25-Minute Garlic Butter Chicken & Cauliflower Rice is a simple one-pan dinner made for easy clean up. It's packed with flavor and the family won't even know it's made with cauliflower! This nutritious, simple dinner is made for busy nights, little cleanup and quick cooking- and it includes hidden veggies so it's kid-approved too!
Table Of Contents
I love one pot meals! And even more I love one pot meals that literally take minutes to throw together. My 25-Minute Garlic Butter Chicken & Cauliflower Rice is exactly this, plus it gives your family a double dose of veggies. It's a grain-free recipe, so carbs are limited. You'll not only love how this cauliflower rice stir fry tastes, but how it makes you feel.
We love using cauliflower to make a delicious cauliflower soup, cauliflower tacos, air fried roasted cauliflower with herbs and even in cheesy buffalo dip!
Tips For Keeping It Simple
- I use frozen cauliflower rice in this recipe, which has became a lifesaver for me. I keep a large bag of individual servings in the freezer at all times. I love it because frozen cauliflower rice doesn't need to be defrosted before cooking. You can fry it right from frozen or steam it in the microwave.
- If using fresh grated cauliflower, add a splash of broth to make a little more sauce.
Ingredients
You need:
- Frozen cauliflower rice: or grate a full head using a cheese grater.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: diced into small pieces.
- Fresh minced garlic: or use roasted garlic for even more garlicky flavor.
- Carrots: chopped or grated work best.
- Onions: sweet onion, yellow onion or white onion all work great.
- Chicken broth: or vegetable broth.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice: or use a bottle of lemon juice.
- Grated parmesan cheese: I don't recommend substituting with fresh parmesan cheese because it melts differently.
- Fresh parsley: or use dried parsley and reduce the amount by one third.
How To Make Garlic Butter Chicken & Cauliflower Rice
It's made in 4 simple steps.
- In a large pan melt 6 tablespoon butter over high heat. Add the diced chicken breasts, 2 teaspoon paprika, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Turn the heat to medium and saute for 5 minutes, until chicken begins to brown and is no longer pink inside. Add the 8 garlic cloves during the last minute. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoon butter to the pan and melt, scraping the brown bits from the bottom. Add the diced onions and carrots and saute for 4 minutes stirring often, until onions begin to caramelize and carrots become tender-crisp.
- Add the frozen cauliflower rice and chicken broth. Saute for 5 minutes, breaking apart the cauliflower with a spatula as it warms. Stir frequently.
- Turn off the heat and add the parsley and Parmesan cheese. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the stir fry and mix well. Toss with the reserved garlic butter chicken and serve.
Serve with additional fresh parsley if you'd like.
How To Store
Store in the fridge for 2-3 days. It's also freezer-friendly for up to 6 months when stored in freezer safe containers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Using cauliflower instead of rice can be considered healthier depending on your dietary needs. Since cauliflower is a vegetable, it's lower in carbs than traditional rices like white, brown, or basmati. Cauliflower is also full of vitamins and minerals our body needs to thrive.
Yes! Because it uses cauliflower instead of rice or pasta, this recipe is gluten-free.
Cauliflower will expel some water as it cooks, especially if you're using frozen cauliflower. It won't make this recipe soggy, as it needs the little bit of water to help make the sauce.
Recipe
25-Minute Garlic Butter Chicken & Cauliflower Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts diced
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 garlic cloves minced
For the cauliflower rice:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup onions diced
- 2 carrots diced or grated
- 10 oz frozen cauliflower rice *see notes if using fresh cauliflower rice
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ lemon
Instructions
- In a large pan melt 6 tbsp unsalted butter over high heat. Add the diced chicken breasts, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tbsp Italian seasoning, 2 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Turn the heat to medium and saute for 5 minutes, until chicken begins to brown and is no longer pink inside. Add the 8 garlic cloves during the last minute. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
- Add 2 tbsp unsalted butter to the pan and melt, scraping the brown bits from the bottom. Add the diced onions and carrots and saute for 4 minutes stirring often, until onions begin to caramelize and carrots become tender-crisp.
- Add the cauliflower rice and chicken broth. Saute for 5 minutes, breaking apart the cauliflower with a spatula as it warms. Stir frequently.
- Turn off the heat and add the parsley and Parmesan cheese. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the stir fry and mix well. Toss with the reserved garlic butter chicken and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Tonya Matter says
I doubled this recipe which meant using an entire head of garlic, plus a couple extra cloves. It was far too much garlic. It’s a great recipe however I would cut the garlic in half. I’m a garlic lover, but that was way too much.