However, if you want to really up the ante when it comes to sticking to your Paleo or Whole30 diet, you may find that this recipe as most places and websites recommends just won’t cut it.
Fortunately, there are ways that you can make this dish even better for your dieting needs, and we have the recipe for you!
Not only are we going to show you how to make this phenomenally tasty dish, but we’re going to show you the perfect side to serve your cooked chicken pesto with!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Sun-Dried Pesto Tomato Chicken Ingredient List
For this part of the recipe, you are going to need:
1 ½ pound of chicken breast, diced.
⅓ cup of sun-dried tomato pesto.
8 ounces of canned sun-dried tomato.
Half a cup of spaghetti sauce.
2 ounces of basil, either fresh or dried.
A quarter of a cup of cashews or pine nuts.
A teaspoon of garlic powder.
A teaspoon of onion powder.
Half a teaspoon of salt.
A single can of mini diced tomatoes
Olive oil for flavor & cooking
Salt & pepper for seasoning
Cauliflower Rice Ingredient List
1 head of cauliflower.
I mean, what else did you expect? It’s cauliflower rice! It’s a beautifully short ingredient list!
Making This Recipe
So, let’s get around to showing you how to make this amazing dish!
Sun-Dried Pesto Tomato Chicken Ingredient List
Make sure that you preheat a frying pan to medium-high heat, whilst also adding the olive oil before cooking anything else. Make sure that the oil is nice and hot before you start adding any other ingredients to the mix.
Once the oil is hot, you can add in your diced chicken breast meat, and cook until they are a golden brown color. Make sure to keep seasoning with salt and pepper throughout this step!
While the chicken is cooking, you can mix your pesto ingredients into a fine mix. We would recommend blending them to get the smoothest result possible with your dish!
If you make too much, don’t worry. You can simply freeze any extra pesto you end up making!
Add that third of a cup of pesto mix that you created to your cooked chicken. Make sure that your chicken pieces are evenly coated.
Now, you can add your canned diced mini tomatoes, and let the mixture simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the consistency is to your liking.
Cauliflower Rice Ingredient List
While the ingredient list was pretty simple, preparing your cauliflower rice is another step entirely!
1. Take your head of cauliflower, and make sure that it is thoroughly dry before cooking. Once it is checked, you can wash the cauliflower and remove any greenery from it, leaves or otherwise.
2. Now, you can cut up your cauliflower into larger chunks that will be able to fit in a blender, ideally using a grater attachment to get them to roughly the right size.
a. Alternatively, you can use a box grater to get the correct size for your cauliflower rice.
3. Once it is cooked, it’s simply a matter of sauteing and seasoning the cauliflower rice in a tablespoon of oil (so technically, we did need a second recipe).
Make sure to cover the cauliflower rice in its skillet, and allow it to cook for around 6 to 8 minutes.
Now, you have a batch of fresh cauliflower rice that you can use to add to any recipe that would call for normal rice (see also “15 Best Paleo Cauliflower Recipes To Try Today“). It can be a stir fry, a fried rice dish, or, as we are using, a chicken pesto dish!
Extra Notes
Of course, if you aren’t too concerned about sticking o a particular diet, you don’t have to use cauliflower rice.
Pretty much any kind of rice can be used with this recipe, although we would personally recommend using either basmati or jasmine rice for the best results!
If you’re looking to have a little extra creaminess to your pesto, we would recommend using some kind of mozzarella for an extra cheesy dish.
This should be added during the simmering process, and earlier rather than later to allow the mozzarella to fully soak into the pesto.
You can use both original mozzarellas, or dairy-free varieties also work well, if you’re sticking to dietary restrictions.
If you’re looking to get a texture in your rice that is more like couscous, we would recommend using a smaller grater setting.
Final Notes
So, as you can see, not only is this recipe super easy to make but it can be made even better thanks to a little creativity with a head of broccoli. Plus, it’s also pretty versatile, with
Hi, my name is Justin Roberts and I like to live by one major rule in life – health is wealth. And where does all health stem from? The food choices we make.
I grew up in a not-so-wealthy household that often struggled to get food on the table.
The food we did eat was cheap, holding no nutritional value at all. I’m talking frozen foods, carbs, fats, and very little fresh produce.
I am fortunate enough to have made a life for myself where the money for food is no longer an issue, and I have spent the majority of it looking into healthy foods and different diets to try.
The most notable is keto and paleo. I am also interested in only using whole foods wherever possible – call it trauma!
As a professional chef, I now create recipes surrounding these diets every day. My family are my tasters, and I strive to make my recipes as budget-friendly as possible.
I hope that you’ll find some inspiration for healthier meals from my website. I want to create a catalog of recipes that you can come back to time and time again. Enjoy!
