Keto Taco Casserole | Make Ahead Keto Freezer Meal

Keto Taco Casserole / Keto Chicken Enchilada Casserole – Freezer Friendly Keto Chicken Casserole Recipe!

Ditch the carb-heavy tortillas and get your chicken enchilada fix with this keto taco casserole instead! Luscious, tender chicken thighs with a zesty Mexican flavor kick, plus a healthy dose of veggies and plenty of cheese.

And, at only 6g NET CARBS per piece, this keto taco casserole is hard to beat! Or, call it a keto chicken enchilada casserole if you prefer. (But I figured, without the tortillas, you wouldn’t have “the whole enchilada” anymore… *BA DUM KISH*)

Whatever you like to call it, this keto casserole lets you enjoy all of the tasty, comforting flavors you love without all of the carbs. And, it couldn’t be easier to make. Just pop all of your keto chicken casserole components into your baking dish, and bake! A healthy, flavorful, and simple low carb dinner to last you all week.

Or, for keto meal prep purposes, you can cover your entire keto taco casserole and store in the fridge for 2-3 days. Best of all, this is also a meal prep FREEZER meal that you can store in the freezer until you’re ready to cook it, up to 3 months!

Why Chicken Thighs? Can I Make my Keto Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Chicken Breast?

If you’d prefer to use chicken breast in your keto casserole, go for it! Turkey will work just as well, too. Personally, I used shredded chicken thighs for my keto enchilada casserole just because it’s one of my FAVORITE keto friendly meats. Thighs have a richer fat content than chicken breast, and thighs also tend to be the more tender and flavorful.

Plus, I also got a GREAT deal on free range organic chicken thighs as part of my custom-selection Butcher Box! Butcher Box is an amazing online service that ships high-quality meats right to your door, for an awesome price I haven’t seen anywhere else. I love the convenience, and I love that I can TRUST Butcher Box to provide me with quality meats from small farms.

And, since Butcher Box collaborated with me for this keto casserole recipes video, they’re offering you all a SPECIAL, LIMITED-TIME DISCOUNT CODE for the first 100 purchases. With this deal, there’s NO commitment to purchase monthly, you’ll get FREE shipping, $20 OFF your first box, and FREE GROUND BEEF FOR LIFE—just click THIS LINK and enter your email to get the deal!

Can I Make my Keto Taco Casserole with Ground Beef Instead of Chicken?

Yes, you can totally make your keto taco casserole with ground beef as well! And if you get that Butcher Box free ground beef for life deal, you’ll have plenty of free meat to use…

Just cook up your ground beef as desired before layering it to your casserole dish. You can even use the same seasonings and flavorings as I used in my recipe. Simply swap out the 3 cups of shredded chicken thighs for 3 cups of cooked ground beef, or about 1 – 1½ lbs.

Keeping Your Keto Chicken Casserole Low Carb & Budget Friendly

In terms of other substitutions, this keto taco casserole recipe is very forgiving – so don’t be afraid to make other swaps if you’d like! But, just know that I’ve crafted this recipe with ingredients that are freezer-friendly, budget-friendly, and low in carbs.

The beauty of this keto enchilada casserole is that EVERYTHING goes into the dish to be baked together, and it comes out tasting super fresh and flavorful! So, even though I’ve used some canned produce (like tomatoes, chiles, and olives) to help keep the cost down, you don’t even taste the difference.

In terms of the nutrition, I stuck with LOW CARB vegetables in this keto taco casserole like cauliflower, green bell pepper, and tomatoes. Did you know that green bell pepper is has the lowest carb content of all bell pepper colors? And that tomatoes actually have fewer carbs per gram than broccoli or Brussels sprouts??

So, if you choose to make this keto chicken casserole with other veggies, just be mindful of the carb content to keep your keto casserole truly low carb!

How to Cook & Shred Chicken Thighs

As mentioned, you’re welcome to make your keto taco casserole with ground beef, turkey, chicken breast—whatever meat you like. But, if you’re using chicken thighs like I did, or if you’re using chicken breasts, you’ll need to cook and shred the meat first.

To start, I added my chicken cuts to a deep saucepan with onion, crushed garlic, a bay leaf, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Add enough water to cover the ingredients in your pot, then turn the heat to high, cover, and bring to a boil.

Once it’s boiling, turn down the heat to medium-high, keeping the water simmering gently. Cook for about 30 minutes, until your chicken is nice and tender.

