Comfort food you grew up with gets a one pot, lightened up, spring makeover! This One Pot Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Casserole is easy to make and perfect for a weeknight family dinner!
It appears I’m all about the one pot/skillet meals this week and why shouldn’t I be? They’re easy to make, minimal dishes to wash and generally comfort meals that everyone tends to like. Monday I made us healthier Chinese takeout and today it’s all about comfort food with this One Pot Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Casserole.
I mentioned last week that you would be seeing at least a couple more recipes using seasonal spring asparagus in them, because quite frankly I can’t control myself when it’s around. I’ll roast a bunch of it on Sunday saying I’m going to add it to my salads or snack on it during the week, but the next thing I know I’ve already eaten half of it and I’ll be lucky if it lasts through Monday. This time around I decided to take a classic comfort food that I’m sure many of you have had, chicken and broccoli casserole, and give it a lightened up spring makeover.
On top of being excited to take a classic, lighten it up AND add one of my favorite vegetables to it, I was even more excited to cook this one pot meal in my new Wolf Gourmet cookware set. When the wonderful folks at Wolf Gourmet approached me with the opportunity to try out their 10-piece cookware set I jumped at the chance! My current pots and pans were starting to show some wear and tear and I had been considering upgrading. At first I was nervous about using stainless steel cookware because I had only ever used non-stick. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how evenly everything I cook has turned out and how durable the cookware set is, not to mention it’s gorgeous to look at!
Another feature I like are the longer and ergonomically designed handles, making lifting and pouring a breeze! I ended up using the 11.5 inch skillet to cook the One Pot Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Casserole, but the 3.5 quart sautè pan would also work great. The 10-piece cookware set can be found at Bloomingdale’s.
So let’s get back to the casserole and what I did to lighten it up, but still keep that creamy cheesiness that you expect. First up was to replace higher fat milk or even cream with part low-sodium chicken broth and part unsweetened almond milk, skim milk would also work. To get the extra creamy flavor I wanted I added an ounce of 1/3 less fat cream cheese and plain Greek yogurt. The sauce was so thick and creamy I almost didn’t add in the cheese, but of course I couldn’t resist. A combination of Gruyere and sharp cheddar both melted in and on top of the casserole rounds out this one pot family friendly dinner and it is delicious!
Thanks to Wolf Gourmet for sending me their 10-piece cookware set to test out and review. As always all opinions are my own.
More One Pot/Skillet Recipes
Easy Skillet Chicken Cacciatore
Skillet Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
One Pot Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 of a yellow onion, diced
- 1 clove of garlic, grated or minced
- 2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
- 1 1/2 cups chopped asparagus, cut approximately 1 inch in length
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
- 1 ounce low fat cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- 1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil. Season the cut chicken with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray the skillet generously with with cooking spray or add enough oil to coat the bottom. Add the chicken to the skillet and sauté until nearly cooked, about 4 minutes. Remove the chicken onto a plate and set aside.
- Coat the skillet with more cooking spray or oil and add in the onion and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add in the mushrooms and asparagus and season with salt and pepper.
- Sauté the vegetables for another 2-3 minutes or until they start to soften. Sprinkle the flour over the top of the vegetables and stir together until the flour taste is cooked off, about 1 minute.
- Add the chicken back in with the vegetables. Pour in the chicken broth and milk and stir together until smooth. Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Add in the cream cheese and stir together until smooth.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in most of the gruyere and cheddar cheese until melted, reserve a little cheese for the top of the casserole. Stir in the Greek yogurt until smooth then top the casserole with the remaining cheese.
- Place in the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and starts to turn golden brown. Serve the casserole as is or on top of rice or quinoa.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 454Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 134mgSodium: 287mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 55g
I made this a little different from your recipe. I precooked and diced the chicken and instead of serving it on a bed of rice I mixed 2 cups of cooked rice into the casserole and baked it at 350°F for 45 minutes. It came out excellent 👌
Wow, I had chicken tenders that I didn’t want to go to waste. So with ingredients that I had, I found this recipe. Absolutely delicious! Easy and I give this a thumbs up!
OMG… Made this tonight with the full fat ingredients… cream, full fat cream cheese and I did use some chicken broth and everything this recipe calls for. I poured over egg noodles.
It was heaven! Everybody loved it. I will be making this again. Thanks for sharing! ❤️
Hi Kim! Thanks for trying the casserole and I’m so glad everyone loved it!
I’ve made this numerous times…..mixing it up with different cheeses. Our whole family loves it….infact my 18 year old just requested,for dinner tomorrow!
I’m happy to hear you and the family love this one Michelle!
Can you make this without flour to make it Keto?
Hi Melissa,
You could substitute the flour with arrowroot starch although I don’t know if this fits in with the Keto diet. If you go this route I would start with a tablespoon and add more if needed. If you don’t use any thickener I would cut the amount of chicken broth and milk in half to keep the sauce from being too runny. I haven’t tried it without a thickener so I can’t guarantee the results. Hope this helps.
Any suggestions on how to make part of it ahead of time?
Could you use sour cream instead of yogurt?
Absolutely!
Danae, this recipe sounds amazing! I was totally expecting it to include pasta for some reason and I like that it doesn’t. Pinned and hoping to try it soon!
Thanks Allison! Sometimes I don’t bother with the pasta or rice and prefer to just eat it as is with a salad on the side.
When do you add the chicken back in?
Hi Bridget, sorry about that. I’ve corrected the recipe, the chicken gets added back in in step #11.
Such an ideal casserole for spring, loving anything asparagus right now.
Thanks Thalia!
You make me drool every time I stop by. What a perfect weeknight dinner that will make my whole fam smile. Love it!
Aww thanks Karly! So happy to hear some of my recipes promote drooling! ;-)
This casserole is going on my dinner menu ASAP! I love one pot meals and the creamy chicken and asparagus flavors in this dish are too good to resist. I will have to check out the Wolf Gourmet set too.
One pot meals are the best! Thanks so much Ashley!
Great idea for weeknight dinner!
Thanks Taylor!
This looks so creamy and delicious, and I LOVE asparagus! I can’t wait to try this!