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Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Chickpea Bake

This Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Chickpea Bake is ooey, gooey, cheesy and saucy with a bit of a kick!

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons light butter, sliced (I use Land O’Lakes)
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • ¾ teaspoon salt, divided
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups skim milk
  • 4 oz 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar, shredded (I use Cabot 50%)
  • 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot Seriously Sharp – pick one with lots of flavor!)
  • 1/3 cup Buffalo wing sauce, I used Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wings sauce
  • 4 (15 oz) cans chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
  • 12 oz cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped or shredded (I like to make mine in the slow cooker)
  • 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
  • ½ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly mist a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
  • Place the butter in a medium saucepan and bring over medium-low heat until the butter is melted. Add the flour, ½ teaspoon of the salt and the black pepper to the butter and stir to combine. Add the milk a little at a time and whisk the flour mixture into the milk each time until smooth. Turn the heat up to medium and add the shredded cheeses. Whisk together and then whisk on and off for about 5 minutes until smooth and thickened. Stir in the Buffalo wing sauce.
  • Combine the drained, rinsed chickpeas and the chicken in the prepared casserole dish and pour the cheese sauce from step 2 over the top. Stir it all together until well combined and settled into an even layer in the casserole dish.
  • Spread the bread crumbs in a dry medium skillet and bring over medium heat. Keep an eye on the bread crumbs for a few minutes, pushing them around with a spatula every few minutes until they start to turn golden. They go from lightly golden to dark brown quickly, so keep your eyes peeled! When the crumbs are golden, remove them from the heat and combine them with the remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt, the parsley and the garlic powder.
  • Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the contents of the casserole dish and place the dish in the heated oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes until baked through and bubbly.

Notes

To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
WW Points per (about 1 & 1/2 cup) serving: 7 (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per (about 1 & 1/2 cup) serving:
426 calories, 42 g carbs, 8 g sugars, 15 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 34 g protein, 7 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)
MyWW SmartPoints per (about 1 & 1/2 cup) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Green: 12 SmartPoints/ Blue: 6 SmartPoints/ Purple: 6 SmartPoints
Weight Watchers Points Plus:
11 per serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers brand PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition information below)
Inspired by Climbing Grier Mountain