Step away from typical holiday fare and celebrate the diverse flavors of the season with this wonderful Holiday Harvest Chicken Casserole.
It starts with a bed of sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and onions baked with chicken stock and seasoning. Cubed chicken, browned to perfection, and yummy broccolini add to the flavor. All of this is topped with cheddar cheese and cooked to bubbly magnificence.
This simple yet flavorful dish is bold enough to rock the holiday table, but I prefer to put it on rotation in the cooler months to celebrate the many flavors of fall. It’s a wonderful gluten-free dish that pairs well with Roasted Butternut Squash Salad and Pumpkin Sage Soup.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Done In Under an Hour. When’s the last time you made a get-together ready dinner that took less than an hour to prep and cook?
- Meal Prep and Freezer Friendly. Make things even easier by putting this dish together ahead of time. Or, better yet, freeze it for a flavorful meal in a flash.
- Low Carb. This dish is grain-free and low-carb but offers plenty of fibrous vegetables for gut health.
- So Simple. Once all the veggies are chopped, this dish comes together in just a few easy steps.
How to Make Holiday Harvest Chicken Casserole
This recipe has only a handful of simple steps, just make sure you factor the veggie prep into your cooking time.
You can find the full, printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. For now, let’s take a quick look at how to make this new autumn classic.
Key Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes. Orange medium sweet potatoes, which have a softer texture and sweeter flavor than white, work best for this recipe.
- Chicken Breast. As always, look for free-range organic chicken. Boneless skinless chicken breast is the easiest to use for this recipe.
- Brussels Sprouts. This recipe calls for about a quarter-pound of Brussels sprouts. Make sure to remove the thick outer leaves and trim off the stems.
- Broccolini. Similar in name and look, broccolini is more tender than regular broccoli and has the perfect texture for this recipe.
- Cheddar Cheese. It wouldn’t be a casserole without a heaping of melty cheese on top. Strive for full coverage for the best results
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Bake the Vegetables. Place sweet potatoes, onions, and Brussels sprouts in a baking dish. Add chicken stock and spices, stir, and bake.
2. Cook the Chicken. Season the chicken and brown it in a nonstick skillet. Brown on all sides.
3. Add Broccolini. Cook until tender.
4. Bake the Casserole. Add chicken and broccolini to the casserole and top with cheese. Bake until bubbly.
5. Garnish. Top with cranberries and pepitas. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips, Substitutions, and Variations
- Dice chicken into uniform bite-sized cubes. Make sure when you cut the chicken into small cubes, you strive for a uniform size for even cooking. I like to cut mine into bite-sized pieces but you can go a little larger if you prefer.
- Make it vegetarian. You can make this dish vegetarian-friendly by substituting the chicken stock for vegetable stock and replacing the chicken with wild rice. Cook rice alone and add to the casserole at the same time you would add the chicken.
- Play with the seasoning. The spices I included in this recipe are fairly basic, but you can easily spice it up if you want. Try adding paprika or cumin, or topping with fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary.
- Mix up the toppings. Another fun way to add variety is to mix up the toppings. I’ve found that green onions, splintered almonds, or diced apples work well with the given garnishes.
Make Ahead and Storage Recommendations
You can easily make this dish ahead of time to save some sanity on busy weeknights or during chaotic holiday parties. Simply follow the instructions up to the point of adding the chicken and cheese to the casserole. Cover the casserole dish and put it in the fridge for up to three days.
Once you’re ready to eat, finish baking the casserole. This will take a bit longer than 15 minutes since all the ingredients will be cold. Take it out when the cheese is bubbly and all the ingredients are heated through.
This dish can also be frozen and thawed for a quick, filling meal.
Do as described above, but place the ingredients in an airtight container and put them in the freezer. Let thaw overnight in the fridge and then place in the oven at 350ºF until warmed through.
If you have leftovers, place them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. Reheat large portions in the oven or smaller portions in the microwave or air fryer.
Serving Suggestions
The nice thing about casseroles is they tend to be a full meal all by themselves. But if you want to use this dish as a main at a holiday get-together or seasonal celebration, there are plenty of sides that go well with it to help fill out your guests’ plates. Here are a few of my favorite serving pairings.
- Roasted Acorn Squash Salad with Greens, Pecans, and Pomegranate – One of my favorite autumn salads.
- Raw Brussels Sprouts Salad with Dried Fruit – Why not do Brussels sprouts two ways and really impress your guests?
- Marinated Pumpkin Salad with Quinoa and Pomegranate – Round out the flavors of the season with this wonderful salad.
- Honey-Roasted Carrots with Rosemary – Easy and delicious.
- Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary – Butter infused with a few garlic cloves and earthy rosemary makes these potatoes the best you’ll ever have.
- Roasted Butternut Squash with Balsamic Reduction – Another autumn classic.
Harvest Chicken Casserole
Equipment
- Casserole dish
- Medium skillet
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 2 cups Brussels sprouts outer leaves removed and quartered
- ½ cup red onion diced
- 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 cup chicken stock or chicken broth
- kosher salt and pepper
- 2 chicken breasts boneless, skin removed, and cut into cubes
- ½ cup broccolini
- ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- pepitas and cranberries toppings
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Place sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and red onion in a casserole dish. Top with half of the olive oil, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake covered for 35-40 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft.
- While the veggies are baking, set a non-stick skillet to medium-high heat and add the rest of the olive oil.
- Season the chicken cubes with salt and pepper and add them to the hot skillet. Cook until browned on all sides.
- Add the broccolini and cook on medium heat for a couple more minutes.
- Remove the casserole dish from the oven and add the chicken and broccolini. Top with the cheddar cheese and bake for 15 more minutes, or until bubbly.
- Serve with pepitas seeds and dried cranberries.
