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Fast and Easy Gluten Free Mexican Chicken Casserole

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Gluten free Mexican chicken casserole that’s low carb, too. This quick and simple GF casserole is a one dish meal that will become your family’s favorite Tex Mex dish. The perfect weeknight meal when you have to get dinner on the table in a hurry.

Gluten Free Low Carb Mexican Chicken Casserole Recipe

Mexican Cooking, the GF Way

I have loved Mexican food practically my whole life. My mom really didn’t do a whole lot of Mexican cooking,(aside from tacos here or there) so any Mexican I got came from Aunt Myrtle.

Her specialty was chicken enchilada casserole. OMG, when we went to visit and it was in the oven, you knew it was going to be a great night.

When I got older, she gave me her recipe. Since I found out I was gluten intolerant, I have to say it’s one of the recipes I miss the most.

Right after I went gluten free, I didn’t know I could eat corn tortillas. I was trying to watch carbs at the time, too, so instead, I came up with this gluten free Mexican chicken casserole so I could have my Mexican fix.

No, it’s not the same as Aunt Myrtle’s enchilada casserole. Not even close. But this quick and easy casserole is amazingly delicious all on its own.

Gluten Free Cooking Doesn’t have to Mean Time Consuming Cooking

Back before I was gluten free, it was a cinch to throw a last minute dinner together. Add some meat, some potatoes, a powdered gravy mix, and a can of creamy condensed soup together and you could have a really great tasting dinner in no time flat.

Gluten free low carb cooking can be very time consuming because you can’t add prepackaged ingredients that add flavor and cut the cook time.  And while I love taking the time to cook a healthy gluten free dinner, when I’m working late it’s just not an option.

I’ve made it my mission to come up with quick gluten free dinners to keep in my back pocket for times like that, especially recipes like this low carb wheat free Mexican chicken casserole. But you’ve got to get creative to make a casserole gluten free, low carb, and tasty. Tortillas and beans were out.

Tips to Making a Great GF Mexican Chicken Casserole:

  • To save time, I used frozen cooked cubed chicken breast and frozen fajita peppers and onions mix. If you want to make yours from absolute scratch, cube two cups of leftover chicken breast and use one cup sliced onions and one cup sliced peppers.
  • Try this with beef instead! Tastes just like tacos with a little crunch. To make the beef version, brown 1 pound hamburger and use in place of the 2 cups chicken.
Yield: 6 servings

Fast and Easy Gluten Free Mexican Chicken Casserole

Gluten Free Low Carb Mexican Chicken Casserole Recipe

This quick and simple gluten free Mexican Chicken casserole is a one dish meal that's low carb, too. The perfect quick gluten free weeknight dinner.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes
  • 1 cup sliced onions
  • 1 cup sliced red and green peppers
  • 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
  • 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Empty the can of tomatoes into the dish and then add the oil, water, and spices and mix well.
  3. Next, add the chicken and vegetables and stir to coat. Dot the cream cheese cubes across the top.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and stir, blending in the cream cheese. Add shredded cheese and return to stove. Cook for 10 more minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes before serving.
© JuliaK
Category: Dinners

Wheatless Mexican Bake Step by Step:

Low Carb Mexican Casserole

Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly grease a 9×13 Pyrex casserole dish. Pour in one 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes and green chilies.

Add 2 tbsp melted organic coconut oil, 2 tsp organic chili powder, 2 tsp organic cumin, 1 tsp organic garlic powder, 1 tsp organic onion powder, 1/2 tsp organic dried oregano, 1/4 tsp salt and pepper and mix well.

quick gluten free casserole

Add two cups cubed cooked chicken and two cups peppers and onions. Add 1/2 cup of water and mix well. Cut an 8 ounce block of cream cheese into 1/4 inch cubes and dot across the top of the casserole. Bake for 20 minutes.

GF cheesy chicken casserole

Remove from oven and stir in the cream cheese until melted and blended in. Add two cups shredded cheese and return to the oven. Bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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Simple Gluten Free Mexican Chicken Casserole

Healthy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Healthy gluten free chocolate chip cookies made from scratch. These easy gluten free cookies are soft, gooey, and made without xanthan gum. It’s truly the perfect GF chocolate chip cookie.

Healthy gluten free chocolate chip cookies recipe

Mmm….Cookies

I remember when I was little, my mother would bake cookies and treats for a week the first of December to box up and ship to my brother for Christmas.

I loved being in the kitchen and helping her. I was small, so I don’t know how much help I really was (other than to eat the cookies!) but I think that’s when my love affair with cookies began.

I’ve rarely met a cookie I didn’t like, but chocolate chip cookies are hands down my favorite. I’m kind of picky about them, though. I only like them if they’re soft and gooey. If they’re crunchy, I just won’t touch them.

How Do you Make Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies?

So when I went gluten free and low carb, I was kind of bummed I had to give up cookies.

I’d try a GF chocolate chip cookie recipe here and there, but they never did the trick for me. More often than not they were crunchy and crumbly. I wanted a chocolate chip cookie that was gluten free AND soft and gooey.

