This Keto BBQ Chicken Casserole brings smoky, tangy BBQ flavor with clean, simple ingredients. Make your own easy homemade sauce, toss it all in the slow cooker, and enjoy a hearty, family-friendly meal that supports your healthy goals.
This Keto BBQ Chicken Casserole is packed with smoky, tangy BBQ flavor and clean-ingredient simplicity. My family loves it, and I love it because it uses clean, natural ingredients! If you've tried our Keto Chicken Fajita Casserole or our Keto Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole, you'll recognize the easy prep and family-friendly appeal.
🎯 Quick Look: Keto BBQ Chicken Casserole
- 🥬 Key Ingredients: Chicken breast or thighs, homemade low-carb BBQ sauce, baby spinach, Fage 5% Greek yogurt, Colby Jack cheese, uncured bacon, and cauliflower base.
- ⏱ Time: ~5 min prep | ~3 hrs cook | ~3 hrs 5 min total
- 🍽 Serves: ~5
- 🎨 Flavor Profile: Smoky BBQ, rich and cheesy with bacon crisp, balanced by vibrant greens and cauliflower's mild base.
- 🌿 Benefits: Low-carb and keto-friendly for clean eating; hidden veggies help boost nutrient density without sacrificing comfort; homemade sauce avoids processed sugars and additives.
Summarize and save this content on
Jump to:
💚 Why You'll Love It
- It's cozy, flavorful, and totally satisfying without feeling heavy. The homemade BBQ sauce keeps it clean and low-sugar, while the added veggies blend right in, so even picky eaters enjoy it. It reheats well, makes great leftovers, and is an easy weeknight dinner win.
Making Homemade Sauce
Finding clean sauces and dressings is often one of the first challenges when transitioning to real-food eating. Many store-bought options include added sugars, seed oils, and preservatives that don't support your wellness goals. Making your own can actually be simple, and the flavor is so much better.
This Keto BBQ Chicken Casserole starts with slow-cooked chicken in a homemade low-carb BBQ sauce, then bakes into a cheesy, comforting meal with veggies blended in. It's a great example of how clean keto can feel satisfying, nourishing, and family-approved.
If you're working toward a healthier low-carb lifestyle, you may find our Clean Keto Meal Plan for Beginners helpful. It walks you through how to do keto in a balanced, whole-food way without feeling restricted.
Ingredients
Chicken: Use organic chicken breasts or boneless thighs; thighs give a richer, more tender flavor.
Coconut Aminos or Tamari: Coconut aminos is soy-free and slightly sweet; tamari is gluten-free and gives a deeper savory flavor.
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar: Choose raw and unfiltered (with "the mother") for better flavor and gut-supportive benefits.
Pure Maple Syrup or Monk Fruit: Pure maple adds natural sweetness; for no-sugar, use pure monk fruit with no added erythritol.
Baby Spinach: Organic is best; fresh or frozen both work and blend easily into the casserole.
Fage 5% Greek Yogurt: Thick, creamy texture similar to cream cheese with more protein and easier digestion; sour cream works as a backup.
Colby Jack Cheese: Shred from a block to avoid starches and preservatives found in pre-shredded cheeses.
Uncured Bacon: Choose uncured to avoid chemical curing agents; turkey bacon works as well.
See the recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
To make the sauce more/less spicy, adjust the chipotle chili seasoning amount.
For another low-carb vegetable alternative to cauliflower, consider using cooked spaghetti squash for the base. Learn: How to Cook Spaghetti Squash.
Sub Liquid aminos with Coconut aminos or tamari sauce (fermented soy sauce).
Instead of making your own BBQ sauce to cook the chicken in, you can buy organic and sugar-free BBQ sauce like Primal Kitchen brand.
For a meatless meal, omit the bacon and use jackfruit instead of chicken!
To keep it sugar-free, omit maple and substitute pure monk fruit. Approx ⅛ tsp.
In a pinch, you can skip the slow cooker and buy a rotisserie chicken. Shred it, adding the homemade sauce and additional casserole ingredients before baking.
How to Make Keto BBQ Chicken Casserole
Step 1: Mix BBQ sauce ingredients with a whisk: Liquid aminos, water, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, maple syrup or monk fruit, spicy brown mustard, garlic and onion powder, chipotle chile powder, and smoked paprika
Step 2: Add the chicken breast and sauce to the Instant Pot or slow cooker. Cook on medium heat for 3 hours or until the chicken can be shredded with a fork.
