Chicken Spinach Casserole
My Chicken Spinach Casserole Recipe is great when you are pressed for time. With the bold flavors of garlic, parmesan, and bacon, this easy keto casserole will please the most reluctant low carb eater. It is easy, flavorful, and can be made ahead. You can even make it in a crockpot.
I’ve made this keto casserole countless times over the years, and amazingly, my kids still haven’t complained. But they still love it. This is the only way to get the little ones to eat spinach. When I’m craving a little rich and creamy comfort food, this is one of my go-to keto casserole recipes.
For more great casseroles, try my Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole or Keto Chicken Vegetable Casserole.
We eat a lot of chicken. It is very budget-friendly and easy to cook. You may remember me getting excited when my husband brought me home a two-pound bag of shrimp (which became this Thai Peanut Shrimp Recipe). I was slightly less excited when he brought home 12 pounds of chicken breast. The freezer was packed. So, I managed to squeeze one pack in somehow, and we cooked the rest, coming up with this creamy chicken spinach casserole in the process.
I originally published this post 10 years ago in March 2016 as ‘Chicken Bacon Caesar Casserole’. I’m resharing it now in June 2026 as ‘Chicken Spinach Casserole’ because it is so good and I want more people to find it. Same recipe, super delicious, new title.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Reader favorite with years of positive reviews
- Easy make-ahead meal
- Family-friendly keto casserole
- Great use for leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken
- Freezer friendly
Before You Get Started
- Drain frozen spinach very well to avoid a watery casserole.
- Let the cream cheese soften before mixing the sauce.
- Rotisserie chicken is the fastest option.
- Cook bacon until crisp since it softens slightly during baking.
Ingredients
- Chicken – You can use any type of cooked chicken. Rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, baked chicken breasts, or tenderloins. You can chop it or shred it.
- Spinach – Frozen spinach that is well-drained or lightly sautéed fresh spinach both work. Raw fresh spinach can release too much liquid and make the casserole watery.
- Bacon – Freshly cooked and crumbled bacon or store-bought real bacon crumbles are both fine. One tip when using store-bought bacon pieces is to microwave them for a few seconds to bring out their flavor.
- Mozzarella cheese – Pre-shredded cheese saves time, but any shredded mozzarella will work.
- Parmesan cheese – Shelf-stable grated parmesan or refrigerated grated parmesan are fine.
- Cream cheese – I prefer full-fat cream cheese to make the creamiest sauce.
- Sour cream – Sour cream has a nice tang that balances the creaminess of the other sauce ingredients.
- Mayo – Any type will work. I prefer varieties with a milder flavor.
- Roasted garlic powder – Using roasted garlic powder instead of plain is a simple but very efficient flavor booster.
- Dried minced onion – Onion powder or minced fresh onion will also work.
- Salt & black pepper – Season to taste.
See quantities in the recipe card.
How to Make Chicken Spinach Casserole
1️⃣ Make the Sauce
Mix the sauce ingredients in a large bowl. Season to taste.
2️⃣ Add the Chicken
Stir the chicken, spinach, half the bacon, and the parmesan cheese into the sauce.
3️⃣ Put in Casserole Dish
Spray a casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray. Dump the filling into the baking dish. Spread evenly. Top with the remaining bacon and cheese.
4️⃣ Bake the Casserole
Bake until bubbly, hot, and golden brown on top.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can freeze this. Wrap tightly in plastic and freeze for 2-3 months. To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven for the best results.
Variations
- Vegetables – Change out the spinach for cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, or your fave veggies. Kale can be subbed for the spinach.
- Tuscan – Swap in Tuscan seasoning and add sundried tomatoes for one of my favorite variations on this recipe. This is very similar to my Keto Tuscan Chicken Casserole.
- Pasta – If you don’t need this to be low carb or gluten-free, go ahead and mix in some al dente noodles. I would suggest doubling the sauce.
Make sure to try my Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole, which uses cheddar and broccoli.
Common Questions
How can I make a casserole keto?
The simplest way to make any casserole keto-friendly is to leave out the starches. Most regular casseroles call for fillers like rice, pasta, or beans. In my low carb casseroles, I use proteins, vegetables, and fat. No starches.
How can I replace canned condensed soup in casseroles?
My typical sauce base for casseroles is cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, and seasoning. With this combo, you can get a smooth, rich sauce without using any cans of condensed soup.
What to Serve With Chicken Spinach Casserole
We usually serve this with a simple side salad, roasted broccoli, green beans, cauliflower rice, or garlic bread for the non-keto members of the family.
Can I use fresh spinach instead of frozen?
Yes. Lightly sauté fresh spinach first to remove excess moisture before adding it to the casserole. Raw spinach can release too much liquid while baking.
Can I make a casserole in a crockpot?
Yes! It isn’t hard to convert this to a slow cooker recipe. There are just three steps to making a chicken casserole in a crockpot instead of your oven.
- Cook the chicken in the crockpot. It is very important not to OVERCOOK the chicken, or you will have a dry casserole. Cook chicken breasts on low for 2.5 hours. Add a little chicken broth, butter or oil, and salt and pepper before cooking.
- DRAIN the cooking liquid. Cut up the chicken.
