As majority of us are trying to get rid off of extra lbs after the Holidays, I thought we could all appreciate a quick lightened up classic. Chicken cauliflower rice and beans is veggie, protein and flavour packed, and yet lower in carbs.
The secret ingredient is cauliflower “rice”. You can either make your own using a food processor or buy one at Trader Joe’s, Costco or Walmart. Pretty much anywhere. And if you are looking for ways to cook with it, check our my 25 cauliflower rice recipes, as well as 20 Trader Joe’s cauliflower rice recipes.
How to Make Chicken Cauliflower Rice and Beans
- In a food processor, add cauliflower in batches and process until “rice” forms. Just watch closely and do not over process into mush. Transfer to a bowl.
- Preheat large and deep non-stick skillet on medium – high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add cauliflower “rice” and cook for 3 – 4 minutes or until a bit golden, stirring frequently and watching closely not to burn. In the last minute of cooking add 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of ground black pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Return skillet on medium heat and swirl olive oil to coat (If necessary scrape off small bits of cauliflower “rice”). Add onion, garlic and green bell peppers; cook for 7 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium – high, add chicken and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add remaining salt, tomato sauce, black beans and Mina Harissa; stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in “rice” and sprinkle with green onions. Serve hot on its own or with extra brown rice for those extra hungry people, if desired.:)
Disclosure: I was compensated for my time to develop this recipe. I recommend only products I love and tried myself.
PrintChicken Cauliflower Rice and Beans
Chicken Cauliflower Rice and Beans Recipe cooked with spicy harissa sauce in one pan. This delicious healthy dinner is ready in 30 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (7 – 8″) cauliflower head, separated into large florets
- 1 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 medium green bell peppers, chopped
- 1 lb chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 15 oz can tomato sauce, low sodium
- 2 x 14 oz can low sodium black beans, drained & rinsed
- 2 tbsp Mina Harissa
- 3 tbsp green onions, chopped
- Cooking spray (I use Misto)
Instructions
- In a food processor, add cauliflower in batches and process until “rice” forms. Just watch closely and do not over process into mush. Transfer to a bowl.
- Preheat large and deep non-stick skillet on medium – high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add cauliflower “rice” and cook for 3 – 4 minutes or until a bit golden, stirring frequently and watching closely not to burn. In the last minute of cooking add 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of ground black pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Return skillet on medium heat and swirl olive oil to coat (If necessary scrape off small bits of cauliflower “rice”). Add onion, garlic and green bell peppers; cook for 7 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium – high, add chicken and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add remaining salt, tomato sauce, black beans and Mina Harissa; stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in “rice” and sprinkle with green onions. Serve hot on its own or with extra brown rice for those extra hungry people, if desired.:)
Store: Refrigerate covered for up to 5 days.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
I’m not a big fan of spice, so I made this without the Mina Harissa; it was delicious and my whole family liked it.
★★★★★
That’s great to hear Pam!
easy and delicious – used a roasted chicken so it was fast. very tasty and good to make on Monday – now i have lunch for the week. generous portion size and low calorie.
★★★★★
Perfect. That works too!!!
I have made this recipe no less than 15 times. It’s definitely a healthy favorite! I also love the fact that I can freeze half of it and it reheats beautifully. We are traveling this week so I’m not in my kitchen. At home my grocery store carries Mina Harissa (which I love). I stood in the store today googling replacements for harissa and it suggested Sambal Oelek and adding a bit of cumin. It turned out just as well. Thanks again! I’ve loved following along on your relocation and home renovations! Your studio turned out fantastic!
★★★★★
Hi Pamela. That’s so awesome to hear. And thanks for the tip on sambal oelek and cumin because harissa is hard to come by where I live now. Thank you for your kind words. Past year has been a whirlwind and is far from over but slowly and surely. I definitely don’t want to do anything even remotely crazy as this in my 40s. So better get done and over with it now.
I use Eden brand black soybeans in the recipe and this makes it very low carb. I also question the amount of carbs mentioned for your recipe, because it doesn’t give the amount of fiber in the dish; just sayin’. If one is eating keto, paleo or low carb, one needs to subtract the amount of fiber in the dish (mainly, the black beans) to get the net carbs. Thanks for this recipe; family loves it.
The reason why my nutrition breakdown doesn’t mention fiber is because the plugin we use for nutritional info doesn’t give it to you when calculating unless I had “fiber” ticked off. And when we calculated for this recipe, we didn’t. We added it now but it only applies to all recipes calculating forward. That is technology for you. So our carbs are not off. And overall, ifoodreal.com is not a diet website. We offer nutritional info as a general guideline to help people understand better what food groups make what. I’m happy your family enjoyed this recipe. All that matters, plus the fact that it’s made with real whole foods. Don’t diet – they never yield lasting results and only create anxiety. Enjoy life in a healthy way with all real food, move around and be happy!
Very good!