Step 3: Shred the chicken. Add yogurt, 1 cup of shredded cheese, spinach, and bacon bits. Stir on medium heat, allowing spinach to wilt.
( Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F. Coat the cauliflower florets with oil, garlic, onion powder, pepper, and salt. Roast cauliflower for 15-20 minutes. .)
Step 4: Turn oven temp to 350. Scoop the shredded chicken mixture onto the roasted cauliflower in the casserole dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 20 min. Remove from heat and garnish with chives and your choice of toppings. Enjoy!
Hint: Cook the bacon extra crispy so it is easier to crumble!
Expert tip
Using a hand mixer helps to effortlessly shred the chicken!
Keto BBQ Chicken Casserole FAQs
Traditional BBQ sauces contain sugar and other starches that add to your total carbohydrates. If you choose sugar-free barbecue sauce or make your own, you will be safe to eat on a keto diet. Our homemade BBQ sauce is delicious and keto-friendly.
When you heat sugar at high temperatures, it will condense and turn to a thick, gummy texture. It may also burn and cause free radicals that damage your cells. The sugar does remain after cooking and will contribute to your total carbohydrate intake.
Vinegar has an acidic flavor that balances the sweetness and creates a tangy flavor profile. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is the preferred addition to homemade BBQ sauce as it is the least processed version and has just the right level of acidity.
As slang, those in the health community refer to eating highly processed meats, cheeses, oils, and sauces that are devoid of real nutrients as "dirty keto". While doing this might contribute to ketosis, it will also contribute to health problems by clogging the arteries, overloading the liver and gallbladder, and increasing exposure to carcinogenic ingredients. It is always best to find high-quality protein and fat balanced with nutrient-dense vegetables for a healthy balance.
More Keto Casseroles
👀Did you love this Keto BBQ Chicken Casserole? Give it a 🌟 review and let us know how it went in the comments below! Don't miss a single healthy recipe: subscribe to our newsletter for the latest healthy news and recipes!
Recipe
Keto BBQ Chicken Casserole
Equipment
- Chefs knife
- cutting board
- Mixing bowl
- spatula
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast
For the chicken and bbq sauce
- ¼ cup Braggs liquid aminos
- ⅓ cup water
- 6 oz can tomato paste organic
- 2 TB APPLE CIDER VINEGAR with the mother
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 TB PURE MAPLE SYRUP
- 1 pinch of pure monk fruit can sub ¼ teaspoon more maple for ⅛ teaspoon monk fruit
- 1.5 TB spicy brown mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon dried mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon chipotle Chile powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
For casserole
- 3 oz baby spinach fresh or frozen with fresh, close the lid for a few minutes and stir until it wilts..
- 5 oz 5% Fage Greek yogurt
- 2 cups Colby or Monterey Jack cheese shredded and divided
- 6 strips uncured bacon fried and crumbled
- 1 head organic cauliflower cut into small florets
- 1 TB avocado oil
- 1 TB chives minced
Instructions
- Add all the Ingredients for the barbecue sauce in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Place the raw chicken breast at the bottom of the slow cooker (or instant pot with slow cooker setting) and cover thoroughly with your homemade bbq sauce. Cook on medium heat for 3 hours or until the chicken can be shredded with a fork. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature of the chicken is 165F minimum.
- (While waiting on the chicken, fry up the bacon and let it cool. Once cool, break into small crumbed pieces and set aside. )
- Shred the chicken. Add yogurt, 1 cup of shredded cheese, spinach, and bacon bits. Stir to combine. (If using the instant pot, keep the heat on or turn to saute mode for 2 minutes after stirring while the spinach wilts)
- ( While the chicken is cooking, preheat the oven to 425F. Toss the cauliflower florets with oil and some garlic and onion powder, pepper, and salt. In a casserole dish. Roast cauliflower for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat.)
- Change oven temp to 350. Scoop the shredded chicken mixture on top of the cauliflower and add the remaining cheese to the top. Bake at 350 for 20 min or until cheese is lightly golden brown. Remove from heat and garnish with chives and your choice of toppings. Enjoy!
Katherine McLee says
This sounds really good! BBQ sauce can be lovely but I agree it can be too sweet for certain things! This sounds really doable even for those who aren't completely confident making things from scratch! Thank you for sharing!
Natalie Perry says
Thank you, yes it is so easy!