Paleo Chicken and Celeriac Rice Casserole

Paleo Chicken and Celeriac Rice Casserole

Chicken and rice casseroles are creamy, comforting, and.. keyword: creamy. One of the cardinal rules...

Paleo Chicken and Celeriac Rice Casserole

Chicken and rice casseroles are creamy, comforting, and.. keyword: creamy.

One of the cardinal rules in ordering healthy when you’re dining out is avoiding anything with “creamy” in the title.

However, with this casserole, you’re still getting the same creamy, indulgent consistency, without all the butter and cream.

This Paleo-friendly version of the classic “chicken and rice casserole” uses coconut milk, chicken broth, and eggs to create a creaminess that’s nutritious and clean-eating friendly. This casserole is protein and veggie packed, making it an all-around good-for-you meal, while still satisfying those comfort food cravings.

Paleo Chicken and Celeriac Rice Casserole

This casserole is meal-prep friendly, ideal for prepping on a Sunday and having for dinners and lunches all week. If you want to lighten it up a bit, use lite coconut milk. However, the consistency won’t be as creamy, it’ll be little more broth-like. The flavors are still there, though, so it’s up to your preference.

The celeriac rice absorbs the flavors in the chicken, broth, coconut milk, and softens to a rice-like consistency. The spinach, mushrooms, and garlic give this dish the savory, classic flavors of the original casserole, without adding unneeded fats and processed ingredients.

If you can’t find celeriac in your grocery store, you could use spiralized turnips, butternut squash, sweet potato, kohlrabi, rutabaga and even golden beets!

I’ll see you tomorrow for another #livinginspiralized feature, where I’ll be talking all about my non-toxic makeup routine, the final installment in my “non-toxic” lifestyle transition!

Paleo Chicken and Celeriac Rice Casserole

Watch our video to learn how to spiralize celeriac using the Inspiralizer and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos:

 

Nutritional Information & Recipe

Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 5 points

*These points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers SmartPoints calculator. We are in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, we are providing this information based on popular demand.

Paleo Chicken and Celeriac Rice Casserole

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 large celeriac peeled, Blade D
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large sweet onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 8 ounces baby portobello mushrooms quartered
  • 10 oz bag spinach
  • 1 13.5oz can coconut milk (you can use lite, but it will be a bit more watery)
  • 1 cup chicken broth low-sodium
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325°F. 
  • Place the celeriac noodles into a food processor and pulse until rice-like. Add the celeriac rice to the bottom of a baking dish.
  • Season the chicken breasts generously with salt and pepper. 
  • Heat half the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add the chicken and sauté until cooked through, about 7 to 8 minutes per side. The chicken is done when juices run clear and it's no longer pink on the inside.
  • Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to cool. Use two forks, shred into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken to the baking dish with the celeriac rice.
  • In the same skillet used to cook the chicken, heat the remaining olive oil.
  • Add the onion and sauté until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, stir, and let cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and sauté until mostly wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach in batches and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and transfer to the baking dish.
  • Whisk together the chicken broth, coconut milk, eggs, nutmeg and salt and pepper. 
  • Toss the contents of the baking dish together to mix. Then, pour the mixture over the chicken and vegetables.
  • Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the egg mixture is set and a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

Per serving (1 out of 6-8) - calories: 191, fat: 9g, saturated fat: 2g, carbs: 9g, fiber: 2g, sugars: 3g, protein: 18g, sodium: 160mg

Paleo Chicken and Celeriac Rice Casserole

with love, Ali

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Recipe Rating




comments

  • how much rutabaga rice?
    • I think she meant the celeriac rice. :)
  • I can't wait to try this because when the weather outside is frightful, I want creamy casseroles. You have taught me to love and use celeriac often, thanks!
  • This looks and sounds amazing!
  • There's an error in your recipe: you say "rutabaga rice" where you mean "celeriac rice".
  • this looks so good! can you make the celeriac rice in a blender? i dont have a food processor. Or would it be okay to leave it as noodles and do a rough chop?
    • Yes, you can do that as a workaround - it takes a little more time and isn't as precise, but it will achieve a similar thing!
  • How much is a serving?
  • I am going to try this. It looks excellent. Do you sharpen your blade or replace it periodically? How many Inspiralizers have you gone through in three years?
    • Only one! You don't need to sharpen the blades, they're stainless steel. There's also a one-year warranty on the product!
  • Made this tonight. Very flavorful however found it to be very " watery" despite using full fat coconut milk.
    • Ann, the wateriness should have served as a sauce!
  • i'm having trouble pinning this. could it be my computer or is the link to pin not working?
  • Do you know roughly how much "rice" you get from a large celeriac? I'm making this with a large rutabaga because it's what I have on hand, and I ended up with about 3+ cups of rutabaga rice. Not sure if thats too much (ie won't be the right ratio with the sauce) or if it's good!
  • Can't wait to try this recipe! What size baking dish did you use?
  • Can I use regular rice? Would i cook it first? Just trying to save some time for a busy mom with a 9 month old on the MOVE! Thanks!
  • I was so excited to make this but I found it to be rather bland☹️ I felt liked it needed something more than salt, pepper and nutmeg. I'm going to look at some of your spicier recipes ?
    • I felt the same way. The concept was great and it turned out really well, just bland. I sprinkled some cajun seasoning on my serving and it helped kick it up a notch!
      • Ditto! Plus, I subbed Butternut Squash for the Celeriac, and coupled with the sweet onion, nutmeg and coconut milk, the dish came out just too sweet. And it was decently labor intensive, so I was disappointed. Next time, I'll stick to a more savory rice option.
  • Ali- Do you think I can do steps 1-8 tonight and then steps 9-12 tomorrow night?
  • What would be a good substitute for the coconut milk? My husband hates coconut ?
  • I was so excited to try this recipe, but sadly it was not good at all. Don't waste your time making this- I wasted my time and good ingredients on this dish just to throw it away. It was very watery and bland. I have tried other recipes from this site that are great. This sadly was just a big miss.