Then, carefully remove your chicken thighs or breasts from the pot using tongs and transfer to a cutting board. Shred using 2 forks—getting the texture as rough or finely shredded as you’d like the meat in your keto enchilada casserole to be!

#1 Cook Chicken Mixture for Keto Enchilada Casserole

After your meat is cooked and shredded, you’re ready to start cooking the keto chicken casserole mixture—enchilada-style.

Add a bit of oil to a pan and sauté chopped onion for a few minutes. Once tender, add canned diced tomatoes, diced green chiles, and your shredded chicken (or whichever cooked meat you’re using in this keto taco casserole recipe).

Season to taste with taco seasoning, preferably a low carb or no sugar taco seasoning, or a homemade version so you know exactly what’s in it. Then, mix well to combine, let that mixture heat through, and set aside.

#2 Sauté Cauliflower & Pepper Veggie Mixture

Next, cook up your keto enchilada veggie mixture.

Heat a bit of oil in a pan and sauté some onion with chopped green bell pepper, which is the lowest carb of all bell pepper colors. After a few minutes, add cauliflower rice—another solid low carb veggie choice—along with some taco seasoning.

Mix well to integrate and cook until it’s almost tender. It’ll continue to cook in the oven, so don’t worry if it’s still a bit crisp. Remove from the heat, and now your keto taco casserole components are ready to assemble!

#3 Assemble Keto Taco Casserole Layers

To make this keto enchilada casserole recipe, I used a glass 9×13-inch casserole dish. For keto meal prep or if you plan to prep this as a keto freezer meal, I recommend using a casserole dish with a lid if you have one! (I’ll show you my special method for how to freeze this keto taco casserole in a moment, whether you have a dish with a lid or not.)

For your first layer, cover the bottom of the dish with your cauliflower rice and pepper veggie mixture. Sprinkle a layer of black olives on top of that—a great keto taco ingredient that’s rich in fat and fiber! Next, add your cooked keto chicken enchilada mixture, and finish with a generous helping of shredded cheese on top.

And that’s literally it! Your keto chicken enchilada casserole / keto taco casserole / keto deliciousness-in-a-casserole is ready to cook. Pop it in the oven at 350°F (180°C) for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Or, you can stop here before cooking and store it for keto meal prep purposes!

Storing your Keto Chicken Casserole for Meal Prep

Again, for keto meal prep purposes, I recommend using a glass casserole dish with an airtight lid if you have one. But, even if you don’t have a dish with a lid, you can also cover the dish with foil, plastic wrap, or a reusable alternative like beeswax food wraps.

Seal your keto taco casserole as best you can around the edges of your dish, and you can store it in the fridge for 2-3 days until you’re ready to cook!

Or, you can use this same method to store as a keto freezer meal as well. Just cover your un-baked keto chicken casserole with a lid or food wrap, and then store the entire dish in the freezer for up to 3 months.

But, if you DON’T want to sacrifice an entire casserole dish by leaving it in the freezer for weeks or months, I’ve got a nifty freezer meal prep hack you can use…

How to Freeze your Keto Casserole – and Keep your Casserole Dish!

Before layering your keto enchilada casserole ingredients into the dish, first create a foil lining inside your dish. I recommend using a few longer pieces of foil layered on top of one another—long enough so you can fold the foil back over the top to cover the casserole. Press the foil into the edges and corners so it’s flush with the shape of your dish.

Leave the long edges of the foil stretched outward for now, and add your keto taco casserole layers into the lined dish. Once it’s assembled, fold over those long edges of foil to cover the casserole and pop the entire dish in the freezer overnight.

The next day, your keto chicken casserole will be a frozen block that you can neatly remove from the casserole dish! Then, just return the foil-wrapped casserole back to the freezer—without the dish—and your casserole dish is free to use as you’d like.

The day before you’re ready to cook it, simply remove the frozen foil block from the freezer, place your wrapped keto taco casserole back into the dish, and transfer to the fridge to thaw overnight. On the next day, just peel back the foil covering the top, wrap it around the edges of the dish, and your keto casserole is ready to cook.

The cook time and temperature will be the same. If it’s still frozen in the middle after sitting in the fridge overnight, you may need to leave it in the oven a bit longer. Once it’s warmed through, the result will be just as deliciously savory, cheesy, and EASY!

Keto Meal Prep Freezer Meals | Easy Keto Must Try Recipes!