Artichoke, Chicken and Pesto Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Happy Friday! I have one more delicious recipe to share before we head into our weekend…

I mentioned in my post on Monday that a friend and coworker of mine recently asked me for cooking lessons! I am definitely not a pro, wing it a lot of the time, make plenty of “meh” meals, and cut and burn myself more often than I should admit. But since “going paleo” a little over 5 years ago, I have learned (through trial and error) how to plan, prepare, and cook a lot of different healthy, wholesome foods. While I am no expert, I am excited to share my experiences and any tips I have picked up on over the years. If I can help one person, even just a little bit, I will feel like I have done something worthwhile 🙂

As Alyssa and I prepared for our first cooking lesson, we chatted about how I eat and what I consider to be the “healthiest” diet. I have always been an advocate for finding what works for you, so I don’t want to say what is “right or wrong”, but I do feel that there are some basic, overarching guidelines we can follow to help simplify things. It all comes down to eating real, natural, nutrient dense foods, lower in carbohydrates/sugar and higher in healthy fats. There are definitely a lot of grey, fuzzy areas, but if we can stick to those general ideas, we are well on our way to a healthier diet!

One low carb, grain-free food that Alyssa wanted to try was spaghetti squash. She also mentioned that she loves pesto, artichokes, and mushrooms. That definitely got the wheels turning, and together, we came up with the idea of making this Artichoke, Chicken, and Pesto Casserole. With this recipe alone, we were able to go over how to cook a spaghetti squash (I warned her that cutting it open is probably the most difficult thing to do in the kitchen! 😉 )  how to batch cook chicken (we made extra for other uses during the week!), shortcuts/tricks, and little tricks to get extra flavor.

Since we were cooking for the both of us, we doubled the recipe. We made one of the spaghetti squashes in the oven, and one in the Instant Pot, just to show her the different options. We lightly seasoned the chicken breasts with my go-to seasonings-salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika, then cooked a couple batches in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. We then used that same pan (with all the yummy brown bits) to saute the mushrooms for extra flavor. I went back and forth a bit about making the pesto from scratch or not, but then I realized the important lesson of taking shortcuts and utilizing quality pre-made products to make dinnertime easier. These shortcuts make the idea of sticking to a healthy lifestyle much easier to grasp and stick to! So I picked up this “Vegan Kale, Cashew, and Basil Pesto” Trader Joe’s because it is a great option with a pretty darn good ingredient list!

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized Spaghetti squash
• 1 12 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/2 cup pesto (store bought or homemade)
• 8 oz mushrooms, diced
• 2 chicken breasts (could use a rotisserie chicken to make things even easier!)
• 2 eggs, whisked
• Salt & Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Paprika
• Avocado oil (or cooking fat of choice)

Instructions

1. First, cook the spaghetti squash.  In the Instant Pot: Cut squash in half horizontally, clean out the seeds, put it on the trivet with 1 cup of water and hitting “manual” and setting the cook time to 7 minutes. Release the pressure manually and open the lid to stop it from cooking any more. In the oven: Preheat oven to 400º. Cut squash in half lengthwise, clean out the seeds, place face down on a baking sheet, add a thin layer of water to the sheet, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the skin of the squash indents when you press on it with your finger.
2. While the squash is cooking, prepare the chicken. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Slice the breasts in half horizontally to make then thin and cook faster. Drizzle a little oil on each breast and sprinkle a light, even layer of salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika on both sides. Add to the pan and cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side. Set chicken aside to cool, then slice into bite-size pieces.
3. In the same pan you used for the chicken, add about a tablespoon of oil (or ghee) and the sliced mushrooms. Saute them for about 5 minutes, making sure they soak up all the yummy brown bits and flavors in the pan. 
4. Once the squash is cooked, use a fork to remove all of the strands and add to a 9×13 baking dish. Pile on the mushrooms, drained artichoke hearts, pesto, diced chicken, and eggs. 
5. Mix everything well. Place in the oven at 350º and bake for 40 minutes. Slice into 6 squares and serve! Alternatively, you could cover with foil, refrigerate, and bake later. It will take a little longer to cook after it’s been refrigerated (about an hour).
   

   Ready for the oven…

   

   Fresh out of the oven!

    

Once everything is cooked, this meal comes together in a breeze! Just mix and bake. Like I mentioned, you could always use a rotisserie chicken to cut down on a step and make it even easier to throw together! I love when I can pop dinner in the oven and let dinner do it’s thing while I have a chance to shower, fold a load of laundry, or heck, sit down and enjoy a glass of wine for a minute!

The combination of artichokes, mushroom, and pesto is just delectable! We couldn’t get enough of this low carb, dairy free, super tasty casserole!

Print

Artichoke, Chicken and Pesto Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Cook Time

40 mins

 

You'll love this low carb, dairy free (paleo & whole30) casserole with the perfect flavor combination of mushrooms, artichokes, chicken, and pesto. We sure did! 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 6

Author: Maggie @ Our Fine Day

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized Spaghetti squash
• 1 12 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts drained
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 8 oz mushrooms diced
• 2 chicken breasts could use a rotisserie chicken to make things even easier!
• 2 eggs whisked
• Salt & Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Paprika
• Avocado oil or cooking fat of choice

Instructions

1. First, cook the spaghetti squash. In the Instant Pot: Cut squash in half horizontally, clean out the seeds, put it on the trivet with 1 cup of water and hitting "manual" and setting the cook time to 7 minutes. Release the pressure manually and open the lid to stop it from cooking any more. In the oven: Preheat oven to 400º. Cut squash in half lengthwise, clean out the seeds, place face down on a baking sheet, add a thin layer of water to the sheet, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the skin of the squash indents when you press on it with your finger.

2. While the squash is cooking, prepare the chicken. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Slice the breasts in half horizontally to make them thin to cook faster. Drizzle a little oil on each breast and sprinkle a light, even layer of salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika on both sides. Add to the pan and cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side. Set chicken aside to cool, then slice into bite-size pieces.

3. In the same pan you used for the chicken, add about a tablespoon of oil (or ghee) and the sliced mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes, making sure they soak up all the yummy brown bits and flavors in the pan.

4. Once the squash is cooked, use a fork to remove all of the strands and add them to a 9x13 baking dish. Pile on the mushrooms, drained artichoke hearts, pesto, diced chicken, and eggs.

5. Mix everything well. Place in the oven at 350º and bake for 40 minutes. Slice into 6 squares and serve! Alternatively, you could cover with foil, refrigerate, and bake later. It will take a little longer to cook after it's been refrigerated (an hour).