Healthy Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole
This low-carb spaghetti squash casserole is packed with shredded chicken, spaghetti squash noodles, and a slightly spicy creamy buffalo sauce. An easy, healthy chicken casserole the whole family will love!
It’s casserole season! Warm, cozy casseroles that are ready in minutes and fill everyone up! But typically, when you hear casserole you think of a dish full of carbs, calories, and so much cheese. They taste great but don’t always leave you feeling great. Casseroles can still be creamy, cozy, and delicious, but also HEALTHY! With a few easy swaps, my buffalo chicken spaghetti squash casserole is as creamy as your favorite, without all the carbs!
Packed with chicken and veggies and topped with a creamy, dairy-free buffalo sauce, this healthy chicken casserole is totally guilt-free comfort food!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What Makes This Recipe So Great?
For starters, spaghetti squash is my absolute favorite pasta swap! It’s much lower in carbs, it looks like actual spaghetti, and it has an amazing texture! Mixed with chicken, and creamy buffalo sauce, it becomes the most delicious casserole! This creamy casserole is dairy free, gluten-free, Keto, Paleo, and Whole30 friendly. It’s truly a recipe that everyone will love! Prepped and ready to go in 10 minutes, and the oven does the rest of the work. Prep ahead and store in the fridge for an easy weeknight meal!
Ingredient Notes
- cooked spaghetti squash: Spaghetti squash is an amazing pasta substitute as it has few carbs and really takes the shape of pasta! Spaghetti squash looks super intimidating but is actually very easy to cut and cook. See instructions below!
- shredded chicken breast or rotisserie chicken: see the FAQs for a quick an easy way to poach chicken breasts for shredding!
- hot sauce: I like Franks Red Hot, but feel free to use your favorite!
- cream cheese: I like to use Kite Hill cream cheese, which is vegan and makes the best cream cheese mixture with the hot sauce! Miyokos also makes vegan cream cheese.
- dairy-free ranch dressing: Here is my homemade recipe!
Spaghetti Squash Casserole Recipe Instructions
How to Cut and Prepare the Spaghetti Squash
- Cut your spaghetti squash(es) in half and scoop out the seeds. I like to cut it in half vertically vs the traditional horizontal “boat” method. It creates longer spaghetti squash strands! See the photo below for reference!
- Place the squash cut-side down on the baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes until fork tender. Scoop out the spaghetti squash strands and add them to a large bowl.
How to Make the Creamy Chicken Casserole
- Combine the hot sauce, ghee (or vegan butter), coconut milk, Kite Hill cream cheese, ranch dressing, egg, and garlic powder, paprika, and salt. Whisk very well until smooth.
- Add the chicken and the sauce to the bowl with the cooked spaghetti squash. Mix everything well and transfer into a greased 9×13 baking dish.
- Bake the casserole for 25-30 minutes at 375 until the sides are bubbling. Top with a drizzle of ranch dressing and diced green onions. Enjoy!
Mary’s Tips & Tricks
Chicken breasts: To quickly make poached chicken breasts at home for shredding: add chicken to a pot of water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and remove from heat. Let the pot stand for 15 minutes, covered. Remove chicken breasts and shred!
Casserole Dish: This is my favorite 9×13 Staub casserole dish.
FAQs
Can you freeze this buffalo chicken spaghetti squash casserole? Yes! Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven at 375 for 20 min. Drizzle with ranch, and serve!
How many carbs are in spaghetti squash? Spaghetti squash is super low in carbs. In fact, this buffalo chicken casserole is only 7 net carbs per serving! It’s keto-friendly and low-carb, making it perfect for someone watching their carb count. The best part about cooking with spaghetti squash is that that really does satisfy those pasta cravings, without the carbs!
Is this creamy casserole Whole30 compliant? The Kite Hill cream cheese ingredients are Whole30 compliant, however, it may be considered SWYPO. Please use your best judgment. If you prefer not to use it or can’t find it, you can sub in 1/4 cup compliant mayo!
