Many moons ago, when gluten and dairy were not an issue for me, I used to love making a chili cheddar pasta dish I’d found in Cooking Light. It was awesome – filled with noodles, milk, butter, and cheese. But, alas, no more.
As I transitioned to a whole foods way of cooking, I realized that it is often the flavor of a dish – not its supporting ingredients – that I remember most. In this case, the smoky chipotle, red peppers, and fresh cilantro are what really sang.
So, drawing on these ingredients and flavorful meats, and using cauliflower – which is a life saver for anyone who is really angling for a healthy carb alternative – as the base, we have a Chipotle Chicken Cauliflower bake that is perfect for a get-together or for a simple one-dish meal at home. And you don’t have to worry about missing a thing!
Some tips:
- This dish works great with leftover grilled chicken, but you can also pan-fry chicken pieces and then add the peppers, onions and garlic to the mix.
- Consider making extra bacon for breakfast. Keep several pieces aside for use in recipes; strain the grease and use it instead of cooking oil when making savory dishes. The flavor is fantastic.
- Cauliflower for this dish should still be reasonably firm. I prefer to steam it for about 10 to 12 minutes, just to the point of tenderness. You could steam it longer and mash it like you would potatoes. Keep in mind that it will continue cooking in the oven.
- Does the mixture seem dry to you? Before adding the mixture to your casserole to bake it, stir in a couple tablespoons of water.
- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup green onions, chopped
- 1 tsp chile powder
- 1 tsp chipotle powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- Salt, to taste
- 2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped
- 6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
- 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- Olive oil or bacon fat for sautéing
- Cut cauliflower into florets. Steam over boiling water for about 12 minutes, until it florets are tender but not mushy. (Note: this is a good time to cook up your chicken and bacon if you haven’t already.)
- Preheat oven to 375 degree F.
- Heat frying pan to medium high heat. Add olive oil or bacon fat and red peppers. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add green onions and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes longer. Set aside.
- Cut cauliflower into ¾ inch chunks and place in a large mixing bowl. Stir in chile powder, chipotle powder, cumin, and salt until well blended. Stir in red pepper mixture, chicken chunks, crumbled bacon, tomatoes, and cilantro.
- Pour mixture into a lightly greased casserole dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, or until heated through and the top is golden brown.
- Serve.
We had this tonight, using your recipe, thanks. It was pretty good.
Hi Eugenia, Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you liked it. If you tweak the recipe at all, I’d love to hear how. Cheers!
I think I’d have to crack open a fresh package of bacon for this–but it looks like it would be worth the ‘trouble’!
I think so, Alex. But, then again, I’m biased. Just make some bacon for breakfast this morning and save the rest for later. Then, it’s no trouble at all.
This is a GO in my kitchen!!
Blast off, GiGi! I hope you like it!
Awesome recipe! I eat low carb, so I added some cream and a little bit of cream cheese to give it a creamy consistency… it came out soooo delicious! I was out of bacon, but I can’t wait to try it again with bacon. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Theresa,
I’m so glad you liked it – thanks for letting me know! The cream would definitely make it richer. If dairy didn’t do me in, I’d be all over it. : )
S
LOVED this! Was a great way to use up a cauliflower on the edge and some leftover rotisserie chicken. I made a few adjustments and it was wonderful:
- used a can of chopped tomatoes as I didn’t have fresh (plus they’re not in season yet)
- used 1T of pureed chipotles in adobo rather than chipotle powder
- added 1.5 cups of non-fat Greek yogurt to bump up the protein & creaminess
Can’t wait to use this as a base for other flavors! I’m thinking a curry sauce or tikki masala for an Indian flair.
Thank you, Erin! I appreciate you coming by to let me know that you liked it and how you adapted it! Canned maters work, as do chipotles in adobo (some brands use wheat, so it’s good to check the labels). I bet the yogurt was great! So glad you enjoyed it and now you have me thinking about different flavor combinations : )
Woo hoo, methinks I just found a recipe for all the left-over turkey from Canadian Thanksgiving. Thanks for the recipe.
Yay! I hope you had a great holiday, Caroline! Enjoy this, I think the turkey would taste great in it.