Italian Artichoke Chicken Bake

About

My Italian family is responsible for my love of food and cooking. As a child, my grandfather was gracious enough to let me help boil pasta, make marinara sauce, and roll meatballs. If it had olive oil, tomatoes, and cheese, I was in love. I’m thankful that eating low carb allows me to continue eating my favorite Italian flavors! This Italian Chicken Bake combines artichokes, spinach, chicken, and cheese to make a super satisfying and tasty lunch or dinner. Feel free to substitute ground chicken or turkey for the chicken tenderloins, or kale for the spinach if you have have a larger carb allotment (I used lacinato kale the last time I made this dish). This dish freezes well and is easily scaled up, so it’s perfect for weekend meal prep!

–Priscilla C.

Ingredients

1 tsp, leaves spices, oregano, dried
½ tsp, leaves dried basil
2 clove garlic
4 medium slice (1/4 in. thick) tomato slice
¼ cup basil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
8 ounce mozzarella cheese
½ cup cream
3 cup spinach
1 pound chicken breast
4 cup frozen cauliflower
⅔ cup canned artichoke hearts in oil
2 large egg
3 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon spices, onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and arrange your ingredients.
Combine 1.5 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. oregano, ½ tsp. dried basil, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, ½ tsp. onion powder, and ½ tsp. salt in a glass dish and massage the mixture into the chicken. Bake the chicken for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is just cooked through before removing the dish from the oven.
While the chicken is baking, add the cauliflower to a pot with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. water. Cover with a lid and set burner to medium heat. In another pan, add 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil and garlic and heat over medium heat. Once the garlic begins to smell fragrant, add the chopped spinach and 1/2 tsp. salt.
When the spinach begins to soften, add the lemon juice and chopped artichoke hearts. Stir until everything has softened and remove the pan from the heat. Check the cauliflower and once it has started to soften, add the cream, lower the heat to medium-low, and re-cover the pot. Continue cooking for about 2-3 minutes, then uncover the pot and turn off the heat. Mash the cauliflower with a potato masher or pulse it a few times in a food processor or blender.
Add the cauliflower to the spinach mixture.
Shred the chicken pieces and add half of the basil to the chicken.
Add the chicken to the spinach and cauliflower mixture. Crack the eggs and mix whisk them with a fork. Shred about half of the mozzarella and add it to the eggs.
Pour the egg mixture over the chicken and veggie mixture and fold them together with half of the basil leaves. Pour the mixture back into the baking dish and level out with a spatula. Slice the remaining mozzarella thinly and arrange over the chicken in the baking dish. Arrange the basil pieces and the tomato slices over the cheese. Top with parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper, and additional oregano, if desired.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the eggs have set. Turn on the broiler to 500 degrees and place the top oven rack about 10 inches below the broiler. Place the baking dish on the top rack and allow the chicken bake to broil for about 1-2 minutes, then rotate it and allow it to continue broiling. Check the dish occasionally to ensure the top of the casserole doesn’t burn. Continue broiling until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Allow to cool before cutting into 4-6 slices.