More Healthy Casserole Recipes to Love
Bacon Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole | Keto & Paleo
Dairy Free Cheesy Brocolli Casserole | Whole30
Whole30 Tuscan Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Roasted Veggie Breakfast Casserole | Whole30 & Paleo
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Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Ingredients
- 6 cups cooked spaghetti squash, 1 large or 2 small spaghetti squash
- 3 cups shredded chicken breast or rotisserie chicken
- ½ cup hot sauce, I like Frank's Red Hot
- ¼ cup ghee or vegan butter, melted and cooled
- ½ cup full fat coconut milk
- 4 oz Kite Hill Cream Cheese, Chive flavor works great with this recipe! You can sub 1/4 cup mayo if you prefer not to use this.
- ½ cup Dairy Free Ranch Dressing, + more for drizzling. I prefer Tessemae's, or you can use my homemade recipe!
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp sea salt
- diced green onions, for topping
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut your spaghetti squash(es) in half and scoop out the seeds. See photo above for how I like to cut them.
- Place the squash cut-side down on the baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes until fork tender. Scoop out the spaghetti squash strands and add them to a large bowl.
- While the squash is cooking, shred your chicken and make the sauce.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the hot sauce, ghee (or vegan butter), coconut milk, Kite Hill cream cheese, ranch dressing, egg, and garlic powder, paprika, and salt. Whisk very well until smooth.
- Add the chicken and the sauce to the bowl with the cooked spaghetti squash. Mix everything well and transfer into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
- Bump the oven temperature down to 375. Bake the casserole for 25-30 minutes until the sides are bubbling. Top with a drizzle of ranch dressing and diced green onions. Enjoy!
23 Comments on “Healthy Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole”
Very great meal prep for the week! Easy to make and a delicious fan favorite, I like to add Broccoli on the side to add some extra veggies 🙂
This was delicious! All the flavor, none of the guilt. My fav dip turned into a meal. I used a rotisserie chicken and threw in spinach to add some greens. So so good!
Thank you Krissy!
This casserole never fails to impress the whole family 🙌🏻 the flavors are perfect – and it’s so easy to put together! Our recipe rotation is becoming primarily from your blog or your cook book 😂
I love that!! Thank you!
Yum! Made for dinner tonight and definitely will make again.
Thanks Kim!
Your casserole recipes never disappoint. This was delicious! I used primal kitchen Buffalo sauce instead of the hot sauce mixture. It was so filling and tasty. I also like to squeeze out my spaghetti squash in a kitchen towel before using. This was 4 servings for us-dinner for my husband and I and lunch the next day.
love this recipe! taught me how to properly cut/cook spaghetti squash! make it on sunday and bring it to work for the week! so delicious.
I made this for the first time last night for meal prep and it was amazing! Very satisfying without being heavy. Also it comes together very easily. I did omit the coconut milk and cut back on the ghee because I’m trying to watch my fat intake but this is definitely a recipe I’ll make again and again!
I saw the yield amount but what size is each serving?
This was so good and easy! Our food delivery service forgot spaghetti squash, so I used hearts of palm and it was phenomenal!
Our family has a general meal category rotation that helps so so much with planning. Mary’s recipes are ALWAYS a staple and a go-to. Sunday is slow cook (winter)/grill (summer) and prep casserole for Monday. Was able to prep this spaghetti squash casserole while I had Mary’s salsa verde chili going in the slow cooker. This is delicious and once assembled so easy to pop it in the oven for a quick meal on Monday!
Can you sub regular cream cheese instead of the Kite Hill? Or do you recommend Mayo vs regular cream cheese?
yes! definitely. I would do regular cream cheese if you tolerate dairy.
This was AMAZING!!! My fiancé and I are obsessed. Definitely a new favorite recipe.
I’ve been trying Mary’s recipes for about a year now and I’ve never been let down, but this one is my absolute favorite so far. So delicious and filling without any guilt.
Just made this for dinner tonight and it was freaking delicious! I used a rotisserie chicken and it was super simple! My husband loved it too – it was a big hit! Will be great for lunch tomorrow too! Thanks Mary!
I am making this right now and it seems like way too much sauce??? thoughts?
Made this for my family tonight and it was delicious! They were all skeptical of the spaghetti squash but it was so good! Thanks for the great recipe – definitely keeping this one handy!
Thank you, Emily! So glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent recipe! So easy and delicious!
Thank you so much, Kim!