This weekend three of my “Tween” aged nephews came to visit. I wanted to make them meals they would like, but also,make meals that follow their family’s gluten-free diet. ( I know I have mentioned on this blog before that I have gluten-free family members….Why are they Gluten-free? Well, that’s not my story to tell.)
What Tween boy ( or any reasonable person) doesn’t like pizza?
This Gluten-Free pizza casserole is a take on a cauliflower pizza crust without being as labor intensive. It also includes chicken. Last year, I posted a Low Carb Pizza Round-up and I thought that building a pizza on top of a piece of chicken sounded fabulous!
My shredded garlic chicken was already made. I had cooked a bunch of chicken in the crock pot with garlic and olive oil, until it pulled-apart. I had a bunch of it in the freezer.
- 3 heads of cauliflower- chopped and roasted
- 5 cups of shredded garlic chicken
- 1 package of pepperoni
- 1 jar of marinara sauce
- 1 jar of pizza sauce
- 3 cups of mozzarella cheese
- 1 package of gluten-free wraps ( optional)
- Chop up three heads of cauliflower and roast them in the oven for 40 minutes at 400 degrees
- In a casserole dish, spread marinara sauce on the bottom of the dish
- Layer all of the ingredients in the casserole dish as follows
- Marinara sauce, Cauliflower, Pepperoni, Chicken, Marinara Sauce, Gluten-Free Wraps, Cauliflower, pepperoni, chicken, Gluten-Free Wraps, Marinara Sauce, Cheese, Pepperoni.
- Bake in the oven, covered in foil for 40 minutes
- take off foil for the last 10 minute of baking.
I have written out in the recipe how I layered all the ingredients in the casserole. However, It doesn’t reallymatter exactly how you choose to layer yours.
I debated whether or not to include the gluten-free wraps. Some people like these gluten-free options available at the store, while others might not like the “fake stuff”. ( kind of like how some vegans love the fake cheese, and some vegans gave up cheese for a reason). I thought the wraps brought a great ” doughy” feel to the pizza casserole. But, I think that if you chose to omit them, this would still be an excellent dish.
I was a little nervous when I served this to my nephews. Would they eat it? I kind of saw them stare at it with curiosity when we sat down for dinner, they poked around at it for a bit. But VERY soon they cleared their plates and went for more. ( We ate THREE heads of cauliflower for dinner on friday night. THREE!)
I REALLY enjoyed this. Even if you are not Gluten-Free. Why not make something a bit healthier to satisfy your pizza cravings?
I think next time, I will add a layer of spinach. What would YOU add?
