Kale Chicken Casserole
I never thought I would be the casserole making kind of gal. For me, there was a slight stigma to the whole casserole concept. It makes me feel like a 50′s housewife or maybe a soccer mom. Well, I am neither of those and I made a casserole and it was amazing!
The Kale Chicken Casserole is not your ordinary casserole. It is healthy, protein rich and tastes absolutely amazing. This is a really great meal to make the night before or earlier in the day if you have a busy evening. I wasn’t going to be getting home from teaching Pilates until 8 and needed the meal to be ready to go. All you have to do is pop the dish in the oven.
Serves 4:
- coarse salt and ground pepper
- whole wheat pasta of your choice, enough for 3 people (A short pasta is best. I used fusilli)
- Few splashes of extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 large onion, diced
- 1 bunch of kale, stems removed, leaves chopped roughly
- 1 cup shredded or chopped cooked chicken (We had leftover chicken from a rotisserie we had a couple nights before that worked wonderfully.)
- 6-7 heaping spoonfuls of non-fat Greek Yogurt, use Chobani!
- lemon zest from one lemon (Don’t skip this! It makes the dish so unique!)
- 1/4 cup of Parmesan
- Fresh herb of your choice, finely chopped. (Parsley or basil would be great!)
- Pre-heat oven to 400. Cook pasta per package instruction in a large pot. Drain the pasta.
- In the same pot, add a splash of olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the garlic and onions for about 3 minutes, just until the onion is fragrant and is slightly soft. Add kale. Stir. Cover and cook until the kale is bright green and tender. About 4 minutes.
- Add the pasta to the pot. Stir in the chicken, Greek yogurt, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese and parsley or herb of your choice; season with salt and pepper. You can add a little splash of olive oil.
- Transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Make sure you use non-stick spray. Add a little more freshly grated Parmesan to the top. Feel free to add a little more lemon zest as well.
- Bake until golden, 20 minutes.
By using Greek Yogurt instead of a fatty Italian cheese you skip on some extra fat grams and calories and add in extra protein. One serving of Greek Yogurt has anywhere from 15-24 grams of protein, depending on what brand and how much you consider and serving! Â We loved this dish. I am embarrassed to say that Jake and I both went back for thirds!
