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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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.
the way the recipe is written, I will assume that that is 2-2.5lbs of chicken after cooking… in other words, after cooking the chicken you had 2-2.5lbs of chicken that you put into the casserole? or would that be 2-2.5lbs of chicken that you cooked and then used in the casserole?
Start with 2-2.5 pounds of raw chicken. I did not weigh it again after cooking.
Thank you, I’ve been trying to figure out how much raw chicken to buy to yield 2 to 2.5 pounds cooked!
The other thing is you say grated Parmesan which is the dried stuff in a can, but it looks like you actually used shredded. I suppose either would work, but fresh shredded might have more flavour.
I have used both types of parmesan. Start with 3 pounds of chicken.
What kind of Parmesan cheese do you use?
Hi Kathy,
I normally just use the cheap shaker kind sold in the pasta aisle. You can use a better shredded parmesan if you prefer.
This sounds really good and would like to make it, however I do have a question? As a single I’d like to make it in single servings and freeze them once cooked. Will that be okay to do with this recipe?
I was wondering the same thing! I bet you could though. I have one of those brownie plans that are all individual spots. I was going to try it in there. And then just freeze them in that size.
This was great! My husband and I both loved it!
We tried this out tonight and everyone liked it. We precooked the chicken in an electric pressure cooker for 5 min with some seasoning and better than bullion. We then added a little hidden valley ranch dry seasoning to the mixture along with garlic powder. We added about a cup of the broth to the mixture for moisture I added mushrooms and used frozen cauliflower as a base in the casserole dish. It had the perfect consistency. Even my picky kids liked it
Tried this out on my family today and it was a hit! The only thing I did differently was add more bacon. Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
How do you cook the chicken?
I normally bake it in a large Pyrex covered with foil at 350 until it is 160 with a meat thermometer. In the summer I cook it in the crock pot. I just put a little salt on.
I finally made this today. The girls weren’t sure what to make of it, but my casserole -hating husband and my 4 year old and 18 month old sons had seconds and I loved it. I served it with a tossed salad to round out the meal. It’s definitely going into the rotation, although I might add mushrooms next time. Spinach and mushrooms are one of my favorite veggie combinations. 🙂 I’m eager to try your other casseroles.
Does this only fill the pan a little bit? I doubled the recipe and it was not near enough for two 9x13s not sure what I did wrong
Hi Kasi,
It fills the pan about halfway up. Maybe an inch and a half. I prefer casseroles thinner so you get more topping. It serves about 6 people no matter what. You could probably fit it in an 8×8 if you wanted it thicker.
Is the spinach boiled before use or is it simply used after thawing out?
Hi Dee, it just needs to be thawed and drained if you are using frozen spinach.
How do you cook your chicken?
I normally bake it in a large Pyrex covered with foil at 350 until it is 160 with a meat thermometer. For the summer I’m going to cook it in the crock pot. I just put a little salt on.
I made this tonight for my sister and I. We are on a low carb diet. It was really delicious. Even our non carb picky eaters who do not like veggies were saying how good it was. We made a lot and it was all gone by the end of the night. Thank you so much for a delicious dinner. Looking forward to trying some more of your recipes.
Is the cubed chicken pre-cooked?
Yes, you use cooked chicken in this recipe.
This looks delish! Adding to my menu this week 🙂
Found this during a recipe search a few weeks back but only got around to making it tonight. I NEVER comment, but this was so good, I had to. I didn’t change a thing and it came out so creamy and flavorful. Just enough chicken, just enough spinach, everthing balanced and came to create magic. It was the best meal I’ve had since being told to go gluten free by my doctor. I live alone, so I prepped 5 small servings in mini loaf pans, baked one and froze the other four, leaving the mozzarella off until I bake them. Thank you for this!
Thank you for taking the time to comment Erin. Good reviews make me so happy! I’m glad you liked it 🙂