If you’re looking to make your chicken casserole lighter and healthier, then here’s the recipe for you!
Ingredients
1.5 pounds or 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cooked and cut into bite sized chunks
1 (8-ounce) package of wild rice blend, cooked according to the package directions
1 (10-ounce) bag of frozen French style green beans, lightly cooked
¼ teaspoon sage
¼ teaspoon marjoram
¼ teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or white pepper
½ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup pimento, diced
1 can low fat cream of celery soup or cream of mushroom soup
½ cup low fat mayonnaise
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a 2-quart casserole dish, mix together the chicken, cooked rice, green beans, onion and pimento and herbs. Add the soup, mayonnaise and stir ingredients together.
3. Place casserole on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Tips
Using a dry heat sauté method is a fast way to prepare chicken breasts for this dish.
Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.
Coat a skillet with olive oil, heat over medium high heat. Add chicken breasts, cook for 4 minutes without moving them, then turn and finish cooking the other side for another 4 minutes. Check the center of the chicken breasts for doneness.
Also, if you would like the sauce to be a little more creamy, add 2 tablespoons of water or stock to the soup.
Purchase a roasted chicken or turkey breast from your grocery store to cut down on prep time.
And when you use packaged seasoned rice blends such as Uncle Ben’s or Lundberg, omit the salt and seasonings.
To reduce the sodium in this recipe, look for low fat cream soups that are also low in sodium such as those from Healthy Choice or Campbell’s Select brands.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 days. Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 2 months.
