Chicken + Kale Taco Bake

is your mouth watering yet? 

This delicious taco bake will blow your taco taste buds out of the water! I plan on using the word "taco" a lot in this blog post, just a warning, haha.

This taco-extravaganza is a flavor combination of tacos, nachos, and heaven.  

Not only is this taco bake simple to make, but it is also healthy!  It's made with whole ingredients such as beans, ground chicken, kale, peppers, and fresh avocado.   You can add or substitute other veggies if you have others on hand, like corn or jalapenos. It's a very flexible recipe, which is even more of a reason why it's fun to make and eat.  

This dish is great to eat by itself or with some tortilla chips (at least that's how my husband enjoys it).  

Enough talking, and more tacoing! ​

chicken & Kale Taco bake

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground chicken
• 2 cans of drained beans (I used pinto + black beans)
• 1/2 cup of salsa
• 4 cups of kale, chopped
• 1/3 cup red onion, diced
• 1/3 cup yellow pepper, diced
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used Monterey Jack)
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 avocado, sliced thin
• 1 cup of cooked brown rice or quinoa (optional)

**If you want to include rice in your dish to make it more filling, boil water to cook rice before starting the first step! 

1.  Heat a large skillet on medium heat.  Add in your ground chicken, breaking it apart as it is cooking.  While your chicken is cooking preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

2.  Once your ground chicken is just about done, add your beans, red onion, kale, yellow pepper, garlic, salsa, and seasonings.  Mix altogether in the same skillet with your cooked chicken.  Turn the heat on low, and let sit for about 5 minutes.  

3.  In a deep pan or dish (I used a 10 x 10 ceramic baking dish), place and spread out your cooked brown rice on the bottom of the pan/dish. 

4.  Next, pour the chicken and veggies mixture on top of your rice.  Spread mixture out so it is evenly distributed.

5.  Then top your mixture with shredded cheese (I used Monterey jack, but any cheese would be delicious!).  Top it off with some sliced avocado too.  

6.  Place your dish in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.  

Enjoy this fun twist on tacos, and let me know what your taste buds think!


                       Always craving good food,
                                      Jillian