This 6 ingredient BBQ Chicken Zoodle Casserole is an ULTRA delicious weeknight dinner that is under 300 calories, protein packed and will please even picky eaters! Gluten free & lower carb too!
Are you getting tired of zucchini noodles?
Are you swimming in a sea of cold summer zucchini noodle pasta salads, Indian salmon curry zucchini noodles and gluten free mac and cheese with zucchini noodles, just TRYING to get your head to peek out from the CRUSHING VEGETAL WEIGHT?
I know, I know. We eat them A LOT. But why would you not when zoodles are just oodles of fun to say.
Sorry, sometimes I like to pretend I am Dr. Seuss-ETTE and do things like rhyme and make green eggs and ham egg muffins.
I was going to say “you can take the girl out of Canada, but you can’t take the Canada out of the girl.”
But that makes absolutely no sense. And then I would further confuse you because you would wonder if everything you have heard about our maple-syrup eating and igloo dwelling ways was a LIE, and that we are actually just a bunch of weird people that speak in poetry.
We’re only 120 words in and we’re already all over the place. Buuuut, what else is new?
Back to zoodles.
BBQ Chicken and Zucchini Noodles Combo
Well, now that you know the DEEP DARK reason why I love zucchini noodles. Let’s talk about why I love BBQ Chicken. Specifically, this bbq chicken casserole.
Especially since it was, you know, hard for me to eat true BBQ goodness growing up in Canada without melting our home Igloo.
HOW DO YOU TRUST THAT I EVEN KNOW WHAT GOOD BBQ ANYTHING IS?
I have an American husband. That is my excuse.
What to do with leftover bbq chicken
Beyond having an American husband, we’ve been around the block with BBQ chicken recipes here on the blog, that are SO perfect for using up leftover bbq chicken! Some recipes I recommend would be:
- Healthy BBQ Chicken Quinoa casserole
- Healthy BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
- BBQ Baked Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Or THIS ultra-creamy-dreamy and sweet and sassy bbq chicken zoodle casserole.
You could even be fancy and use some instant pot chicken breasts! Whatever works FOR YOU.
Because of my love for both zucchini noodles and all things of the chicken-that-has-been-barbequed variety, it was CLEARLY time for it to get its sweet and smoky self allllll sorts of tangled up with some zoodles and OOEY-GOOEY-CHEESE.
Oh, and Greek yogurt. Did you expect me to not sneak extra protein in there somehowsomeWAY?
You should know me by now and saw it COMIN’ in this barbecue chicken casserole.
FAQs & Tips
This bbq chicken zoodle casserole. YOU GUYS. I did NAHT expect something with only 6 ingredients to be all “YO! I AM FLAVOR PACKED but I am also GOOD for you and won’t make you feel like you should eat salad for the rest of your life after ingesting my creamy, cheddar-packed ways.”
Yes, food does speak to me. I pretend its just part of “the job.”
Stop looking at me like that.
Besides the 6 ingredient shenanigans, you can ALSO make this casserole AHEAD. I know this because I made it many many many times because I quite enjoyed it for lunch the next day, when all its FLAVAH had a good chance to hug it out, get all cozy and become EXTRA YUM.
And, you know what? I wouldn’t want you to miss out on that.
The cheese will not become totally smooth, which is totally ok. You don’t want to over-cook the yogurt and cause it to curdle. I made this a few times and sometimes there was a little bit of water left in the bottom of my dish once cooled. If this happens just cut and plate the first piece and then lightly tip the dish so the liquid pools in the corner and blot any excess liquid with a paper towel.
recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Small Zucchinis (about 6 cups spiralized) (500g)
- Salt
- 1/2 Cup Plain, Non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 Cup BBQ sauce, of choice + additional for drizzling
- 1 1/2 Cups Reduced-fat Cheddar Cheese, grated and divided (6 oz)
- 1 Cup Shredded chicken breast (leftover rotisserie chicken works great here!) (130g)
- 1/2 Cup Cilantro, roughly chopped + additional for garnish
- Pepper
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 200 degrees and line two baking sheets with paper towel.
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Using the 3mm blade (or blade c), spiralize your zucchinis. Divide the zucchini noodles between the two paper towel-lined baking sheets in a flat layer. Sprinkle evenly with salt. (don’t worry the paper towel won’t burn at such a low temp!)
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Bake the zucchini noodles in the oven for 40 minutes to dry them out. Once cooked, cover with paper towel and press out any excess moisture. Repeat once more with an additional paper towel. Set aside.
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Bring your oven up to 375 degrees and place the Greek yogurt, BBQ sauce and 1 cup of cheese in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until the cheese just begins to break down and look melty and “stringy,” about 8-10 minutes, whisking regularly.
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While the cheese melts, toss together the shredded chicken breast, cilantro and dried zucchini noodles into a large bowl. Lightly cut up the mixture up with a fork and knife to make it easier to evenly mix, as well as cut, once cooked.
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Once the cheese has begun to melt, pour the sauce over the zucchini noodle mixture and season with a pinch of pepper. Mix well until the sauce evenly coats all the noodles.
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Spread the casserole into a casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake until golden brown and bubble, about 20-25 more minutes.
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Once cooked, let the casserole cool for 20 minutes (don’t skip this!) to let it set and absorb some of the water.
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Cut and drizzle with extra BBQ sauce and cilantro, if desired. DEVOUR.
Nutrition
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