This spinach and artichoke casserole is the ultimate comfort food. With its rich and creamy sauce this healthy casserole is always a crowd pleaser. Made with fresh spinach, this recipe is also dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo, and Whole30 compliant.
Healthy ground beef recipes like my meatloaf without breadcrumbs or ketchup are some of my favourite to make, which is why I am so excited for you to try the ground beef casserole I am sharing with you today.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this casserole:
- The flavour! This healthy spinach and artichoke casserole is so delicious!
- It's quick and easy to make and is a healthy, complete meal.
- Not only is this casserole healthy, but it's also paleo, Whole30 compliant, dairy-free and gluten-free. But don't worry, it tastes so good that you will never be able to tell.
Ingredients:
For the full list of ingredients and exact measurements refer to the recipe card later in this post:
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- Lean ground beef: I like to use grass fed and grass finished ground beef, but you can use any type of ground beef that you prefer.
- Raw cashews: these help make the delicious creamy sauce on this casserole. Be sure to use raw cashews and not roasted cashews.
- Coconut milk: paired with the raw cashews, this helps give the sauce the perfect thick and creamy texture. I recommend using full fat coconut milk and not low fat coconut milk which is more watery.
- Avocado oil: you could swap this for olive oil.
- Onion: helps add even more flavour to this casserole. You can use white onion, yellow onion or sweet onion.
- Nutritional yeast: a great dairy free option for achieving a cheesy texture in recipes, without using any cheese!
- Canned artichoke hearts
- Spinach: you can use either fresh spinach or frozen spinach for making this gluten-free casserole.
- Seasonings and spices: sea salt and ground black pepper are the only spices you need.
Recipe variations and add ins:
- You can substitute the ground beef for ground turkey or ground chicken.
- You can add more vegetables to this recipe. I recommend mushrooms or green beans.
- To make this into a vegan casserole or a meatless casserole: omit the ground beef and use a vegan ground meat, or add more vegetables instead.
How to make this spinach and artichoke casserole:
Step one: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and while it is preheating place a large pan or skillet on the stovetop on medium heat. Then add the oil and ground beef and cook the beef until it's browned, stirring frequently to break it apart.
Step two: Once the beef is cooked, transfer it to a 9" x 13" baking dish and set it aside.
Step three: make the cream sauce by placing the sauce ingredients in a high-speed blender.
Step four: Blend the sauce ingredients until they are smooth. Then set the sauce aside.
Step five: Using the same pan that you used to cook the beef, add the oil and chopped onion. Cook the onion for a few minutes until it's translucent. Then add the chopped artichoke hearts and spinach to the pan with the cooked onion. Cook until the spinach is wilted or no longer frozen.
Step six: Add the sauce to the pan with the veggies and stir everything well to combine.
Step seven: Transfer the sauce to the casserole dish with the cooked ground beef and stir everything together to combine.
Step eight: Bake uncovered in the oven for 10-15 minutes and then enjoy!
Top Tips:
- To prepare this casserole ahead of time: make and cook the casserole, then cover it in foil and store it in the fridge overnight. Then when you want to eat it, heat it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes, until it's warmed through.
- Serving ideas: this casserole is delicious served as is but you could serve it over cooked noodles or rice to make it even more filling and turn it into more of a classic casserole.
- Storage: store any leftover casserole in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Spinach and artichoke casserole FAQs:
While cashews are the best option for this recipe, macadamia nuts or pine nuts could be a good substitute for cashews.
You could use fresh artichokes for this recipe, just be sure to steam them first.
Yes! This paleo ground beef casserole freezes really well for up to 3 months.
No, this is not a low carb or keto casserole recipe.
Other healthy meals you will love:
Recipe
Spinach and Artichoke Casserole
Equipment
- 9" x 13" baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil (or other cooking oil of choice)
- 2 lbs ground beef
Cream Sauce Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 1 1/4 cups coconut milk
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 small white or yellow onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (more or less to taste)
Spinach and Artichoke Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon avocado oil (or other cooking oil of choice)
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (24 ounces)
- 300 grams fresh or frozen chopped spinach (10 ounces)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Place a large pan on the stove on medium heat, add the avocado oil and ground beef and cook the beef until browned, stirring frequently to break up the beef. Once the beef is done cooking, transfer it to a 9" x 13" casserole or baking dish and set it aside.
- While the beef is cooking, make the cream sauce by placing all the ingredients into your high speed blender and blending until smooth. Set the sauce aside.
- Using the same pan that you used to cook the beef, add the avocado oil and onion, and cook the onion for a few minutes on medium heat until it's translucent.
- Add the chopped artichoke hearts and spinach to the pan with the onion and cook for a few more minutes, until the spinach is wilted or no longer frozen (depending on if you are using fresh or frozen spinach).
- Add the sauce to the pan and stir all the ingredients well to combine.
- Transfer the sauce to the casserole dish with the ground beef and stir everything well to combine. Bake the dish in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until warmed throughout.
Notes
- Nutritional values are an estimate and will vary depending on the exact ingredients used and your serving size.
- Store this casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Kristine
Oh….my…….gah!!!!! I am a good cook, a great cook even….but I was burnt out so I came across this recipe on Pinterest and knew it sounded fire…..but let me tell you. It was even better than I could imagine! I mis-read the artichoke hearts and fell short of 24 ounces so I had to improvise and use an extra jar of marinated grilled artichokes with my 10oz jar -rinsed of course and this is so good. Thank you for sharing this. You absolutely have a new fan right here.
Justin
did you not find that the coconut milk overwhelmed the whole dish and kind of ruined the savory flavoring?
Dr. Erin Carter
Hi! No I didn't find that.