veggie-powered dish full of moisture and flavor.
This dish is so delicious, my husband didn’t even notice there was no pasta in it. He was too busy putting it away for supper. This is also a supercharged trick for getting kids to eat more veggies. When you combine the juicy taste of Swanson Chicken Broth with ooey-gooey pizza cheeses, soft fork-pulled chicken, and cooked-just-right veggies everyone has a fair helping and leaves the table happy and well fed.
This post was previously compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #RecipeTwist and #CollectiveBias
Plan Ahead for Easier Cooking
Now, if you’ve been reading my blog for long then you know I like to plan a day or so ahead when it comes to dinner. In this case, I placed 6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts in a crock pot full of Swanson Chicken Broth a day ahead of time. I cooked the chicken for three and a half hours on high. The chicken came out juicy and tender and I pulled it apart with a fork and set it in the fridge for the next day. I drained the broth before setting it in the fridge – but you can opt to keep it submerged in broth if you want to.
For this dish I also used a monster huge bag of frozen veggies – 3 lbs. and 12 oz. to be exact. I set them in the fridge to defrost right next to the chicken. Having both of these ready to go for the next day makes this dish very easy to make.
Serve this Cheesy Chicken Vegetable Casserole with toasted garlic bread, a fresh salad, and voila’ you have tons of veggies getting into the tummies of everyone at the table. Popeye would be proud!
Ingredients for Cheesy Chicken Vegetable Casserole
- 1 32 oz. Box of Swanson 100% Natural Chicken Broth
- 6 Skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 1 3 lb. 12 oz. Bag of Frozen Vegetables
- 4 Cups of shredded pizza cheese combo
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic (optional)
- Salt and Pepper to taste (optional)
Now, you can always opt to hand-select, wash, cut and prep your own veggies and cheese. I just like to use frozen and ready-to-go vegetables and cheeses because it makes my life easier. But this recipe is great either way. Feel free to use your favorite hand hewn cheeses and veggies if you wish. Frozen or fresh – I know it will taste great!
Directions for Cheesy Chicken Vegetable Casserole
This recipe is great with a little plan-ahead time. Cook the chicken in the crock pot one day ahead for an easier time on the day you plan to serve this for supper.
Pre-Assembly (the day before): Cook the chicken in a crock pot. I removed all of the fat from the chicken with a pair of kitchen scissors. Then I rinsed the chicken and placed it into a crock pot filled with 1/2 of a 32 oz. Box of Swanson’s 100% Natural Chicken Broth. If you like garlic flavor, add 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic and a dash of salt and pepper to the broth mixture (adding spices is optional).
My slow cooker cooks fast, so in 3 1/2 hours the chicken was soft, juicy, and ready to pulled-apart with a fork. The key to this recipe is to KNOW your slow cooker. Cook it too long and the chicken can be a little dry. When in doubt, cook it 1/2 to 1 hour less than you normally would.
Shred the chicken and place it in an air-tight container in the fridge (leaving it in the broth is optional). Set the bag of frozen veggies next to the chicken to defrost overnight.
The following day (about 40 minutes before you’re planning to eat):
Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and gather ingredients. For me, it’s easier when I prepare all of the ingredients and set them into prep bowls to make for easy cooking and assembly.
Step 2: Add Chicken Layer. Add a thin layer of the chicken to the bottom of your lasagna pan. Make it less than a half of an inch thick.
Step 3: Pour on some broth. If you drained the chicken the night before, just add in some Swanson Chicken Broth for extra moisture and flavor. You’ll want to add at least 1/4 cup but not more than 1/2 a cup of broth.
Step 4: Add a layer of vegetables. I drained the veggies before I added them to this casserole. Once drained it was easy to add a layer.
Step 5: Add a layer of cheese. You’ll be using 4 cups of cheese for this recipe. Just pick your favorite. I happen to love the flavor of pizza cheeses with this dish – they get all stretchy when melted and they brown nicely in the oven.
Step 6: Add a second layer of chicken and veggies. I added my second layer of chicken and veggies and had a bit left over. Not to worry – they make great toppings for a pizza that I plan to serve later this week.
Step 7: Add the final layer of cheese. I used all four cups of cheese for this dish. It’s the fat needed to combine all the ingredients together. Plus cheese has calcium and protein – the building blocks for my kid’s bones.
Step 8: Bake for 30 minutes on 350. Now this is where the broth steams over all the ingredients while the cheese melts down into every nook and cranny of this dish. Make sure your oven rack is smack dab in the middle of your oven – you want the hot air to circulate all around this dish. If you want to have your cheese brown the way it’s pictured here, just broil it for only 3 minutes with the foil off near the top of your oven at the end of the cooking cycle (and cook it 5 minutes less on bake).
Where to find Swanson 100% Natural Chicken Broth
You can find everything you need to create this ooey-gooey Cheesy Chicken Vegetable Casserole at Walmart. Pick up the frozen veggies in the frozen foods section, chicken in the meat department, the cheese in the refrigerated dairy and cheese case, and the Swanson 100% Natural Chicken Broth on the soup aisle.
How do you serve up family favorites?
Do you have a favorite gluten free recipe or idea? How do you incorporate more veggies into the family diet? I’m always looking for more ideas. Please leave a comment below, share your recipe idea, and join the conversation. I love hearing from my readers.
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If you liked this recipe for my Cheesy Chicken and Vegetable Casserole, you may also like:
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Originally Published: Nov 10, 2015 @ 08:23