- Proceed with the rest of the casserole recipe. This time just cook it in the crockpot until it is hot.
The most important step is draining the cooking liquid. If you don’t do this, you will end up with soup instead of a casserole.
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Video
Chicken Spinach Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 oz sour cream
- 4 oz mayo
- 2 tsp roasted garlic powder (this is worth the investment, the flavor is amazing!)
- 2 tsp dried minced onion
- 2-2.5 lb cooked chicken cubed
- 12 oz frozen spinach thawed and drained
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 4 slices crisp cooked bacon or 1/4 cup bacon crumbles
- 2 oz shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 if baking immediately. Or you can prep ahead and keep in the refrigerator for a day or two.
- Combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, and spices and mix thoroughly. I do this first in a big metal bowl.
- In the big bowl combine the cream cheese mixture you just made with the chicken, spinach, parmesan cheese, and 1/2 the bacon and mix well.
- Dump into a 9×13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle remaining cheese and bacon on top.
- Bake until hot about 35 minutes.
Nutrition
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Originally Published March 12, 2016. Revised and Republished June 1, 2026.
How many does this serve? I can’t seem to find it anywhere…
Approx. 6. It says it in the recipe box.
This was DELICIOUS. One of the best meals I’ve eaten while low-carb ingredients over the last 1.5 years. I added a steamed California mix of veggies (green beans, broccoli, cauliflower). I made some dill pickle coleslaw on the side to add something cold and fresh and it was awesome! I’m not too familiar with oz measurements up here in Canada, so my sour cream and mayo were 1/2c each and cream cheese was a half package of Philly. Thanks so so much for this gem of a casserole
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It looks low-carb and delicious!!! I can’t wait to give it a try. 🙂
I just made this tonight for supper. I am on a ketogenic diet and it looked Keto. I did forget to cook the bacon till too late so it did not get put on. And my shredded mozzarella was in c clump from being out of the fridge too long so I used my mozzarella slices. I covered the top with slices of mozzarella and it was delish. I liked it with more cheese than the original recipe.
About how much is 4 oz. of sour cream and 4 oz. of mayo? Like 1/4 cup?
It’s about 1/2 a cup, I really just eyeball though when I’m normally making it. I only measure when I’m writing down the recipe 🙂
Thank you!
I can’t find the recipe! Setting out to make it but there are no directions that I can find! Help!
Hi Glenda, I think you found this on Pinterest? Only the ingredients are shown on Pinterest. To get the instructions you need to go to the blog post. My post has instructions within the post and in the printable recipe at the bottom.
I took this out of the oven an hour ago, and realized it was missing something. It needs artichokes! Of course I didn’t have a jar in the pantry. Oh, well, next time.
It’s actually on my to do list to make a casserole with spinach and artichokes 🙂 They are a great combo!
Can you freeze this meal? If so should you cook it first?
Yes, you can freeze it. I know some people have frozen my bacon ranch chicken and this is similar. Do not bake it first (but still use cooked chicken when assembling). You can thaw overnight in the fridge and then bake as directed. Before my last baby I made a lot of freezer meals like this too. 🙂
How much spinach? There are different sizes…
I just edited to clarify. One 10-12 oz bag is what I used. I forget the exact oz but it wouldn’t matter that much..Hope that helps!
I have fresh spinach I need to use….How do you think that would work? Need to cook it first?
I would cook it first. I wouldn’t want it to make the casserole watery. Spinach releases a lot of liquid.
If you were to leave out the minced onion and be selective of which cheese used, this recipe should. E completely carb free. I’m not sure how it’s figuring 10.6g above. Those two ingredients being the only ones with carbs, it shouldn’t be even that high.
The spinach has carbs, as well as the sour cream. The onion is 1 gram total, and the three cheeses combined are 12.2 grams. So the cheeses and onion contributed 2 grams of carb per serving. Probably not worth swapping out for other ingredients. The garlic powder alone is 4 grams.
Do you think it would freeze well? I’d love to have some at the ready for busy days.
Sorry, Mandi, but I’m not sure. Dairy can do funny things when frozen so I haven’t been brave enough to try. Next time you make it you could freeze one small portion and see what happens.
Do you have any nutritional info on your recipes?
You can input recipes here: https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Approximate, based on 6 servings.
Calories 656
Calories from Fat 355
Total Fat 39.4g
Saturated Fat 19.9g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 207mg
Sodium 876mg
Potassium 650mg
Total Carbohydrates 10.6g
Dietary Fiber 1.2g
Sugars 1.8g
Protein 65.2g
These numbers seem off. It should have a higher fat count compared to protein.
If you figure it out let me know. I don’t really have time to spend doing the nutrition for my recipes. I don’t use it myself (for trim healthy mama you don’t could macros). Since so many people are asking for the casserole recipes I gave it a shot 😉
I used Calorie King and entered all the data. Only rounded the tiniest bits. Here’s what I came up with for the macros I track:
Per serving (6 servings)
calories: 688
protein: 66
fat: 45
carbs: 5
I am assuming the 2oz of mozzarella go on the top, I didn’t see it mentioned in the directions.
Yes, on top. Sorry about that. I’ll add it to the directions.
You managed to use all these chicken! Looks comforting.