This chicken cauliflower rice and beans combine all the flavor of the regular version but lightened up with low-carb cauliflower rice, a delicious and nutritious lunch or dinner!
You might also like this Mexican cauliflower rice, Thai cauliflower rice, or teriyaki chicken with cauliflower too!
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 on a classic. Chicken cauliflower rice and beans is veggie, protein and flavour packed, and yet lower in carbs for healthy lunch ideas or dinner.
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 or 14 frozen 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.:) You may also like these ground chicken stuffed peppers!
Disclosure: I was compensated for my time to develop this recipe. I recommend only products I love and tried myself.
More Delicious and Healthy Cauliflower Recipes
- Cauliflower fried rice
- Cheesy cauliflower rice
- Cauliflower breadsticks
- Cauliflower risotto
- Cauliflower stir fry with bell peppers
- Cauliflower pizza crust
- Cauliflower potato salad
Chicken Cauliflower Rice and Beans
Ingredients
- 2 lbs cauliflower 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 red pepper sauce
- 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.:)
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate covered for up to 5 days.
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.