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
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!
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
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
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Excellent recipe! This is delicious and fills the spot of a good home cooked meal! Thanks!
★★★★★
This turned out much better than I expected! Very good! When I’m back on dairy I think the cauli would be great with parm mixed in so it’s more like risotto. I omitted the olives because I’m not a fan. Will definitely make again.
Did you leave the skin on the chicken thighs?
Hiya! So I made this recipe for dinner tonight. Tweaked a tad. I put all in the crock pot but instead of the chicken thighs I cut up chicken breasts I bought from Costco. I didn’t quite have enough for 7 cups of cauliflower so added chopped up broccoli to supplement and add a little color. I fiddled with the timing too and ended up cooking all for about two and a half hours on high then about two and a half more hours on low. The sauce was “watery” as others mentioned but that was I think just the veggies cooking down. Normal. To thicken things up I added about 1/4 shredded Parmesan and 1/4 cup Feta to the mix right before serving. Family dug it! Will have more for dinner tomorrow. Cheers
★★★★
I haven’t eaten this yet, but it smells divine. Just took it out of the oven. I came here to check out why I had so much liquid and found out what to do with it. Starting Squeaky Clean tomorrow and already, my DH, wants to eat my whole week’s lunches or dinner, for our dinner tonight!
Both of us loved this recipe! I’m surprised that some thought it too lemony. We thought it perfect and olives were seriously nice touch. I made, and cooked it exactly as written. I’m loving your recipes and your “blog” often cracks me up. Thanks!!
★★★★★
I’m not sure if someone has already mentioned. But for the low carbers, surprisingly garlic powder has about 7g of carbs to a tsp!! Substitute or omit if doing the recipe.
NO, garlic powder does NOT have 7g of carbs in a teaspoon. It has 2g carbs and .3g fiber so 1.7g net carbs per teaspoon. If you’re going to come and drop numbers and give advice to others, please make sure it’s correct first.
Mellissa, have you tried this in the crockpot yet? Do you use the same amount of liquid?
This looks delicious, can’t wait to try on my very picky husband, except I don’t like olives. Any suggestions for a good substitute, besides mushrooms, don’t like those either.
If I used boneless chicken breasts–how long do you suggest I cook them? Also, would I need to tweak anything else in the recipe then?
You could cook them a little less, but you may find your sauce won’t thicken without the fat and collagen found in chicken on the bone with skin on. Still tastes good, just might be a little watery.
The first time I made this dish I was on my own – my teenage sons were on summer holiday with family in the States. It was the first time I tried cauliflower rice, and I thought the dish was balanced, bright and filling. This evening, some 8 months later, I made it again as a true test: for my 15-year old who is, as they can be, a food critic. He is also an athlete and increasingly conscientious about healthy eating for performance. He liked this dish a lot and commented that he was happy to go a meal without rice, which is difficult to avoid in our current corner of the world. As for me, I found the recipe equally satisfying the second time around, made exactly as written both times. This one stays in my recipe file.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Judy, I really like this one a lot too! Tell your son thanks as well – I’m glad he enjoyed it!!!
I’m partial to boneless, skinless chicken thighs, so that’s what I used on top. It cut the cooking time down so I didn’t add as much liquid to the cauliflower, next time, I’m going to try the same method with an Asian flair, adding peas and carrots to the cauliflower rice and using a clean eating teriyaki sauce on top.
Missy, how long did you cook the boneless skinless chicken ??? Thank You…
This was amazing!!! I added a side of steamed green beans to it Thank you!!!
Made this for the first time last night and it was delicious! Everyone loved it. Thank you for a great recipe.
★★★★★
Mellissa, this sounds really good and I’m going to try it soon. But I was wondering what you meant by “net carbs” in the nutrition info. Does that mean total carbs?
Thanks, and I’m looking forward to perusing the rest of your recipes. I’m just starting on this Paleo way of eating.
Net carb is the whole amount of carbs minus the fiber,(dietary fiber). This gives you the net carbs. This is the number you get when counting carbs.
I hope this helps.😊
I am so happy I found this site and this recipe. My son said “mom, I like the way you cooked this rice!” I didn’t have the heart to tell him it wasn’t rice, he enjoyed it so much! This dish was very light and surprisingly refreshing. I definitely will be making it again.
★★★★★
So glad you guys enjoyed it Monique – I haven’t made this in awhile but I think it’s time I added it back into my roster too!
Just wanted to let you know I think I make this dish once a week! My husband loves it, so flavorful and solo easy! I’ve got the recipe so down pat that I’m now making fun changes, adding mushrooms, tweaking etc etc… Love this recipe! Thank you for sharing it,
Do you mind providing “recipes” for your favorite combinations? I don’t like olives and not a fan of lemon chicken, so I’d love different variations!
Has anyone yet to try it in the slowcooker? Any noted tweaks?
I have found (with a similar recipe that if you drain the cauliflower after baking for a while that it helps with the moisture problem. Cauliflower is just that way. I’m sure that this will be a great meal for tonight and tomorrow. I used Kalamata olives and a few black olives. Super stoked to try out a new healthier meal!
★★★★★
OK – This is in the oven right now. Smells great! I made it pretty much as you gave it – I did halve the recipe because it’s just for me…..I added another spice or two to the chicken….Smells great (and, best of all, it’s pretty easy!) :)
★★★★★