As I mentioned in my last post for the Grilled Chicken Souvlaki Recipe, the oven at the lake house we’re renting acts like a furnace, so I won’t be doing much baking for the next few months until the weather cools again.
Fortunately, I made this delicious low carb baked chicken with cauliflower rice over a month ago – and I figured I’d better share it ASAP, because even with a working oven most people aren’t looking to bake their dinner in the Summertime while the grill reigns supreme.
I promise this recipe is worth a little residual heat in your kitchen though – it’s easy to throw together and tastes fantastic!
When I was a kid, baked chicken with rice was a regular meal at our house. There were 5 of us kids and we were on a very tight budget, so chicken thighs or drumsticks with rice was not only easy – it was inexpensive.
Even though the cauliflower is a bit more expensive than rice cup for cup – this low carb recipe still won’t break the bank. It also reheats well making it the perfect keto recipe for lunches all week.
Typically with chicken and rice in our house, my mom would either flavor it with orange juice or cream of mushroom soup – both of those bring back good memories, but aren’t so low carb friendly.
In my version, I used olives and lemon to give it a complex, tangy flavor. It’s comforting as chicken and “rice” should be – but also fresh and bright enough to be enjoyed in the Summertime since it’s not overly heavy.
As is, this recipe is Paleo friendly and even Whole 30 compliant – it’s dairy free, egg free, nut free, grain free, gluten free, etc. If none of those things are a concern – a little feta cheese thrown in before baking would make this recipe even more delicious.
Now if, like me, you loathe the idea of turning your oven on when it’s over 80 degrees outside, you could definitely make this in a slow cooker. The only trade off is, you won’t get the crispy chicken skin that is my hand’s down favorite part.
Still tasty though – and perfect for those busy weeknights when you want to come home to a delicious low carb dinner ready to serve.
Lastly, I love the versatility in this dish, because you can really customize the flavors in an infinite number of ways on this low carb chicken and “rice” recipe. Change out the olives, lemon and parsley for any other herbs and or veggies, maybe some tomatoes, a creamy sauce, etc. and you can eat this all year in a hundred different ways.
In fact I’ll probably be experimenting myself once I start using my oven again – I’ll be sure to post the delicious results if and when I do!
As always I love getting your feedback and comments – let me know what you thought of it and also your creative ideas on how to flavor it differently!
Low Carb Baked Chicken and Cauliflower Rice
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This is a fantastic low carb remake of the baked chicken with rice recipe of my childhood. It’s inexpensive, delicious, and easy to throw together. It’s also Paleo and Whole 30 compliant!
Ingredients
For the cauliflower rice:
- 7 cups finely chopped raw cauliflower
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/3 cup pitted green olives (I used Castelanata), quartered
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
For the baked chicken:
- 2 lbs chicken pieces (drumsticks, thighs, or breasts)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika (smoked if you have it)
Instructions
- Combine all of the cauliflower rice ingredients together in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Spread out in a 13 x 9 baking dish.
- Combine all of the chicken seasonings in a small bowl. Rub all over the chicken pieces. Place the chicken pieces on top of the cauliflower rice. Sprinkle any remaining seasoning over the top.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp. Serve hot.
- Alternatively, you could put all of this in a crockpot and cook it on low for 6 hours.
Notes
Approximate nutrition information per serving:
1 pc. chicken & 1 cup cauli rice – 345 calories, 19g fat, 5g net carbs, 34g protein
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Is your weight loss slowing down while on a low carb diet? Give your liver a boost with my free Egg Fast Menu Plan and watch the weight fall off!
Skeptical? Just read the comments section below that menu plan and see how many people are having great success with it – and you can too! You can also read and join the forums for support and accountability by clicking here!
Jessica says
Thanks for the recipe!!! I skipped the olives only because I did not have them on hand. I absolutely loved the “rice”; I’ve really struggled to find rice cauliflower I like. So thank you!!! My husband loved it and wants to know when I’ll make the next pan. Yummo!!!
Julie says
Not as good as it looks. Needs lots of tweeking.
Dora says
I made your recipe for the baked chicken and cauliflower rice tonight. There’s no such olive as the one you mentioned in the recipe so I ended up picking my own and it was verrrry salty. Actually, I found the whole dish to be salty. I also agree that the lemon was so overpowering.We ended up throwing it out and ordered food.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hi Dora, I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you. Whole you may not have had them in your stores, I can assure you that castelenata oloves do exist and are delicious. They are big and meaty and not especially salty, so if you chose a really salty green olive, like the ones with the pimento in them they I can see how it would have overpowered the dish. That amount of lemon shouldn’t have overpowered 7 cups of cauliflower either, perhaps the brininess of the olives amplified the lemon flavor. In any case, I’m sorry that you didn’t enjoy it!
deborah says
i agree the lemon is a bit overpowering. the chicken was good but there was too much liquid in it. i think that i would just stir fry the cauliflower the next time.
Mellissa Sevigny says
If the lemon was overpowering and you had too much liquid, then I’m guessing you didn’t use the full 7 cups of ricedcauliflower! Sorry it didn’t work out for you!
Melissa says
Curious to know if you can just use frozen cauliflowered rice from Trader Joe’s instead?
Thank you,
Melissa
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes, definitely!
Angela Raum says
Yes you can. 3 bags of cauliflower = 10 cups so freeze the rest for something else, maybe a stirfry.
Tina Wilson says
Have you tried this with boneless, skinless chicken breasts? I have a frozen bag of organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Costco that I’m trying to use. I was just wondering if you HAVE to have the bones and skin to make the flavor? I was also going to use the frozen bag of cauliflower rice from Trader Joe’s. Should I thaw it?
Sorry for all the questions, I just didn’t want to ruin it.
Thanks so much!! Excited to try this :)
-Tina
Asia says
Oh my! I’m going to give this a shot this weekend. Yum
Maggie says
This did not turn out so well so far. The rice didn’t cook…. at all. Its currently sitting gin the frying pan to finish. I also would omit the lemon. It’s a bit over powering. I’m really disappointed b/c I had pretty high hopes.
Lisa Ryan says
Melissa what a wonderful recipe! I was looking for ideas to make cauliflower. Did not have the chicken but it came out delicious without it! Can’t wait to do this again with the chicken. Thanks for sharing!
Tere says
It was delicious! Two thumbs up from the fam — even MY Mr. Picky enjoyed it (his favorite was the chicken seasoning). So, I guess I found you an alternative for the egocentric cauliflower.