Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Cauliflower Rice

This meal will quickly be your new favorite keto and low carb chicken recipe. It’s wholesome, delicious, and comes together in under 30 minutes. Serve it as is or pair it with your favorite soup or salad for a show-stopping meal—just don’t expect any leftovers!

I’ve been making my Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Rice side dish for a while now, but it wasn’t until recently that something finally hit me—this low-carb dish is way too good not to turn into a complete meal. Enter: Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Cauliflower Rice.

This mouth-watering cauliflower rice recipe is made with all the creamy and delicious flavors of my side dish, along with pan-fried chicken breasts for tons of added protein. It’s rich, savory, fresh, zesty, and oh-so-flavorful. Seriously, you’ve never met a low-carb recipe like this one.

There’s a reason (well, many) why cauliflower is one of the most popular low-carb grain substitutes. It’s easy to make, affordable, and incredibly versatile, so there’s really no surprise why it has skyrocketed in popularity among the health foodies of the world.

In the past few years, cauliflower rice has become a staple in my household as a low-carb rice alternative. (Hence this Cauliflower Shrimp Fried Rice and these Meal Prep Taco Bowls with Cauliflower Rice.)

As amazing as all my cauliflower rice recipes are (not that I’m tooting my own horn or anything), this chicken with cauliflower rice is easily one of my all-time favorites. It’s the perfect combination of healthy, easy to make, and insanely flavorful. Even the picky eaters in your family are bound to love this one!

This dish can easily stand on its own as a complete meal. However, for a larger meal you can serve it alongside your favorite soup, salad, garlic bread, or roasted veggies. Regardless of how you choose to serve this dish, it guarantees to be a crowd-pleaser.

Key Ingredients and Easy Swaps

To make this crave-worthy cauliflower rice recipe, you will need the following key ingredients:

• Chicken breast: Make sure to use boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe and cut them into cutlets so they cook quickly. If you want to try a different type of protein, try using chicken thighs, thin pork cutlets, shrimp, fish fillets, or tofu instead.
• Cauliflower: I like to use a head of fresh cauliflower to make my rice, but feel free to use cauliflower florets or pre-riced cauliflower. Frozen cauliflower rice will work fine, just make sure to cook out as much water as possible before continuing on with the recipe. 
• Parmesan cheese: I recommend using freshly shredded or grated parmesan for the tastiest results, but any kind you have at home will work well. This is essential for getting a ton of creamy, rich, and cheesy flavor! Feel free to swap in pecorino romano as well.
• Broth: You can use chicken broth or vegetable broth in this dish, both will work just fine. I prefer to use the low-sodium kind to keep things on the lighter side, but that’s entirely up to you!
• Canned tomatoes: For this dish, I prefer using fire-roasted diced tomatoes for maximum flavor, but you can use any kind of canned diced tomatoes. Just make sure they are fully drained before adding them.
• Fresh herbs: Feel free to use either fresh parsley or fresh basil, depending on what you have and/or what you’re in the mood for. Fresh herbs go a long way in enhancing the amazing flavor of this dish.
• Spices: You will need Italian seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Feel free to adjust the amounts based on your personal preferences.

Recipe Tips and Ideas

Here are some of my top tips to help you prepare this dish:

• Use a food processor. Trust me, this will make your life way easier when it comes to chopping and grating your cauliflower into something that resembles rice. Your wrists will thank you later!
• Use a box grater as a backup. Don’t have a food processor? A box grater is the next best thing for getting your cauliflower into rice form. Or grab pre-made cauliflower rice for the easiest option.
• Don’t overcook the rice. Be super careful not to overcook your rice. If you cook cauliflower for too long, it gets overly tender, which will then make your cauliflower rice mushy.
• Don’t cover your pan. When cooking regular rice, it is customary to cover the pan while it cooks. However, this isn’t the case with cauliflower rice! Instead of covering it, let your rice cook in the open. This gives all the extra moisture room to escape.
• Wait on the seasoning. Don’t worry about seasoning your rice as it cooks. Instead, wait for it to finish cooking and then add all the goods. This will help you refrain from over-seasoning the dish.
• Don't overcook the chicken. One of the most common complaints about skillet chicken dinners is that the chicken turns out rubbery. Normally this happens when the chicken is cooked too long. The length of time the chicken will takes depends on the thickness.

How to Make Homemade Cauliflower Rice

If you’re new to the cauliflower rice bandwagon, welcome! You’re gonna love it here. First things first, you’re probably wondering how an entire head of cauliflower is supposed to become rice.

Don’t worry, the process is actually a lot easier (and less crazy) than it sounds. Start off by washing and drying your cauliflower, then remove the stem and cut your cauliflower into florets. Next, add your florets to the food processor in chunks (3-4 florets at a time).

Then, using the grater attachment (if available), grate your cauliflower florets into rice-sized pieces. If you don’t have a food processor, a box grater is the next best thing. Cut the cauliflower into quarters and grate them against the medium-sized holes of the box grater. Continue until your cauliflower is in rice-sized pieces.

Voila! Now that you’ve got your cauliflower rice, you simply cook it on the stove for 5-7 minutes until it’s tender, but not too tender. Then, you can add it to your favorite grain bowls, salads, soups, casseroles, and anything else you might add rice to.

How to Store This Dish

This low-carb chicken dish is excellent for making ahead and meal prepping because it’s super easy to store. Simply allow your leftovers to cool to room temperature, then transfer them to an airtight storage container. When freezing make sure to press out any extra air. I also find the chicken reheats more easily when it is cut into smaller chunks. 

• In the fridge for up to 5 days.
• In the freezer for up to 2-3 months.