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If you love chicken and bacon recipes (and who doesn't?), you will really enjoy this easy Broccoli Bacon Cheddar Chicken dinner. Just throw everything on top of chicken in casserole dish, and then bake in one pan for 30 minutes! Done! Low-carb, gluten-free, keto friendly chicken recipe.
I'd like to note that there is nothing creative about this recipe. All the ingredients are very basic: chicken, broccoli, bacon, cheddar cheese. But the assembly and the cooking technique are so easy, which I hope makes this dish attractive to many, especially to those who love chicken and broccoli recipes.
And, by the way, in terms of simplicity and the ingredients, this recipe is very similar to my ranch chicken bake and buffalo chicken bake with bacon. It's all about making our dinners easy without sacrificing taste and our favorite ingredients.
Keto Friendly Chicken Recipes
Here are some more keto friendly recipes similar to this one. If you want to cook low carb, gluten free, high protein and higher fat recipes, take a look at these:
- Gluten free and low-carb chicken bake: Bacon Cream Cheese Cheddar Chicken
- Chicken breasts are smothered with creamed spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and bacon, and then baked in the oven: Chicken Smothered with Bacon and Creamed Spinach
- And, one more super delicious low-carb, gluten free and keto-friendly chicken recipe: Basil Pesto Tomato Mozzarella Chicken Bake
When you don't have too much time on your hands and don't want to think about what to cook for dinner - make this broccoli bacon chicken!
I recommend to blanch the broccoli before adding it on top of chicken (blanching means adding broccoli to boiling water just for a couple of minutes, removing it and draining it well). Blanching the broccoli makes it moist and brighter in color.
How to make this broccoli bacon cheddar chicken:
First, add chicken breasts to the casserole dish:
Then, add blanched broccoli on top of chicken. Blanched just means that you add broccoli to boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain it well - it makes the broccoli moist and brighter in color:
Next, add chopped cooked bacon on top of broccoli and chicken:
Add shredded Mozzarella cheese:
Finally, add shredded Cheddar cheese:
Bake your bacon broccoli chicken for about 30 minutes at 400 F in the preheated oven. The exact baking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken breasts.
Broccoli Bacon Cheddar Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 chicken breasts (use 4 thin chicken breasts, or use 2 large chicken breasts, sliced in half, horizontally)
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups broccoli florets , blanched, chopped
- 6 strips bacon , cooked, chopped
- ⅓ cup Mozzarella cheese , shredded
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese , shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Grease the bottom of the casserole dish with olive oil. I used the the oval casserole dish measured 13 inches x 9 inches x 4 inches deep.
- Add chicken breasts to the casserole dish. Note about chicken: use 4 thin chicken breasts, or use 2 large thick chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally each to make 4 thin chicken breasts.
- Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- Top with chopped and blanched broccoli florets.
- Top with chopped cooked bacon.
- Top with shredded Mozzarella cheese.
- Top with shredded Cheddar cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, for about 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken breasts.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Could I do this as a meal prep for the week?
Yes, you can. This recipe freezes well!
Could you add cream cheese to it
You can definitely add cream cheese. In fact, I have a recipe that is very similar to this one (but without broccoli) with cream cheese. Here it is: https://juliasalbum.com/bacon-cream-cheese-cheddar-chicken/
I'm am exactly a month into keto and this recipe is beyond helpfu for helping me stay on track! I love that the keto diet has so many satisfying foods and this recipe is one of them. Thanks for posting!
You're very welcome, Brittany! Enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Delicious with a side of pasta and perfect for lunch at work,
I can't stop making it, it is now my favorite recipe eheh thanks for sharing!
So glad you liked this recipe and that you've been making it many times now! Thank you and enjoy!
I made this for my husband and kids tonight and it will be on our table again and again so very delicious
So glad your family enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for such a nice comment!
I made this for company last night. It was delicious. I blanched carrots and broccoli (carrots a couple minutes longer). I also used butter instead of olive oil. Having never made it before, I didn't know for sure it would be good I figured butter would be more likely to give a good result. I'll use olive oil next time. I cut the chicken breasts up into maybe thirds. I was so happy it was delicious and this is going to show up on my table more often!
Heather, you're very welcome! So happy you enjoyed this dish! Thank you for sharing your feedback. I also like to use thinly sliced chicken breasts or slice bigger chicken breasts into thinner slices myself. Carrots are a great addition - good idea to blanch them first.
I've been handing out your recipe to friends and a couple suggested using frozen veggies. Do you think they'd need to be thawed first?
Yes, I think, thawing the frozen veggies first is the best way to go. Using frozen veggies without thawing might make this dish more watery.
Word to the wise- This recipe needs foil on top. Bacon and broccoli burned and chicken still raw inside.
Same happened to me a and there was a lot of liquid on the bottom.
Agreed. I did not put oil on the bottom of my glass casserole dish. Also, put the casserole, minus the cheese, and covered with aluminum foil in the oven for about 40 minutes. Then I added the cheese and put it back in the oven for 15 minutes. It tasted good.
I would do it again this way, but I would pound the chicken first and also brine it so it doesn’t dry out so much.
Great tips, Kathy, thank you!
Do you know what the cook time difference would be with thighs instead of breasts?
If you use skinless, boneless chicken thighs - the cooking times would be almost the same as with chicken breasts. If you use bone-in chicken thighs, you might have to increase the cooking times until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear.
It says 4g carbs per serving, what size is a serving of this casserole?
There are total 4 servings, so one serving is one chicken breast with all the stuff on top. The calorie count is per one serving.
How would you cook it if you froze it?
This dish freezes and reheats really well. You don't even need to defrost it. I would just reheat it in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or more until it is heated through.
Do you cook it first then freeze it? (I am new to the freezing meals thing)
You can do either. Assemble the whole dish, cover it air-tight and freeze it uncooked. Or, cook the dish and then freeze it. In either case, the cooking time might be different (frozen uncooked chicken might take longer to cook while frozen cooked chicken will cook quicker).
Made this last night with some broccoli from my garden! I will definitely be making it again. I did add some chopped up mustard greens I needed to use from my garden underneath the chicken. But that was my only change.
So glad you liked this recipe! Adding chopped up mustard greens sounds yummy! 🙂
Can I sub out the broccoli with zucchini
Yes, you can. Great substitution!
I made this tonight and we loved it. I was looking for simple keto recipes that would be tasty and not take too much time in the kitchen given the heat here. I am saving this and doing this weekly. Loving finding easy keto recipes! Thank you for this!
You're very welcome! Thank you for such a sweet comment! 🙂
Could I sub broccoli for asparagus?
Yes, asparagus would be great here, too. Just make sure to trim the ends.
I made this for my family tonight and it was devoured. Even by the ones who aren’t following a keto diet. I’m saving this one for sure. It was delicious! Thank you so much for sharing!
You're very welcome, Rhonda! So happy your family enjoyed this recipe. 🙂