Lightened Up Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Casseroles are such a fun way to make dinner for a crowd, and this Lightened Up Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole is no exception! The classic French dish is deconstructed and presented in a fun casserole with all the great flavors. I use a lightened up cheese sauce made with the ever-popular cauliflower!

Love low carb recipes? Try this Keto Broccoli and Ham Casserole, or this popular Cauliflower Pizza Crust.

This post is sponsored by Jones Dairy Farm, a company committed to bringing high quality breakfast meat options. I love that this company has healthier options, such as no sugar, nitrate free bacon, and all natural turkey and chicken options. I only work with brands whose products I genuinely love.

A Healthy Chicken Casserole Recipe

Casseroles are such great options in the winter! It’s easy to feed a crowd, they are comforting, and are also easy to put together ahead of time.

While I might not often take the time to make something like Chicken Cordon Bleu, which requires pounding the chicken, stuffing it, and then breading and frying it, I definitely will layer together a casserole.

Why you’ll LOVE this recipe:

• It’s lightened up with an ultra creamy cauliflower cheese sauce — all the flavor, but with hidden veggies!
• The whole process (if using precooked chicken) takes less than 30 minutes.
• This casserole can be assembled ahead of time, even the night before it needs to bake. When you’re ready for dinner, just pop it in the oven. Add an additional 20 minutes baking time if starting from cold.
• Kids love it too! It’s a cheesy casserole with chicken and ham — no a visible veggie in sight! I serve this with a salad or green veggies to balance the richness of the meal.
• The leftovers are INCREDIBLE. I have been heating up slices in my steam oven (you can microwave it!) and then dousing it with hot sauce and serving it with greens. So easy, and a great way to have protein ready to go.

If you are looking for a dairy free casserole recipe, try this Gluten Free Tuna Casserole.

Choosing the Best Ingredients

For this recipe, I used Jones Dairy Farm Canadian Bacon. I love Jones Dairy Farm because of their commitment to using the highest quality ingredients, and nothing else.

Certified gluten free, no weird, unpronounceable additives and preservatives. When you read the label, it’s meat, salt, and spices. That’s it.

Their all natural hams, sausages, and bacon products means it’s easy to add healthy protein to meals. I love adding the bacon to salads, and the sausage to both breakfast dishes and dinners.

Definitely check out your grocer’s frozen section for Jones Dairy Farm, or jump on over to their website to see if it’s sold at your favorite grocery store.

How to Make this Healthy Chicken Casserole

1. The first step is to steam the cauliflower. It will be used as the base of the cheese sauce, rather than cream or milk and flour. It’s high in fiber and a much lighter option! It takes about 15 minutes to steam the cauliflower so it is super soft and will blend into an ultra creamy sauce. Resist boiling it — it not only leaches the nutrients out into the water, but the extra water will also make your sauce too thin.
2. Add the steamed cauliflower to a blender.

3. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients into the blender along with the cauliflower. This includes an unsweetened, unflavored almond milk (or milk of choice), butter, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, shredded Swiss cheese, and parmesan cheese. Puree the sauce ingredients for 2-3 minutes on high speed until a very smooth, creamy sauce is formed.

4. The casserole is easy to put together once the sauce is made! Into a 9×9 or similar sized pan, add a layer of shredded chicken, and then top with 1/2 of the cheese sauce. On top of that, add some Canadian bacon. Repeat those 3 layers with the remaining ingredients.

5). Top the casserole off with more Swiss and parmesan cheeses, and a layer of breadcrumbs. I use brown rice crackers to make gluten free breadcrumbs. Just add them to a blender and process until a breadcrumb-like texture is reached!

Ideas for Serving this Casserole

While the dish is lightened up, it’s still full of protein and cheese! To balance the dish, I like to serve it with a simple green salad or with steamed or roasted vegetables, like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or green beans.

You also might like to serve it alongside these salads:

• Blood Orange Kale Salad
• Mexican Caesar Salad
• Lemon Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Parsnips

And if you just can’t get enough cauliflower, try a serving over a plate of cauliflower rice!

However you choose to enjoy this dish, be sure to share it with me! Jump on over to Facebook or Instagram and be sure to use the tag #SunkissedKitchen and @SunkissedKitch