This Bacon Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole is the ultimate comfort food. It’s completely dairy free, gluten free, and grain free but tastes exactly like a bacon-wrapped jalapeño popper! Combined with some chicken and cauliflower rice and you’ve got a cozy little casserole the entire family will LOVE!
I absolutely love Jalapeno Poppers. The cool cream cheese + the spicy jalapeños is the ultimate combo. In this casserole, I combined cauliflower rice, pulled chicken, jalapeños, mayo, Kite Hill almond milk cream cheese, and spices to create a creamy, comforting, and delicious meal! The jalapeños lose a lot of their heat when they are cooked, so don’t worry about it being too spicy!
What ingredients do I need to make this Bacon Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole?
Pulled chicken – You can either use a rotisserie chicken or quickly poach your own and shred it (directions below). For rotisserie chickens, make sure to check your labels. Many are made with gluten, MSG and other additives, sugar, etc. I like to get the naked rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods.
Almond milk cream cheese – I get Kite Hill brand which is sold in many stores (Safeway. Giant, Wegmans, Sprouts, MOM’s, etc). The ingredients are Whole30 compliant, but definitely proceed with caution if you are currently doing a round. I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you considered it to be SWYPO 🙂 You can use any of the flavors for this recipe. Chive is my favorite!
Mayo – Sir Kensington’s avocado mayo is my favorite kind of Whole30 / paleo / dairy free / sugar free mayo. I like to get a big jar of it from Costco!
Cauliflower rice – We bake it straight from frozen in this recipe. I usually get a big pack of 1 lb bags from Costco.
Pork Panko– This stuff is the perfect gluten free / low carb / Whole30 replacement for bread crumbs! It adds so much flavor. You can easily make your own by crushing up pork rinds (just check ingredients!), or if you prefer, you can use some crushed up Siete Foods grain free chips instead!
Also, I recently got this Staub casserole dish on Amazon and I’m obsessed! It’s the perfect size.
If you make this casserole, be sure to tag me on Instagram @maryswholelife!
Looking for some other paleo casserole ideas? Check out my Tuscan Spaghetti Squash Casserole or Dairy Free Cheesy Broccoli Casserole.
Happy cooking!
Mary
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Bacon Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded chicken* see notes - I used the meat from a whole rotisserie chicken
- 4 jalapeños seeded and roughly chopped
- 1 10 oz pack sugar free bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 16 oz package frozen cauliflower rice
- 1 8 oz tub Kite Hill almond milk cream cheese any flavor
- 3/4 cup mayo
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup Pork Panko* see notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish.
- Cook the bacon pieces + 1 of the diced jalapenos in a skillet until crispy. Remove them using a slotted spoon and transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Mix the cream cheese, mayo, remaining diced jalapenos, onion powder, garlic, powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the frozen cauliflower rice to the casserole dish along with the chicken, the cooked bacon/jalapeno pieces, and the cream cheese jalapeno mixture. Toss everything together to combine it well.
- Smooth it out using a spatula and top with the pork panko (or crushed Siete chips). Bake it for 30-35 minutes until the edges are bubbling and everything is heated through. Top with sliced jalapeno (if desired), serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Made this tonight and it was outstanding! Hubby gave it 5 stars. Huge compliment as he threatened to put pictures of me up at the grocery store telling them not to sell me anymore cauliflower rice! Haha! He loved it. Definitely going in our rotation.
haha! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
OMG, so good! Easy, delicious, and husband approved!
Yay! Thanks Christine!
Yay! Thank you Christine!
Holy moly this is delicious. Made it tonight. My dad kinda freaked when he saw me chopping jalapenos 🤣 but he said it was delicious!
Thanks, Savannah!
Ready to make this tonight, but how spicy is it?
Sorry for the delay Sophie! It’s not very spicy at all – cooking the jalapeños removes a lot of their heat.
WOW!! Another family favorite (even with the 8&10 yr olds). So much flavor and so easy to put together! At this rate my weekly menu will consist of all Mary’s Whole Life recipes!!
Thank you so much Kiersten! This makes me so happy!!
Absolutely delicious! This dish was so easy for a Monday night and let me tell you… it was a HIT! It also made great lunch leftovers for the week. I used BBQ pork rinds because they happened to be what I grabbed and they were so tasty. Also, it wasn’t too spicy at all. I actually added extra fresh jalapenos & sriracha on top because I like the spice – but anybody would enjoy this without having to worry about the heat! Wonderful recipe as always!
Yay! Thanks so much Kayla! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂 and those pork rinds sound awesome!
This was AMAZING. I accidentally got refrigerated cauliflower rice instead and then accidentally forgot to add it in to the casserole! haha oops! So I just made the cauli rice separately and served the rest of the casserole over it, DELISH! Husband approved
Thank you Brittany! Glad it worked out still!!
Another home run Mary! Thank you!!
Thank you Star! So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was really good. Added an onion when we were cooking the bacon and jalapeños but other than that stuck to the recipe. Topped it with Tessemae’s ranch and my husband loved it. We’ve never made anything from Mary we didn’t like and this is just another one to add to the rotation!
Yay! Thanks Allison!!
Another great recipe from Mary! My husband who isn’t a fan of cauliflower even called it delicious. Didn’t get watery from using frozen cauli rice like some recipes tend to, so that’s a nice bonus 🙂
Thank you Cassie! Glad you guys loved it!
AMAZING!! One of my favorite healthy casseroles I’ve ever made! 😍
Thanks Kassidy! So happy to hear that!!
This recipe is absolutely incredible. Run, don’t walk, to your kitchen and make this immediately. This is so creamy and feels absolutely indulgent, in the best way. Will be making this again, without a doubt.
So good!! You’d never know it was dairy free. I made some minor adjustments due to being in quarantine, like canned chicken and regular panko, and it was amazing!
Glad you enjoyed it, Chelsea!! Thanks!
Do you think you could do everything up to the baking step and freeze at that point instead? Stocking a new mama’s freezer and want to make this one because we love it!
Hi Caitlin – Yes, that should work! Sorry for the delay 🙂