I can’t remember where now, but a few years ago I came across a blog where they were discussing leaving eggs out of cookie recipes completely and using liquid to get a gooey texture.

I had just started baking with xylitol honey, so I decided to do a little experimenting to see if I could come up with really good gluten free chocolate chip cookies from scratch.

After a few batches, I nailed it. The result was an easy gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe that met my soft and gooey standard.

Food Intolerances? Give These a Try

Before I found out I was gluten intolerant, I never really thought much about food allergies or special diets. I didn’t know anyone who had dietary requirements either, so it just wasn’t on my radar.

Now I know how tough it is to watch other people eat good tasting treats and I’m stuck with the same old same old. And that stinks!

That’s why I like this chocolate chip cookie recipe,  it ticks all the right boxes for several diets:

  • Gluten Free
  • Dairy Free (substitute dairy free chocolate chips)
  • Vegan (substitute vegan chocolate chips)
  • Vegetarian
  • Keto/low carb

Important Tips to Getting the Perfect GF Cookie

This really is my go-to cookie recipe now, and I make them a lot. I’ve tried changing up the ingredients at times and I had to throw them out. I have a couple of tips to make sure you get the best results:

  • Do not double this recipe! This recipe only makes a dozen cookies, and they don’t last long. I’ve tried to double it, but they turn out awful and I’m not sure why.
  • This recipe only works with xylitol honey or xylitol maple syrup!  I thought I’d be smart once and buy sugar free honey from the store instead of ordering xylitol honey. The result was a plastic looking, plastic tasting cookie.
  • You must use both almond flour and coconut flour. If you only have one flour or the other, don’t assume you can substitute all coconut flour for the almond flour or vice versa. You’ll have either goop or hockey pucks if you do.
  • Xylitol can be harmful to dogs. Use caution when using around your four legged friends!
Yield: 1 Dozen

Healthy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Healthy gluten free chocolate chip cookies recipe

Healthy gluten free chocolate chip cookies made from scratch. These easy gluten free cookies are soft, gooey, and made without xanthan gum. It's truly the perfect GF chocolate chip cookie.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Add the first eight ingredients and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips and/or nuts.
  3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
  4. Bake 15-17 minutes or until slightly brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Once they've set slightly, remove to rack to finish cooling.

Notes

  • Do not double this recipe!
  • This recipe only works with xylitol honey or xylitol maple syrup. My experience with sugar free honey resulted in a plastic looking, plastic tasting cookie.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

© JuliaK
Category: Desserts

Looking for Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Xanthan Gum?

I’ve never done a lot of cooking with xanthan gum. I’m not against using it, it was just an ingredient I couldn’t find when I first started baking gluten free so I didn’t use them in my recipes.

Since then I’ve realized a lot of people can’t digest xanthan gum well, but have problems finding GF recipes without it.

This is a flourless chocolate chip cookie recipe that doesn’t need the xanthan gum to have a normal texture. I hope you’ll find these as yummy as I do! 🙂

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Soft and chewy gluten free chocolate chip cookies

 

How to Make Gluten Free Fudge in 3 Easy Steps

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Easy gluten free fudge. Forget the guilt when you bite into this healthy Holiday dessert. Learn how to make gluten free fudge in 3 simple steps.

Easy low carb gluten free fudge candy

Coconut Oil Fudge

I always wondered as a child, especially when my mother was making me eat Brussels sprouts, why God didn’t make healthy food taste like chocolate? To my six-year-old mind it made perfect sense. If it’s supposed to be good for you, why didn’t it taste, you know, good?

Fast forward a little over 30 years later and I still don’t like Brussels sprouts, but I am still in love chocolate.

I still wonder why a lot of healthy dishes don’t taste out of this world amazing, but I have found one yummy healthy dessert that gives me all the chocolate feels.

Fudge made with coconut oil.

Coconut oil fudge is a delicious way to get healthy fat into your diet when you’re low carb or keto.

I use it as an excuse to eat chocolate. Oh, I’ve got to get more fats into my diet. Better eat me some fudge.

Darn.

Sometimes I’ll eat it for a snack, other times I have a piece or two in the morning with my tea if I’m not very hungry. I make my friends choke when they ask me what I had for breakfast that day and I casually tell them fudge. They think I’ve fell off the wagon, but I know I’m really eating healthy.

Healthy Christmas Fudge

I don’t know what it is about the holidays and sweets, but you can’t seem to have one without the other.

I used to bake batches of  cookies and other sweets for Christmas. Since I became gluten intolerant, I’ve had to revamp all of my recipes, even the Christmas standbys.

Fudge always reminds me of Grandma in Missouri. She made the best fudge I’ve ever tasted because she used black walnuts. They have a distinctive flavor that doesn’t even resemble typical English walnuts. I’m here in Florida, and it’s a nut that’s not grown down here.

To me, fudge isn’t fudge without black walnuts, and I’ve kept her tradition by adding black walnuts to my gluten free fudge, but you can replace it with your favorite nut or don’t use any nuts at all.

To sweeten my coconut oil chocolate fudge without making it gritty and grainy, I used Confectioner’s Swerve. This is a no-cook fudge recipe, and that’s why you can’t use a granulated sweetener. It won’t dissolve, and you’ll be left with a grainy crunchy goop.

