Paleo Cilantro Veggie Chicken Bake
’Tis the season for one-dish casseroles. Once you try this recipe, it will become a staple in your weekly recipe rotation.
I understand that cilantro is one of those love-it-or-hate-it ingredients. My mom has an aversion to cilantro, and so she didn’t include it in our family meals growing up. Only recently have I introduced cilantro into my cooking, and I evidently did not inherit the cilantro-aversion-gene.
I could eat this casserole for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Because I’m one person and this makes a large casserole, I do indeed eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
About the ingredients in Paleo Cilantro Veggie Chicken Bake
Cauliflower rice turns this into a veggie-based casserole.
Bell pepper adds jewel-toned color. If you can’t do nightshades, you could substitute some chopped zucchini.
Paleo mayonnaise and eggs binds the casserole and adds creaminess without dairy. I encourage you to use an avocado oil based mayo, like this one, because the vegetable oils used in standard mayonnaise is inflammatory.
Herbamare, available here, is my go-to seasoning salt, featuring unrefined sea salt and dried herbs. It is worth getting, although you could substitute plain unrefined salt. I use Herbamare on my veggies, meats, and seafood. It’s also delicious on quinoa and rice.
- 4 cups fine cauliflower rice, from 1 large head cauliflower
- 1½ - 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 2 Tbs. olive oil or ghee
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 bell peppers, diced
- Pinch of salt
- 1 bunch cilantro (chop off stems)
- 1 jalapeño (remove ribs and seeds for less spice)
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- ¼ cup paleo-friendly mayo
- 2 eggs
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ tsp. Herbamare, available here, or unrefined salt
- Preheat the oven to 350 and have ready a casserole dish (9x9 or 9x13).
- Use a blender or food processor to blend the cauliflower into fine crumbles. If you’re using packaged cauliflower rice, you’ll need to quickly pulse the crumbles to get a fine texture. It should look like coarse sand.
- Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook until the veggies are softened, another 10 minutes or so.
- To make the sauce, blend all ingredients in a blender.
- In a casserole dish, combine all the ingredients (I mix with my hands). Press the top of the casserole flat. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes for a 9x9 pan, and a bit less for a 9x13 pan. The veggies should be soft, but not mushy, and the casserole should be set. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Can you substitute chicken with turkey? Thanks
Great way to use the leftover turkey! Then it will be “Paleo Cilantro Veggie Turkey Bake”! 😉
Great idea for a Post Thanksgiving recipe!
Absolutely, you could use any other cooked protein here.
My husband is allergic to eggs. What will be a healthy substitute for eggs?
There’s no egg substitute for this recipe
I just tried this tonight — with some modifications — and both my husband and I LOVED it! Will definitely be making again! I omitted the jalapeno and added a can of black beans. I also sauted the onion and peppers in garlic-flavored ghee and used dried cilantro instead of fresh. It was excellent! Thanks for another great recipe, Lauren!
Awesome, I’m glad to hear it!