Chicken and Bacon Jambalaya

Howdy! Today I bring you Chicken and Bacon Jambalaya!

Now, let’s just get the whole *jambalaya* thing out of the way right now. Because I just know that a Southerner or two is going to get all up in my grill if I don’t. And I quote from Dictionary.com:

“A dish consisting of rice cooked with ham, sausage, chicken, or shellfish, herbs, spices, and vegetables, especially tomatoes, onions, and peppers.”

Thus, apart from that fact that I switched out the rice for cauli rice, it can, in fact, be called Jambalaya.

Now we’ve got that sorted, let me tell you (again) how easy and simple it is to make brilliantly tasty low carb or keto meals with just a handful of inexpensive ingredients, 15 minutes of your time, and without requiring any major cooking skills. This dish is an absolute breeze to toss together and if you live with others who do not follow this crazy low carb or keto thang they too will gobble it up and ask for more. Because there is simply nothing weird going on here at all. It’s just whole, fresh food cooked together in a way that makes something really delicious.

I love using tomatoes in meals because not only do they add just a touch of sweet but also a pop of color.  If you are feeding other humans who are not following low carb or keto you need to pull out all the stops to provide appetizing food. It really does help if your special “diet” food looks totally delicious to everyone who sees it. And when that food also tastes fantastic you’re onto a winner of a dinner!

Often, a great meal is simply a matter of thoughtfully assembling a few whole, fresh foods rather than spend time scouring the internet for complicated recipes that take a bank loan to fund and an age to prepare, developed primarily to make the blogger look clever.

Now don’t misunderstand me – for people who love to cook and who have the time and resources – complicated recipes are fabulous, but when you’ve had a long slog at the workplace – or wherever – and you just need to get dinner on the table for a row of hungry mouths – or even just your own – tasty meals in minutes is the answer. Like this Chicken and Bacon Jambalaya.

Now scoot off into the kitchen. It’ll take you less time to make than it took you to read this post. #WINNING

Chicken and Bacon Jambalaya

Author: Carrie Brown | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Total time: 20 mins | Serves: 2 – 4

What You Need

• 8 oz / 225g bacon, chopped into small pieces
• 8 oz / 225g cooked chicken, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 TBSP dried oregano
• Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste (Get the best sea salt here and use code: carriebrown for 15% discount!)
• 12 oz / 340g cauliflower rice (or rice cauliflower florets in a food processor)
• ½ cup / 4 fl oz. heavy cream
• 6 oz. / 170g baby or cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

What You Do

1. In a large skillet saute the chopped bacon and chicken pieces over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   
2. Add the dried oregano, sea salt, ground black pepper, and cauliflower rice and stir until completely combined.
3. Continue to cook over a medium heat, stirring often, for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the cream and tomatoes and stir until fully mixed.
5. Cook for a final 5 minutes or just until the cream and tomatoes are hot.
6. Serve.

Top Recipe Tips

• If you prefer to use fresh oregano, use 3 TBSP and add it with the cream and tomatoes.
• If you want a stupidly fast meal, use pre-cooked bacon and chicken pieces. Heat 3 TBSP avocado or coconut oil in the pan and add the bacon, chicken, oregano, salt, pepper, and cauliflower rice all together. Then follow the directions.

• Check out the Ingredients Guide for information on ingredients.
• Where Are The Macros and Nutritional Info?

Helpful Cooking and Recipe Links

• More chicken recipes
• Come laugh and learn with us over at The Kitchen Podcast
• Come hang out in The Keto Kitchen Facebook Group
• For lots more great recipes check out our scrumptious cookbooks!
• Check out the categories and tags at the top of the post to help you find more recipes using certain ingredients or from certain categories.
• Discounts on great keto products and resources.

Podcast Episodes and You Tube Videos

• How and Why to Measure Food
• Where Are The Macros and Nutritional Info?

Substitutions

• Don’t. Just buy the correct ingredients and you, too, shall have a fabulous outcome!
• If you prefer to use fresh oregano, use 3 TBSP and add it with the cream and tomatoes.
  
• You can use thick coconut milk instead of heavy cream for dairy-free. The flavor will be a little different.