BBQ Chicken Casserole with Sweet Potatoes

A large casserole dish of BBQ chicken casserole.

5 — Votes 4 votes

BBQ Chicken Casserole with Sweet Potatoes

This BBQ Chicken Casserole with Sweet Potatoes is a delightful mashup of smoky, saucy goodness and the natural sweetness of roasted sweet potatoes, all baked to perfection for a cozy, flavor-packed meal that'll have your taste buds doing a happy dance.

Prep Time5

Cook Time1 35

Total Time1 40

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: Servings

Author: Cassy Joy Garcia

Ingredients

3 pounds sweet potatoes
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¾ cup BBQ sauce (store-bought or homemade BBQ sauce)
3 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch collard greens, leaves stemmed and coarsely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup red onion, finely chopped, for garnish
Fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400℉.
Spread the sweet potatoes evenly over a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the potatoes are soft when pinched (wear an oven mit!).
While the potatoes are in the oven, place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken pulls apart easily with a fork. Remove the chicken from the pot and transfer to a large bowl and shred the chicken.
Pour ½ cup BBQ sauce over the shredded chicken. Toss to combine.
Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and set aside to cool. Reduce the oven to 350℉.
Peel the sweet potatoes and add them to a large bowl. Add the butter, salt, and pepper and mash well. Spread the sweet potatoes over the bottom of a 9-in square baking dish.
In a 10-inch skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the collard greens and toss to coat. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the collards have wilted and reduced in size. Squeeze the lemon juice over the collard greens, toss them one more time, then spoon over the mashed potatoes.
Spread the BBQ chicken over the collards and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is browned.
Drizzle the remaining BBQ sauce over the casserole, garnish with diced red onion and parsley, and enjoy!

Notes

To make dinner EVEN easier, consider meal prepping each of the components of this casserole (sweet potatoes, chicken, and collard greens) ahead of time (up to 2 days in advance) so that the dinnertime prep is just a matter of assembling and baking.

If you go this route, you can either store the ingredients separate from one another in airtight containers, OR, you can go ahead and fully assemble the casserole and cover it with foil (or a lid if your casserole dish has one). Either way, be sure to store the prepped ingredients in the refrigerator.

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