★★★★★
I just made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious, looking forward to eating the leftovers! Adding this to my weekly dinner planning! Awesome recipe, thank you! ?
You are welcome, Janet.
I live in Germany (army wife) and cannot find the spice that you use what would you reccomend as a substitute?
Hi Lindsey. Any hot sauce works. Like Frank’s or any Mexican hot sauce.
Subbed Hot Pepper sauce for the Mina Harissa. It was delicious! Thank you for another great recipe!
That is totally acceptable, Marla. I choose between harissa, sriracha and buffalo sauce depending on the mood.
Hi. How did your low sodium version turn out? I was thinking the same thing especially after I looked up the harissa sauce, that sodium content is sky high. Please let me know how your’s turned out as I really think this sounds delicious but not worth a heart attack.
Any condiment is usually high in sodium. That is how it can be preserved, no other way around it. You can control sodium by using sodium free or low sodium other ingredients in the dish. For example, use passata (only 20 mg per serving), low sodium canned beans (I cook my own and freeze them for later with no sodium), and organic local chicken that isn’t injected with salt water for weight. I do not think this is the dish that causes heart attack or should make you concerned about sodium. Recommended daily intake is 2200mg. Even at 800 mg this meal still leaves you plenty of room for sodium. I have very clean palate and find storebosugh chips to salty, even organic (majority of them). Any main meal of decent size with sodium under 400- 500mg (roughly) is just plain and not tasty. It is a dinner size portion. We shouldn’t be concerned on numbers so much rather clean our palates by eating whole foods and then we won’t overeat sodium. That is why I do not like to post nutritional info. People get hung up on numbers and go to an extreme. Just add less harissa, sodium is easy to control.
This was a terrific recipe – thank you so much. I made a huge batch today for the rest of the week 🙂
Welcome. Yes, it makes a lot, especially if it’s only you. For us this lasts max 2 meals.:) It is super light though because of cauliflower.
Olena, can individual portions be frozen?
I haven’t tried but probably.
Absolutely delicious. I have to say that I didnt use mina hassira, but I will next time. I have everything else at home already so I just went for it and oh my, what a wonderful meal! Thank you!
Interesting…Glad you liked it!
I love cauliflower rice– and this dish looks like the perfect healthy comfort meal for weeknights. Stunning photos with the steam! Pinning.
Steamy food looks appetizing, doesn’t it?! Thank you, Michelle!
Home Run Olena!! I will admit I was skeptical to make the “rice”. I’ve seen it all over the internet & Pinterest, but I didn’t know if I would like it & it’s so good! Your flavor combinations are amazing! I added a bag of frozen green beans so I would have a “1 pot meal”. I found the Harissa on sale at Fresh Market for $5.99. Thanks for a wonderful & tasty recipe! Keep up the good work! i will be making this again very soon!
Haha, see! I hear that so often about some of my dishes, people are sceptical. Because it’s a bit different food, not your regular burger, let’s just say that.LOL I did find out people think I eat a bit weird but when they try my food they like it. Great harissa find! Enjoy!
I just put this on my meal plan for the week. I’ve never cooked with Mina Harissa, so I’m hoping I can find it at the grocery store today. Have a great week! 🙂
Can you put it something other than Harissa? I don’t like spicy!
This skillet is very mild or you can use 1 tbsp. I honestly don’t know what to replace it with since it adds so much flavour.
your recipes are amazing. I can’t believe I haven’t found you before but there are many clean bloggers online now. I’m Ukrainian too and find it hard to convince my mom to eat low-fat and desert on special occasions but she has come a long way since I started sharing with her. She believes in clean eating partly. Do you find it hard to help older immigrants understand clean eating?
Hi Nadya. Thank you so much! I need to work on my SEO so I come up higher in search results. I feel like an undiscovered gem right now LOL.
YES! Both my and my husband’s mom are far from eating clean. They agree to everything we preach to them and promise they will start “tomorrow” but it hasn’t happened so far. I do not find Ukrainian cuisine clean, far from it. They think it’s fine but most Ukrainians think so, right?! The base is there but refined grains, sugar and loads of heavy dairy combined with no desire to look for organic versions of their favourites kill it. Our moms have hard time to eat way less meat (they eat it every day), kolbasa, cheese, sauces. My mom always get baked stuff from Costco. I think they have no idea how to cook clean and what to do with vegetables. They love our food when I make it but they don’t cook it. I think it’s a habit and as older you get habits are harder to brake, unfortunately.:(
You always post the most creative, yet simple and easy weeknight dinners! (No wonder they are so popular. 🙂 ) I definitely want to try cauliflower rice in the future… we just started exploring the paleo diet world and cauliflower is definitely the way to go for “fake-it-til-you-make-it” carbs! 🙂
Awe, thank you! It takes me a lot of thinking to first come up with a recipe idea and then to simplify it to almost nothing LOL. Cauliflower rice is super fast, a bit messy but rinses off everything with no scrubbing or soap. Good luck in your new kitchen adventures!