Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Casserole

Spinach and artichoke chicken casserole baked with a creamy blended cottage cheese sauce, tender chicken, and golden mozzarella for an easy weeknight dinner.

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Artichoke and Spinach Chicken Casserole, Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Casserole, Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Casserole Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 299kcal

Ingredients

2 tablespoons avocado oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, approximately 1 ¼ pounds, cut into 1-inch pieces
16 ounces 4% milkfat cottage cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
14 ounces canned artichoke hearts, quartered and drained
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided into 1 ½ cups in the casserole mixture and ½ cup to the top (from an 8-ounce block)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
To a large preheated skillet, on medium-high heat, add the avocado oil and chicken. Cook the chicken for 8-9 minutes or until golden brown on all sides. Transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
To a high speed blender, or food processor, add the cottage cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Blend on high for 30-60 seconds or until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
Place the drained artichoke hearts into a clean tea towel, or cheese cloth, and squeeze out as much of the remaining liquid as possible. This is essential to ensuring that the casserole does not get too watery when baked. Add the artichoke hearts to the bowl of cottage cheese mixture.
To the same tea towel, add the spinach and squeeze until all the excess liquid is removed. Transfer the spinach to the bowl with the cottage cheese mixture.
Add 1 ½ cups of the shredded mozzarella cheese to the bowl along with the reserved cooked chicken.
Gently fold all the ingredients together until fully coated with the cottage cheese mixture.
Spread into the prepared baking dish, top the casserole with the remaining ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is lightly golden and bubbly. You can broil the casserole for the last 2-3 minutes of bake time if desired for a darker golden cheese topping.
Remove the spinach and artichoke chicken casserole from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

For the best texture of the sauce and casserole, it is best to use 4% or whole milk cottage cheese and whole milk mozzarella cheese in this recipe.
It is very important to squeeze out as much of the liquids from both the artichoke hearts and spinach as possible. If this is not done, your baked casserole will yield a more watery texture and not a creamy cheesy one.
Olive oil can be used in place of the avocado oil in this recipe. The avocado oil is used for both its high smoke point and health benefits.

Nutrition