Chicken Pot Pie Casserole w Buttery Rice

About

Enjoy a chicken pot pie in casserole form! Slices of juicy seasoned chicken thighs are layered in a baking dish with green beans and a savory sauce. Since this recipe is Keto, a couple of changes have been made to classic chicken pot pie. A pie crust is substituted with a baked layer of crunchy pork rind bread crumbs. While standard pot pies have a mix of carrots, peas, and corn, none of these vegetables can be eaten in fulfilling amounts on the Keto diet. Low carb green beans are substituted in place, offering some nutritional substance in a large enough quantity to be satisfying. Served on the side is a simple bed of butter cauliflower rice. The rice is seasoned with a mix of spices before toasted in a pan and coated in butter. Enjoy this full Keto meal as a hot dinner or portion out in meal prep containers.

I Can’t Find Saffron

Saffron can be a little tricky to find, depending on the area you live in. If you don’t have saffron for this recipe, you can make a substitution with a pinch of ground turmeric. In small amounts, turmeric will give the same mild flavors and color that saffron will. Don’t do a direct substitution by weight/volume. For this recipe, start with stirring just a pinch of turmeric into your casserole sauce. You can add more at your own discretion. If you cannot find saffron at a grocery store, you can always purchase it online.

Other Substitutions You Can Make

Chicken thighs are naturally more tender and juicy than other cuts of chicken. However, if you don’t like dark meat, you can easily sub in chicken breast. Just note that chicken thighs have approximately 8g fat per 100g of meat, while chicken breasts only have approximately 3.5g fat per 100g of meat. If you don’t have a paleo flour mix on hand, you can make a direct substitution with almond flour. Just make sure to choose a fine-ground almond flour for thickening a roux. If you want to exclude pork from your meal, omit the pork rinds. At your discretion, you could sprinkle a layer of parmesan cheese over your casserole at the end of baking and set it under the broiler.

Ingredients

20 ounce chicken broilers or fryers thigh meat only raw
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon italian seasoning
1 ½ teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon garlic
1 ½ tablespoon paleo baking flour by bob's red mill
¾ cup chicken broth
¼ cup, fluid (yields 2 cups whipped) cream heavy whipping
¼ teaspoon saffron
6 ⅔ ounce frozen green beans by kroger
1 ½ ounce fried pork rinds
1 pound cauliflower rice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon thyme, dried
½ teaspoon rosemary, dried
2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

Prepare 5 ounces of chicken thighs per serving by patting the meat dry with a paper towel. On a clean surface, seasoned the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, onion powder, and italian seasoning. Heat the olive oil in a sautee pan over high heat and place in the chicken. Cook the chicken thighs for 4-5 minutes per side or until the chicken and spices have turned golden brown. Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board to rest.
Return the pan with any leftover spices and juice to your stove. Melt the butter in the sautee pan over low heat and stir in the garlic. Once the garlic has started to become fragrant in the butter, stir in the paleo flour. Continually stir the flour and butter mixture over low heat until you have a golden roux. If you don’t have paleo flour, you can also thicken your roux with fine almond flour.
Stir the chicken broth and cream into the roux. Turn the stove heat up to bring the liquid to a strong simmer. Then, reduce the heat back down to low and let the liquid bubble for about 3-4 minute until it thickens. Stir in the saffron until the sauce changes to a pale yellow color.
Slice the chicken thighs and fold them into the sauce over the stove. Fold in THAWED green beans. Let the sauce continue to bubble until any excess moisture from the chicken and green beans evaporates. You can raise the stove heat as necessary for the evaporation. Once the sauce has thickened up again, take the pan off the stove.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Pour the chicken pot pie casserole into a standard 11×7 glass baking dish. Spread out the casserole so the top is even, making sure the chicken slices are gently packed in so there are no empty spaces in the dish. Sprinkle crushed pork rinds over the top of the casserole (about 2 tablespoons per serving). Bake the casserole for 20 minutes in the oven, uncovered.
While the casserole is in the oven, you can make the buttery cauliflower rice. In a large pan on the stove, mix together riced cauliflower with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and rosemary. Cook the rice over high heat until the rice starts to turn a golden brown. You can occasionally stir or toss the rice to avoid burning.
Reduce the stove heat to low and stir in the butter. Once the rice is completely coated in melted butter, let it cook in the butter over low heat for just an additional minute. Then, remove the buttery rice from the stove. Let your finished casserole cool for 5 minutes before serving with a side of rice.