Arroz con Pollo, Low Carb

This arroz con pollo is low carb with just 6.9 net carbs per generous serving. Cauliflower is substituted for the rice in this spicy keto friendly rendition of the classic Mexican recipe.

For this recipe you’ll need:cauliflower, olive oil, chicken breast, RoTel tomatoes, Tony Chachere’s seasoning, cumin, fresh cilantro, chicken stock, cheddar, and pimentos.

If you are in a hurry click here to go straight to the recipe.

I love my Tex-Mex and Mexican food and if a low-carb lifestyle interfered with my regular consumption of those foods it wouldn’t last very long. Happily it is quite possible to enjoy all of those Tex-Mex flavors without the carbs.

So I’ve been gathering Cinco de Mayo recipes for my “other” blog, Restless Chipotle. One of the things about blogging is that your family learns to eat by the holiday. It’s even worse since I am also the food writer for Texas Living, which means I have to develop recipes six months ahead of time. For example, it’s May 3 but next week my family will be enjoying a lovely Texas style Thanksgiving dinner.

Anyway, one of my favorite foods has always been arroz con pollo. I was working on a recipe for the regular version and I was swooning over the aromas coming from the pan. Cumin, cilantro, tomato… oh my!

I decided to see how a low carb version would work and made a few tweaks. Not only did I love it but my daughter, who was visiting and does not eat low carb, took a spoonful and said, “Omigosh Momma, that is GOOD!”

When a non-low-carb-eater compliments low carb food that’s always a win in my book!

This dish is spicy. I like a lot of heat in my Mexican food. If you prefer less spiciness you can use half diced tomatoes and half RoTel, or all diced tomatoes. If you go with just diced tomatoes please use “fire roasted”. The rest of the ingredients are essential to the flavor. If you don’t like cilantro or cumin you won’t like this dish but if you’ve been sadly perusing the Cinco de Mayo recipes on Pinterest you are about to love me more than you all ready do…

Because we’re using cauliflower in this arroz con pollo instead of rice the cooking time is much shorter than the conventional, high carb recipe. Once you add the cauliflower you will only cook it until the cauliflower is “just tender” ?but not mushy. Don’t worry, it will soak up all of those flavors really fast.

It also is even better the next day. Divide it up into serving sized portions and refrigerate for up to a week (if, like me, you can eat Mexican food every dang day) or freeze for longer storage. These are good sized servings so if you want to cut back on the carbs even more you can make the servings smaller.

If you are looking for low carb Mexican recipes I think you LOVE this low carb arroz con pollo recipe!

Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning isn’t authentic to this dish but it does add a lot of flavor. Here in Texas we use it for a variety of dishes. Definitely good to have on hand.

I can’t imagine not being able to get RoTel at a store but if you can’t you’ll find it on Amazon. The tomatoes taste fresh and the chiles are flavorful. It’s a Texas classic.

And of course, a good, heavy cast iron pan. There is just nothing like cast iron as far as I’m concerned.

Arroz Con Pollo

You’re going to love the spicy, south of the border flavors in this easy, low carb dish! Be sure to check out my guide to cauliflower rice for lots of tips and tricks!

Print Pin Recipe

Arroz con Pollo, Low Carb

Spicy, tender chicken is mixed with chopped cauliflower, RoTel tomatoes, and spiced to recreate the Mexican classic, Arroz con Pollo. This low carb version has just 6.9 net carbs per generous serving.

Course Low Carb Main, Main

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword cauliflower, chicken

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 to 6 servings

Calories 292kcal

Author Marye

Ingredients

• 1 pound cauliflower
• 1 pound chicken breast
• 3 teaspoons Creole Seasoning Tony Chacheres
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 14.5 ounces Tomatoes Ro*Tel – drained
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 ounces cheddar
• 2 ounces pimentos

Instructions

• Trim the cauliflower and pulse in a food processor until it is chopped into small, rice sized pieces.
• Set aside.
• Cut the chicken breast into bite sized pieces and add to a bowl.
• Add the Tony Chachere’s Seasoning and mix well so that all the pieces are covered.
• Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet.
• When the oil begins to ripple and is very hot carefully add the chicken. Be careful not to overcrowd the skillet.
• Cook until the chicken is golden and cooked through.
• Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Add a little more olive oil if necessary and let the pan get hot again.
• Add the cauliflower and saute for just a minute or two.
• Add the chicken, drained RoTel tomatoes, cumin, cilantro, and stock.
• Simmer for about 3 minutes.
• Add 1 ounce of the cheddar and the pimentos.
• Stir well and heat through.
• Remove from heat and serve with the remaining 1 ounce of cheese sprinkled on top.

Notes

Calories 265

Nutrition

Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 278mg | Potassium: 849mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1245IU | Vitamin C: 69.5mg | Calcium: 137mg | Iron: 1.7mg

If you like this low carb Arroz con Pollo you might also like…

Low Carb Crispy Taco Bowl

Tuna Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Tamale pie