Spinach Chicken Casserole with Cream Cheese and Mozzarella

Spinach Chicken Casserole with Cream Cheese and Mozzarella – All of the delicious flavors of cream cheese, spinach, and chicken are packed into this delicious dinner recipe! This easy spinach chicken breasts casserole recipe comes together quickly and makes a nice combination for a busy meal. As a bonus, this chicken casserole recipe is also keto diet-friendly, gluten-free, and low carb. Enjoy! From eatwell101.com .

Spinach Chicken Casserole with Cream Cheese and Mozzarella


Ingredients:

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut horizontally
8 oz cream cheese, softened (best if room temperature to spread easily)
2 cup spinach, rinsed (I'm going to try 10 oz. of frozen spinach thawed, drained, and press out all excess moisture)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 oz Mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional (if tolerated)
1/2 teaspoon salt (*see TIPS below)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (if tolerated)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, optional


Directions:

1. To prepare the spinach chicken casserole: Add olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes into a Ziplock bag along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Seal the bag and shake until mixed. Add the chicken breasts, seal, and massage so the chicken breasts are covered in the marinade, set aside for 10-15 minutes on the counter while you prep the remaining ingredients. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400ºF (200°C).

2. Quickly wilt the spinach in a skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.

3. Arrange chicken breasts drained from the marinade in a baking dish. Spread the softened cream cheese over the chicken breasts and lay spinach on top of the cream cheese. Finally, sprinkle mozzarella over the top.

4. Bake the spinach chicken casserole for 20-30 minutes. Chicken casserole is done when cooked to an internal temperature of 165˚F (75°C). Serve the spinach chicken casserole warm with a side of cauliflower rice, or baked veggies. Enjoy!



TIPS:

• You can cut the chicken breasts into cubes to help the marinade coat the chicken deeper, and speed up the baking time of the casserole.

• Freeze individual portions of the spinach chicken breasts casserole so you have a comforting dinner for evenings when you don’t feel like cooking from scratch. See instructions below for reheating frozen chicken casserole.

• Cream cheese and mozzarella should provide enough salt so go easy with the salt in the marinade.



Can we freeze the chicken casserole?

Absolutely! This easy chicken casserole with spinach makes an amazing make-ahead meal or freezer meal. You can freeze the casserole baked or unbaked:

To bake the uncooked chicken casserole after freezing: thaw the chicken casserole overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed in the instructions. We do not recommend baking the chicken casserole straight out of the freezer because it would take a very long time and not cook evenly.

To reheat the baked casserole after freezing: same method, thaw overnight in the refrigerator; then cover the chicken casserole with foil and bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for 20-30 minutes, or until heated through.