Chicken Pesto Cauliflower Rice Bake

Chicken Pesto Cauliflower Rice Bake–

Grain free, gluten free, primal, low carb, keto with paleo option.

  Chicken Pesto Cauliflower Rice Bake is an easy, all in one pan, flavorful dish to whip up for dinner. I made the pesto myself (it is super easy to make), because it is hard to find store bought pesto that has not been exposed to wheat on shared equipment. I also made mine with almonds instead of pine nuts for the same reason, as many pine nuts are processed on shared equipment with wheat.

You can use store bought pesto if wheat is not an issue, or you have access to a gluten free brand. You can also use pine nuts in place of almonds as well. I looked all over for GF safe pine nuts, and could not find them where I live.

The toasted almonds taste as good pine nuts in the pesto, so I was very pleased with it. Even the hubby liked this recipe, and he is not a fan of chicken, cauliflower or green, lol. I’m still in shock he tried it, as he would usually turn up his nose at anything with pesto. He must have been starving, but he ate every bite!

Chicken Pesto Cauliflower Rice Bake

Homemade Pesto Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup almonds, toasted, or pine nuts
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• ¼  cup fresh parsley, Italian flat leaf
• 3 cloves garlic
• ⅔ cup olive oil
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese *optional, omit for dairy free

Chicken Bake Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ lb boneless chicken breasts
• 1 ½   cups cauliflower florets, riced and microwaved or steamed for a few minutes.
• 1 medium tomato, sliced
• 1 cup homemade pesto (above), or can use store bought pesto, like this one
• ½  cup grated mozzarella *optional, omit for dairy free

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F, and place almonds on a baking sheet.
2. Toast almonds for 7 to 10 mins until lightly golden brown. Remove and cool.
3. Add almonds and all the pesto ingredients to a food processor, and pulse until combined and texture of pasty sauce.
4. Pour into a bowl and set aside. Skip above directions if using store bought pesto.
5. Preheat oven to 400 F.
6. In the same processor (no need to rinse out), add cauliflower florets and pulse until texture of rice. steam or microwave for 3 to 5 minutes until semi soft.
7. In a 9×13 baking pan or casserole dish, pour about a ⅓ cup of the pesto sauce into the dish and spread around the bottom of the baking dish.
8. add cauliflower rice to the baking dish over the sauce. Add a couple tbsps of pesto to the top of the cauliflower rice (as seen in photo above).
9. Place chicken breasts on top, and add a tbsp of pesto to the top of each piece of chicken (as seen in photo above).
10. Place tomato slices on top and sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese over the top.
11. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until chicken is done (depends on whether fresh or frozen and chicken thickness).

Nutritional Data (includes cheese addition):  Serving Size: one portion out of 5 servings, Cal: 475, Carbs: 7 g, Net Carbs: 4 g, Fiber: 3 g, Protein: 30 g, Fat: 35 g, Sugars: 2 g.

*All nutritional data are estimates based on the products I used*

Printable Recipe Card Below:

5 from 1 vote

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Chicken Pesto Cauliflower Rice Bake

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

45 mins

 

Course: gluten free, grain free, low carb, paleo

Cuisine: easy chicken dinners

Servings: 5

Calories: 475 kcal

Author: Stacey

Ingredients

• Homemade Pesto Ingredients:
• ⅓ cup almonds toasted, or pine nuts
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• ¼ cup parsley Italian flat leaf
• 3 cloves garlic
• ⅔ cup olive oil
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese *optional omit for dairy free
• Chicken Bake Ingredients:
• 1 ¼ lb boneless chicken breasts
• 1 ½ cups cauliflower florets riced
• 1 medium tomato sliced
• 1 cup homemade pesto or can use store bought, above
• ½ cup grated mozzarella *optional omit for dairy free

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F, and place almonds on a baking sheet.
2. Toast almonds for 7 to 10 mins until lightly golden brown. Remove and cool.
3. Add almonds and all the pesto ingredients to a processor, and pulse until combined and texture of pasty sauce.
4. Pour into a bowl and set aside. Skip above directions if using store bought pesto.
5. Preheat oven to 400 F.
6. In the same processor (no need to rinse out), add cauliflower florets and pulse until texture of rice. Steam or microwave for 3 to 5 minutes until semi soft.
7. In a 9 x 13 baking pan or casserole dish, pour about a ⅓ cup of the pesto sauce into the dish and spread around the bottom of the baking dish.
8. add cauliflower rice to the baking dish over the sauce. Add a couple tbsps of pesto to the top of the cauliflower rice (as seen in photo above).
9. Place chicken breasts on top, and add a tbsp of pesto to the top of each piece of chicken (as seen in photo above).
10. Place tomato slices on top and sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese over the top.
11. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until chicken is done (depends on whether fresh or frozen and chicken thickness).

Nutrition Facts

Chicken Pesto Cauliflower Rice Bake

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 475 Calories from Fat 315

% Daily Value*

Fat 35g54%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 30g60%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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42 Flavorful Paleo Pesto Recipes, from Paleo Flourish Magazine

Easy Paleo Pesto Avocado Sauce, from Paleo Newbie