Yield: 12 servings

Easy Gluten Free Fudge

Easy low carb gluten free fudge candy

Easy gluten free fudge. Forget the guilt when you bite into this healthy Holiday dessert. Learn how to make gluten free fudge in 3 simple steps.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Line a small loaf pan with waxed or parchment paper.
  2. In a bowl, mix oil, cocoa, sweeteners, vanilla, and salt. Combine well. Pour mixture into lined loaf pan. Refrigerate for an hour. Remove your chilled fudge and sprinkle nuts on top. This is to keep them from sinking to the bottom.
  3. Return to refrigerator. When your fudge is solid, remove from loaf pan. Using a large knife, cut into small squares. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Notes

Do not use a granulated sweetener or sugar. This is a no-cook fudge recipe and the sugar won't dissolve. Do not store at room temperature as your fudge will melt in temperatures above 76F.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

© JuliaK
Category: Desserts

Does Fudge Have Gluten?

Gluten is a sneaky little booger. It hides in foods you never thought could contain gluten. A standard fudge recipe typically won’t have gluten, but using uncertified ingredients can make everything go downhill fast.

So instead of giving friends the third degree about what they put into their fudge before I eat it, I find it’s easier to just make my own.

So when making this simple GF fudge recipe, be sure to use only ingredients that are labeled gluten free. But you knew that already, didn’t you. 😉

How Do you Make Fudge with Cocoa Powder? Is that Even Possible? :-/

Most traditional fudge recipes are made with cocoa powder. It’s only been the last few decades that fudge recipes have popped up that’s made from melted chocolate.

Grandma would be proud I’m making fudge with cocoa powder, just like she did when I was a kid. However, this recipe is so much simpler than hers because it’s not cooked to the soft ball stage.

So if you haven’t tried old school fudge made with cocoa powder, give this quick and easy GF recipe a try.

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Healthy Gluten Free Fudge recipe

Delicious Yet Simple Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

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A simple gluten free pumpkin pie. This gluten free no crust pumpkin pie recipe is sugar free, low carb and delicious. A perfect healthy Thanksgiving dessert!

healthy gluten free no crust pumpkin pie recipe

I Just Want Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving

I remember the first Thanksgiving after I became gluten free. I had also started a keto diet that fall. (not a good choice to make right before the holidays!) It was not very long into November when I realized October is a bad time to start a new diet.

OMG, I thought it was going to be the worst Thanksgiving ever. I knew the main meal wouldn’t be a problem, because there would be plenty of meats and vegetables to choose from.

What I was worried about was the important stuff…like dessert. I’m looking at you pumpkin pie! What’s Thanksgiving dinner without the pumpkin pie?

So I made sure I volunteered myself to bring dessert so I knew there would be something for me to eat, namely some version of a gluten free crustless pumpkin pie. I was determined to find a way to make some kind of a wheat free pumpkin dessert that would take the place of traditional pumpkin pie.

Enter My Gluten Free No Crust Pumpkin Pie

I looked over my mother’s go to pumpkin pie recipe, and I was relieved when I realized it wouldn’t take much fixing up to make it low carb, sugar free and gluten free. Obviously, the crust had to go. But that was okay because the filling’s the best part anyway, right?

I did swap out sugar for Steviva  to lower the carbs and make it a bit healthier. I also thought it needed a little crunch since there wouldn’t be a crust, so I toasted some pecans in butter and Steviva to make a crunchy streusel topping.

I didn’t want to ruin my healthy pumpkin dessert by topping it off with store bought whipped topping, so I made my own out of heavy whipping cream.

My pie was a hit that year. Not just with me, but with everyone else who had a piece. This is now my go-to easy gluten free pumpkin pie recipe for the holiday season.

Yield: 8

Simple Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

Simple Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

For the Filling:

  • 1 Cup Nuts of Your Choice
  • 4 tbsp Butter
  • 1 tbsp Sweetener (or to taste)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8-inch pie plate.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into your greased pie plate. Bake for 1 hour, or until set.
  3. To make the pecan topping: In a skillet, toast nuts in the butter and add your sugar/sweetener. Toast till brown. Let cool slightly before sprinkling it on the pie.
  4. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Notes

  • Use this as a pumpkin custard or as a gluten free pumpkin pie filling to fill your favorite GF pie crust.
  • If you're not counting carbs, swap out Steviva with sugar.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

© JuliaK

Is Canned Pumpkin Gluten Free?

Mashed pumpkin straight from the pumpkin is naturally gluten free, but what if you don’t have the time to roast and puree a pumpkin yourself?

Is canned pumpkin safe for celiacs and those of us with gluten intolerance?

Luckily if you’re in a time crunch or just not the Martha Stewart crunch canned pumpkin is 100% gluten free. Of course, as you’re well aware by now, it’s always best to be safe and read the label to be certain there’s no wheat products in your pumpkin.

Personally, my favorite brand is Libby’s, and it’s certified GF right there on the front of the can.

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Simple gluten free pumpkin pie recipe