This recipe has me all excited! I was craving buffalo chicken recently, but I wanted it to be healthy! I decided to see what I had on hand to try to get that flavor while still filling my body with lots of nutrition. I found some spaghetti squash, chicken, pumpkin, carrots, onion, coconut milk, and eggs. Huh…well I figured throw in some spices, and lets see what we can do. Guys, I even surprised myself with how good this turned out! And it totally hit the spot in terms of my craving!
I love spaghetti squash, because it can lend itself to so many different dishes, and it’s great for you! Why? Well, take a look at some of its benefits!
Awesome, right?! With this as one of the main ingredients of this dish, you know it’s gonna be good! Plus, all the other ingredients are great for you too! I used chicken, spaghetti squash, carrots, and onion for the base of the casserole, and then I made a sauce out of pumpkin, eggs, coconut milk, and spices. It actually ended up tasting like there was cheese in there, but there’s not any! You could add some, I suppose, but you really don’t need to…I think the coconut milk gives it a creamy texture, and with the spices, it tastes a lot like there’s cheese in there already. At any rate, it’s DELISH, and you will absolutely love it!
BUFFALO CHICKEN CASSEROLE
Ingredients:
- 1 very large spaghetti squash, or 1 1/2 smaller spaghetti squash
- 1 large red onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
- 1.5 – 2 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded into bite size pieces…you can use chicken breast or thigh. I used thigh, because it was what I had on hand, but I think breast would go even better with this dish.
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
- 4 eggs
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp. garlic granules
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. paprika
- pinch – 1/4 tsp. of ground red pepper (optional – amount is up to you too – more = hotter/spicier)
- sea salt for seasoning
- Olive oil for cooking
Directions:
1.) Heat the oven to 400 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds, and brush with olive oil. Place face down on the baking sheet, and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes at 400 degrees. When done, take out of the oven, and reduce the heat to 380 degrees. Let the squash cool till you can handle them comfortably. Use a fork to shred the insides onto a clean dishtowel. Use the dish towel to wrap around the squash, and squeeze as much moisture out of the squash as you can. Set aside.
2.) While the squash is baking, heat 1/2 – 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and let cook till it starts to sweat – about 3-5 minutes. Add the carrots, and allow to cook until the carrots begin to become tender, about another 7-10 minutes. Set aside.
3.) In a small bowl, stir together, the pumpkin, coconut milk, and spices. In another small bowl, whisk the eggs. Pour the eggs into the pumpkin mixture, and stir to combine completely.
4.) Use olive oil to oil a 9×11 baking dish. Line the bottom of the dish with parchment paper. Place the spaghetti squash, carrots and onions, and chicken in the baking dish. Stir to combine. Top with the pumpkin and egg sauce. Stir in to combine completely. Spread out evenly in the dish.
5.) Bake in the oven at 380 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let sit for about 5 minutes.
6.) Use a spatula to cut into square servings and transfer to a plate. Season with sea salt. Eat as is, or stir it all up to have more of a “messy” dish.
YUM!!! Enjoy!
Loving and Laughing 