Creamy, cheesy, protein-packed, and filling, you’ll have NO trouble getting the fam to eat their veggies and actually enjoy them with this cauliflower rice casserole!
This dish is essentially everyone’s favorite chicken broccoli and rice, just without the grains or carbs. PLUS! An extra serving of veggies. Low carb casseroles are the best that way…
If you haven’t learned by now, cauliflower is the cure to your boring dinner blues! Think beyond cauliflower pizza crust, my friends.
With the right techniques, you can (with few exceptions) sub this veggie in for everything!Let’s bake.
Looking for more keto side dishes? Check out my mashed cauliflower, cauliflower fried rice, or my keto green bean casserole.
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What I Love About Cauliflower Rice Casserole
Here’s why you should make this cauliflower rice casserole as soon as humanly possible:
- Delicious AND happens to be low carb.
- Casseroles are supreme time savers
- It’s the perfect, stress-free dish
- Casseroles are the ultimate comfort food!
Tips + FAQs
Thickening the sauce before baking is important as, with all riced cauliflower recipes, as we don’t have grains to soak up excess liquid. We’ll do this 2 ways:
- Adding xanthan gum. Even in small amounts, xanthan gum is able to thicken sauces like crazy. In fact, it’s significantly stronger than cornstarch/flour AND doesn’t affect the flavor. Bravo!
- We’ll reduce the sauce before baking.
Adding a crunch is important. Without it, the textures of any casserole blend together and can translate to “soggy”. If you’re not a fan of pork rinds, use your favorite “crunch” to top this keto cauliflower rice casserole.
Ingredients Tips + Substitutes
Here’s what you’ll need to make this cheesy cauliflower rice casserole:
- Yellow Onion: You could also use a white onion or shallots.
- Xanthan Gum: Thickens the casserole, don’t skip! If not low carb/gluten-free, you can sub 1 tablespoon of flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot powder.
- Tabasco: Rounds out the flavor of our cream sauce without adding much heat. Trust me on this…
- Thyme: Or any additional spices you might want to use.
- Sour Cream: You can swap this for Greek yogurt too.
- Chicken (cooked + cubed): Make things easier on yourself and buy a rotisserie chicken. You can also turn this into a ground chicken casserole with cooked ground chicken.
- Broccoli: I like florets, but broccoli rice will work as well.
- Pork Rinds: To add a crunchy topping. Swap with breadcrumbs/crushed crackers if you prefer.
Storing Tips
Store this cauliflower rice casserole recipe in the fridge in an airtight container.
Can You Freeze Them?
Yes, you can freeze this casserole — That’s what casseroles are MADE for! Make two, one to eat now and one to freeze for later.
Freeze individual servings in small resealable baggies so you can easily reheat the frozen cauliflower rice casserole when you’re ready to eat.
Serving Recommendations
As with any casserole, this cauliflower rice casserole is a whole meal in a pan.
But, if you want to serve it with some sides, simple keto salads and dinner rolls (like my low carb garlic bread) are both great options.
Recipe Variations
Here are a few ways to add your spin to this cauliflower rice casserole:
- Add bacon. Crisp it, crumble it, and add it in.
- Use a different kind of meat. Any cooked protein will do here: turn this into a turkey, pork, or ground beef casserole.
- Make it vegetarian. You could skip the protein and turn this into a side dish, or toss in some drained/chunked tuna for a keto tuna casserole.
- Make it spicy. The tabasco in our cauliflower rice recipe doesn’t add spice (just rounds out the flavor of our sauce). So, simply add more to turn up the heat. Check out my keto Mexican casserole for more spicy ideas.
More Cauliflower Recipes
Can’t get enough cauliflower and all the ways you can use it?! Here are a few other ideas for you:
- Keto Cauliflower Pizza
- Keto Shepherd’s Pie
- Cauliflower Potato Salad
- Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
- Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
- Cheesy Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower Rice Casserole
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 Yellow Onion chopped
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup Chicken Broth
- 1/2 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum or 1 Tablespoon Flour/Cornstarch/Arrowroot Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Tabasco
- 1 Teaspoon Thyme fresh
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
- 2-3 Cups Chicken cooked + cubed
- 3 Cups Broccoli florets
- 3 Cups Cauliflower Rice
Toppings:
- 2 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese divided
- 1 1/2 Cups Pork Rinds crushed (can sub for breadcrumbs/panko)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Melt butter (2 tablespoons) in a large oven safe skillet.
- Add yellow onions (1 chopped), salt (1 teaspoon), and pepper (1/4 teaspoon), and saute over medium heat until onions become translucent - about 7 minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and stir in heavy cream (1/4 cup), chicken broth (1 cup), Tabasco (1/2 teaspoon), thyme (1 teaspoon) and xanthan gum (1/2 teaspoon). Bring the combo to a gentle simmer.
- Simmer sauce for about 15 minutes - you'll know it's done once the sauce has reduced by half, and it coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove from heat and stir in sour cream (1 cup), until no lumps remain.
- Add cauliflower rice (3 cups), chicken (2-3 cups cooked and cubed) and broccoli florets (3 cups) and toss to evenly coat.
- Flatten the top of the casserole with the back of your spoon.
- Sprinkle the top of your pan with cheddar (2 cups) and bread crumbs or pork rinds (1 1/2 cups).
- Bake for 20 minutes, you'll know the casserole is done once it's heated through and the cheese starts to bubble. Enjoy!
Really great! my family loves it as well, Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Yay! So happy you and your family loves it ?
If you make one to freeze, do you bake it then freeze it, or freeze it raw, then bake it when you thaw it?
Hi Betsy! I bake then freeze. Hope you enjoy!