These ground chicken mashed potato bowls are like a hug in a bowl! With fluffy mashed potatoes, ground chicken, mixed veggies, cheddar cheese, crispy onions and a generous layer of gravy, it’s a comforting and delicious meal, perfect for any day of the week.
Chicken and mashed potatoes is such a wonderful combination, isn’t it? Combine that with mixed veggies, gravy, cheese and crispy onions, and it takes things over the top in the best possible way.
I remember years ago trying a mashed potato bowl from a fast food restaurant. It was super simple, but I remember how deliciously comforting it was. This homemade version of mashed potato bowls are just that, comforting, but are loaded with more toppings and taste that much better (if you ask me).
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Ground chicken
- Seasoning: Includes thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and ground cayenne pepper.
- Mashed potatoes: I used instant mashed potatoes for convenience. Use a regular variety or a flavoured one, such as butter or garlic.
- Mixed veggies: I used some frozen mixed veggies and the mixture included corn, green beans and diced carrots. Canned veggies will also work. If you can’t get this exact mixture, that’s completely fine. Use the variety you have on hand or enjoy best.
- Cheddar cheese: For extra cheesy meltiness, grate a block of cheese yourself instead of buying pre-shredded cheese.
- Gravy: Use homemade gravy or store-bought.
- Crispy fried onions: Bags of crispy fried onions are usually found in the grocery store alongside other salad toppers, such as croutons. They add a lovely texture and flavour to the mashed potato bowls.
- Garnish: Green onion adds a pop of colour and flavour. If you don’t have green onion, you can use chives.
How To Make Ground Chicken Mashed Potato Bowls
Here is an overview of how to make ground chicken mashed potato bowls (full details are in the recipe card below):
Cook the ground chicken
Heat some olive oil in a skillet, add the ground chicken, season with thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and ground cayenne pepper. Cook the chicken, breaking it up into crumbles as it cooks, until it’s cooked through.
Prepare the mashed potatoes, mixed veggies and gravy
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the instant mashed potatoes, heat the veggies and heat the gravy.
Assemble the bowls
For each mashed potato bowl:
- Spread some mashed potatoes over the bottom of the bowl.
- Add the cooked chicken, mixed vegetables and shredded cheese.
- Pour over some gravy.
- Add crispy fried onions and garnish with green onion.
What To Serve With It
These ground chicken mashed potato bowls are super hearty (and quite filling) all on their own. However, if you want to serve them with something else, a simple mixed green salad, garlic bread or biscuits are all yummy ideas.
And, it probably goes without saying, but it’s a good idea to serve some extra gravy on the side just in case someone wants a little extra over their bowl.
Tips and Variations
- Protein: Try another protein, such as ground beef or ground turkey if you want to mix things up.
- Mashed potatoes: For convenience, I used instant mashed potatoes. I used two (113 gram) packages of instant mashed potatoes and prepared them according to the package instructions. That yielded about 4 cups of mashed potatoes (1 cup of mashed potatoes per bowl). If you’d like a little more, you can certainly prepare another package of the instant mash.
- Mix up the potato base: Speaking of mashed potatoes, you can freshly prepare mashed potatoes if you like. And, for something a little different, try whipped sweet potatoes.
- Cheese: I used marble cheddar cheese. Instead of cheddar, you can use something else, such as mozzarella, provolone or gouda. A nice melting cheese is best for this recipe.
- More Toppings: If you’d like to add another topping or two, this Newfoundland dressing would be a yummy addition. Speaking of toppings, if you’d like more of a particular one, add more! Make it your bowl!
More Easy Ground Chicken Recipes
If you try this recipe for ground chicken mashed potato bowls, be sure to leave a comment below!
Ground Chicken Mashed Potato Bowls
Ingredients
Ground Chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Other Mashed Potato Bowl Ingredients
- 2 (113 gram) packages instant mashed potatoes, about 4 cups of prepared mashed potatoes
- 1.5 cups mixed vegetables (corn, green beans and diced carrots), I used frozen vegetables but canned will work too
- 8 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup gravy, use more if desired (I like to use beef or chicken gravy)
- ¼ cup crispy fried onions
- 3 to 4 tablespoons sliced green onion
Instructions
Ground Chicken
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground chicken. Season with thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and ground cayenne pepper. Cook, breaking the ground chicken into small pieces as it cooks and stirring occasionally, until it's fully cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Other Mashed Potato Bowl Components
- While the chicken is cooking, start to prepare the other bowl components.
- Prepare the instant mashed potatoes according to the package instructions.
- Warm the mixed vegetables until hot according to package instructions.
- Warm the gravy in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until it's heated through.
Bowl Assembly
- Distribute the mashed potatoes between four bowls (spread them out over the bottom of the bowl so you get a nice layer). Divide the cooked ground chicken, mixed vegetables and cheddar cheese between the bowls. Pour some gravy over each bowl. Sprinkle the crispy fried onions between the bowls. Garnish with green onion. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Protein: Try another protein, such as ground beef or ground turkey if you want to mix things up.
- Mashed potatoes: For convenience, I used instant mashed potatoes. I used two (113 gram) packages of instant mashed potatoes and prepared them according to the package instructions. That yielded about 4 cups of mashed potatoes (1 cup of mashed potatoes per bowl). If you’d like a little more, you can certainly prepare another package of the instant mash.
- Mix up the potato base: Speaking of mashed potatoes, you can freshly prepare mashed potatoes if you like. And, for something a little different, try whipped sweet potatoes.
- Cheese: I used marble cheddar cheese. Instead of cheddar, you can use something else, such as mozzarella, provolone or gouda. A nice melting cheese is best for this recipe.
- More Toppings: If you’d like to add another topping or two, this Newfoundland dressing would be a yummy addition. Speaking of toppings, if you’d like more of a particular one, add more! Make it your bowl!
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
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Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
Michelle says
What a cozy and comforting bowl, perfect for the upcoming cooler weather! The crispy onions really give it that extra texture! Delish!
Dawn | Girl Heart Food says
Thanks so much, Michelle!