Low-Carb Chicken Rice Tray Bake

Chicken Rice is such a comfort food favourite of mine. This is my low-carb version made with cauliflower rice. It’s packed with flavour and one the whole family will enjoy, even if your husband, wife or kids aren’t following a keto diet.

Baking it as a one-pot tray bake means the flavours are locked into the cauliflower rice, making it super tasty. Topped with chicken thighs with that oh so good crispy skin! You’ll want to bookmark this one guys, a classic I hope you’ll make time and time again.

If you want to add some greens, green beans or asparagus work really well. Just drizzle them in olive oil and press into the top about 10 minutes before the end.

Step-by-step

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C/ 390 °F (conventional), or 180 °C/ 355 °F (fan assisted). Place the chicken thighs skin side up on a baking tray. Rub over half of the extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse using the S blade or the grating blade until it resembles a rice size consistency.

   

3. Add the ghee or oil to a pan. Sauté the onion on a low-medium heat for 2 to 4 minutes until soft. Add the garlic for a further 30 seconds. Add the tinned tomatoes, paprika, stock, basil, optional chilli and season to taste with salt and black pepper.

4. Blitz together in a blender for a smoother sauce (like I did) or leave chunky if you prefer.

   

5. Remove the chicken from the baking tray and set aside. Pour the tomato sauce into the baking tray. Mix through the cauliflower rice and place the chicken back on top.

   

6. Bake uncovered in the oven for about 30 minutes until the cauliflower rice has absorbed all the moisture and the chicken is cooked and crisp on top.

   

7. Sprinkle with fresh parsley to serve (2 thighs per serving + tomato cauli-rice). Tastes the best when served hot and the skin is still crispy. Store in fridge for up to 3 days.

   

Recipe

Low-Carb Chicken Rice Tray Bake

★★★★★4.8 (24 ratings)

This Spanish style chicken cauli-rice tray bake is packed with flavour. No rice and no grains in this one-pot ...

Hands on

15m

Overall

55m

Servings

3

8.8 g

Net carbs

41.6 g

Protein

49.5 g

Fat

656

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings

US + metricMetricUS

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Ingredients makes 3 servings

• 6 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on (850 g/ 1.9 lb), about 600 g/ 1.3 lb if using boneless
• ¹/₂ tsp sea salt, or to taste
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or ghee (15 ml)
• 1 small cauliflower, cut in florets (500 g/ 1.1 lb)
• 2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil (30 ml)
• ¹/₂ small brown onion, chopped (35 g/ 1.2 oz)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g/ 14.1 oz)
• 1 cup chicken stock (240 ml/ 8 fl oz)
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• ¹/₂ tsp paprika
• ¹/₄ tsp cracked black pepper
• Optional: ¹/₂ tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C/ 390 °F (conventional), or 180 °C/ 355 °F (fan assisted). Place the chicken thighs skin side up on a baking tray. Rub over half of the extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse using the S blade or the grating blade until it resembles a rice size consistency.

3. Add the ghee or oil to a pan. Sauté the onion on a low-medium heat for 2 to 4 minutes until soft. Add the garlic for a further 30 seconds. Add the tinned tomatoes, paprika, stock, basil, optional chilli and season to taste with salt and black pepper.

4. Blitz together in a blender for a smoother sauce (like I did) or leave chunky if you prefer.

5. Remove the chicken from the baking tray and set aside. Pour the tomato sauce into the baking tray. Mix through the cauliflower rice and place the chicken back on top.

6. Bake uncovered in the oven for about 30 minutes until the cauliflower rice has absorbed all the moisture and the chicken is cooked and crisp on top.

7. Sprinkle with fresh parsley to serve (2 thighs per serving + tomato cauli-rice). Tastes the best when served hot and the skin is still crispy. Store in fridge for up to 3 days.

Nutrition per serving, 2 chicken thighs + tomato rice

Carbs 5%Protein 26%Fat 69% of calories

Net carbs

8.8 g

Total carbs

15.3 g

Fiber

6.5 g

Sugars

7.4 g

Protein

41.6 g

Fat

49.5 g

Saturated fat

16.3 g

Calories

656 kcal

Sodium

585 mg · 25.4% RDA

Magnesium

116 mg · 28.9% RDA

Potassium

1,243 mg · 62.2% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per 2 chicken thighs + tomato rice	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Chicken thighs, boneless, skin-on, raw	0 g	35.6 g	33 g	438
Salt, sea salt	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Olive oil, extra virgin	0 g	0 g	4.5 g	40
Cauliflower, fresh	4.9 g	3.2 g	0.5 g	42
Ghee	0 g	0 g	10 g	91
Onion, brown (yellow), raw	0.7 g	0.1 g	0 g	4
Garlic, fresh	0.6 g	0.1 g	0 g	3
Tomatoes, canned (unsweetened)	2.1 g	1.1 g	0.3 g	21
Chicken stock	0.2 g	1.2 g	1 g	14
Basil, fresh	0.1 g	0.2 g	0 g	1
Paprika, spices	0.1 g	0.1 g	0 g	1
Pepper, black, spices	0.1 g	0 g	0 g	0
Parsley, fresh (spices)	0.1 g	0.1 g	0 g	1
Total	8.8 g	41.6 g	49.5 g	656

Serving size 2 chicken thighs + tomato rice

• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Nut free
• Pork free
• Avocado free
• Coconut free
• Fish free
• Shellfish free
• Beef free