Chicken, Broccoli & Bacon Casserole

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups shredded chicken (3 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded)

4 cups broccoli florets (2 heads of broccoli)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 medium onion (finely diced)

2/3 cup chopped bacon

1 cup cashews (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes)

1 1/2 cup almond milk

1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400º Fahrenheit (200º Celsius) and place the shredded chicken in a large bowl.

Fill a pot 1/2 full with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Once boiling, add in the broccoli and cook for 3 minutes until just tender but not mushy. Pour the broccoli into a strainer/sieve and run under cold water until they have cooled. Set aside to drain before adding the cooked broccoli florets to the bowl with the chicken.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Add in the diced onion and chopped bacon and cook for 8 minutes until the bacon begins to crisp and the onion has softened. Add the onion and bacon to the bowl with the broccoli florets.

In a high speed blender or NutriBullet container combine the drained cashews, almond milk, dijon mustard, garlic and nutritional yeast and blend until completely smooth. If your blender is struggling to blend it into a smooth consistency, add a splash more almond milk. Pour the sauce into a small sauce pan on medium heat, season with salt and pepper and leave it to gently simmer for 5-8 minutes until the sauce has begun to thicken. You can tell when the sauce is done by dipping a spoon into it and running your finger down the back of the spoon, if the line remains visible, the sauce is done and should be removed from the heat.

Add half of the sauce to the bowl with the broccoli/chicken/bacon and give it a stir. Continue to add more sauce until everything is well coated but not "soupy" (you may have excess sauce leftover). Once the mixture is stirred well, pour it into a baking dish approximately 11 x 7 inches in size.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the casserole is golden in colour on top and bubbling in the corners. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

• Calories: 234 kcal
• Total Fat: 13 g
• Sodium: 296 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 12 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3 g
• Total Sugars: 3 g
• Protein: 19 g