I recently converted another one of my favorite comfort food recipes to a Keto-friendly version! There are more than a few different recipes for No-Peek Chicken and Rice in the oven, that have been floating around social media (and our Grandmother’s recipe books) for quite some time. Most of these call for rice and cans of cream of something soups. I do have to admit that I used to love a good chicken casserole, but any of these options would be a No-Go on Keto.

I knew I would make this recipe with some version of cauliflower rice. I also decided to pulse some broccoli in my food processor as well, to add color (mimicking the wild rice) and another depth of flavor.

Being totally honest, this recipe does require just a little more work than the carb-laden versions – we’re not going to be dumping cans of anything into a pan, here. But we are going to seriously shave off some carbs. One serving of my recipe has only 6 grams Carbohydrates, TOTAL, whereas one of the recipes I found online using wild rice had almost 70 grams of carbs per serving! Keto or not, that just doesn’t sound like a good idea to me anymore, for myself or my family members. And while this one does require a little more prep, it’s definitely not a hard recipe to make and it is totally worth it. I wouldn’t have made it myself, otherwise. I did decide to sear my chicken in my cast iron pan before adding it to the casserole, but I really believe this step was completely necessary, for juicy, flavorful chicken. For this reason, I’m going to call this one a weekend meal.

Another little note before I get into the recipe: I am not including in-depth instructions on how to make cauliflower rice or broccoli rice. That’s been done, many times and you may also choose to just purchase ready-made cauliflower and broccoli rice in the freezer section of your grocery store. If you would like to make your own, the short of it is, you’re basically going to run some roughly chopped cauliflower through your food processor, with the shred blade on. If you don’t have a food processor, you can get one by clicking here: Hamilton Beach Food Processor & Vegetable Chopper

Of course, you can also just grate your vegetables by hand with any grater. This method does require the most work. It’s important to understand that these types of rice are nothing more than finely chopped vegetables. You do want to chop or shred your “rice” a little more coarsely for this recipe, so that they will hold up during the cooking time and not turn to mush. I also squeeze as much liquid as I can out of mine, using a paper towel, before incorporating it into recipes. My ingredient amounts below are listed in grams because it takes the guesswork out of the Carb content. I really believe in using a food scale on the Ketogenic diet to get your measurements exact. If you don’t have a food scale, you can get a good one here: Digital Food Scale Digital Weight, Grams and Ounces by Greater Goods

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KETO No-Peek Chicken and “Rice” Casserole

Servings: 8

Ingredients

8 Chicken Thighs, I use bone-in, skin-ON
350 g Cauliflower, Riced
350 g Broccoli florets, Riced
2 slices Bacon, chopped
25 g Onion, finely chopped
¾ cup Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup Chicken Broth
2 tsp Minced Garlic, you know I like Spice World, ORGANIC GARLIC
2 tbsp Salted Butter
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
½ cup Shredded Cheddar cheese
Seasoned Salt
Salt and Pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish with butter or spray with Olive Oil cooking spray. Mix both types of veggie rice together, season with salt and pepper and add to the greased casserole dish. In a cast iron skillet, or your favorite pan, cook the bacon until crispy and then remove with a slotted spoon. Set bacon aside. Season chicken breasts with the Seasoned salt and pepper, then place as many as you can, in the pan, without overcrowding. Cook the chicken in the bacon fat for 3-4 minutes per side, or until browned. Remove chicken and set aside. Pour off most of the grease that is in the pan at this point. Add the 2 tbsp of butter to the pan, turn heat to low-medium. Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan and cook until the onions are just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan, still on low-medium. Cook for 1 minute. De-glaze the pan by adding the chicken broth and scraping any bits from the bottom. Add in the heavy whipping cream, stir. Cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, add in the cheese and stir to melt and combine. Pour half of this sauce over the veggie rice, and stir a little to coat the “rice.” Arrange the chicken thighs over the rice and pour the rest of the sauce over the whole dish. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Remember, NO Peeking! (Or at least not before it has cooked at least 45 minutes) Sprinkle the cooked bacon pieces over the chicken, just before serving.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and your family loves it as much as mine!

This recipe is approximately 524 calories per serving, 6.2g carbs, 41g fat, and 29.6g protein. 

**The nutritional facts mentioned in this article are approximate, and were based on the most accurate information I could find online and may vary. Always double-check your own ingredients.