Cheesy Chicken Spinach Bake (Low-Carb, Keto)

Let’s get one thing straight right away: this dish is not cute. It doesn’t photograph well, it’s not pretty, it almost looks unappetizing. But it is 100% delicious, so I had to post it anyway. (Also sometimes you only get one shot while the baby is napping and this is what I got.)

This is one of those recipes that you throw together with whatever you have in the fridge (or even freezer—if you aren’t keeping emergency cream cheese frozen for whatever reason you might want to consider it), hoping it might end up being a mediocre dinner but then it ends up blowing your mind and you quickly write down the ingredients so you can add it to your weekly recipe rotation.

If you’re cutting carbs, this is perfect with a salad or a side of veggies; but if you aren’t, I think rice or even some nice toasty sourdough would be great. This recipe produces a whole lot of tasty saucy juices that would be delicious sopped up with a bit of fresh bread.

Ingredients:

  • About a pound of chicken thighs

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 1/2 of an onion, diced

  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped

  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

  • 8 ounces of cream cheese

  • 1/4 cup of milk (or chicken broth or even water)

  • 2 heaping cups of fresh spinach

  • About 1 cup of shredded cheese (I used cheddar but you could use whatever you like best)

  • Lemon wedges, for serving

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large pan, melt half of the butter over medium heat and add the onion. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until golden-brown. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove garlic and onion from pan and set aside.

  2. In the same pan, add the rest of the butter and brown chicken thighs for 2-3 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large baking dish.

  3. Return the onion and garlic to the pan and add the cream cheese. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow cream cheese to melt. Pour milk in little by little to loosen. Add the spinach and stir gently until combined and spinach begins to wilt/reduce. Transfer to baking dish and use a spatula to spread the spinach and cream cheese mixture evenly over chicken thighs.

  4. Transfer to oven and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, adding shredded cheese on top with about 10-15 minutes of cook time left.

  5. To serve, top with more shredded cheese if desired and serve with a lemon wedge.

"Recipes"Megan Flynn PetersonComment