Can we just talk about this extra creamy, dairy-free one pan dinner for a sec?? This Paleo, Whole30 + Keto chicken skillet is full of flavor from the creamy spinach artichoke sauce, filled with veggies from the cauliflower rice, asparagus and spinach and topped with simply seasoned chicken thighs. And it comes together in just 30 minutes, too! So basically, this is the new recipe you need to try ASAP!
How do you make the spinach artichoke sauce so creamy?
We really love making healthier comfort food recipes, and this chicken skillet is a new favorite! The creamy sauce is made with mayo as the base, so it’s full of creamy goodness. We also used nutritional yeast to add some cheesy, umami flavor. It’s a combo that really satisfies the palate, and the sauce is actually a recipe we made for a spinach artichoke dip a while back! So, it’s versatile and great for entertaining or taking to get togethers. It always goes real quick, and nobody has any idea it’s dairy-free and healthier. And in this easy one pan dinner, it’s the perfect sauce!
What if I don’t like chicken thighs?
We prefer to cook with boneless, skinless chicken thighs most of the time because they are more flavorful and cook faster than chicken breasts. That said, you could totally use chicken breasts instead of thighs for this recipe. You might consider cutting the chicken up in advance, either into strips or bite-sized pieces, to speed up the cooking time.
What is nutritional yeast?
Don’t be put off or scared of yeast in the name. Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast, meaning that it doesn’t cause an issue for people with yeast overgrowth or candida issues. We love it because it adds a cheesy, umami flavor to whatever you’re making, which is great for dairy-free recipes like this spinach artichoke chicken skillet! We actually end up using it in our kitchen pretty often and find that it’s great in many savory dishes.
More easy one pan recipes
- HEALTHY LEMON CHICKEN PICCATA (PALEO + WHOLE30)
- BREAKFAST FRIED RICE (PALEO, WHOLE30 + KETO)
- EASY CHICKEN AND CHORIZO BAKE (PALEO, WHOLE30 + KETO)
- SZECHUAN NOODLES (PALEO, WHOLE30 + KETO)
Time to try our spinach artichoke chicken for yourself!
Get this easy, 30 minute meal on your meal plan for next week! The whole family will enjoy our creamy, dairy-free spinach artichoke chicken skillet. Leave a comment and rating below to let us know how it goes. Also, take a pic to share on Instagram and tag us @realsimplegood and use #TheRSGLife so we can check it out and share on our feed, too! And if you don’t already, make sure to give us a follow – let’s stay connected!
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Spinach Artichoke Chicken Skillet (Paleo, Whole30 + Keto)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp ) avocado oil
- 1.5 lbs (680.39 g) chicken thighs, (or breasts)
- salt and pepper
For the spinach artichoke sauce:
- 1 can (1 can) artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped, (14.5 oz can)
- 1 cup (224 g) mayo
- 1/4 cup (11 g) nutritional yeast
- 3 cups (90 g) spinach, chopped
- 4 cloves (4 cloves) garlic, minced, (or sub 1 tbsp garlic oil)
For the rest:
- 1 bunch (1 bunch) asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
- 6 cups (960 g) Cauliflower rice, (or white rice if not Whole30 or Keto)
- Fresh parsley, chopped, (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
- Add avocado oil to a large oven safe skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in chicken and season with salt and pepper, about a 1/2 tsp each.
- Let chicken cook undisturbed for 4 minutes, and then flip and season the other side with more salt and pepper, about a 1/2 tsp each. Cook for another 4 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, place all of the spinach artichoke sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Also, prep asparagus and cauliflower rice if not using pre-riced cauliflower.
- Once chicken is done, remove from pan and set on a plate. Turn off the heat, and add cauliflower rice and asparagus to pan. Add some salt and pepper to taste and mix around.
- Layer sauce on top of rice mixture, and add chicken on top of sauce.
- Transfer to oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked through.
- Once done, remove, serve and enjoy!
Absolutely delicious and full of flavor! Will be making again!
This was really delicious!
Made it with already cooked rice instead of cauliflower rice (about 3 cups or so) and added a little chicken broth to the rice/asparagus to allow for some additional moisture to be available so the rice didn’t dry out. It tasted so good! Looking forward to the leftovers!
We’re so happy it was a hit for you! Thanks for visiting to leave a review. Appreciate it! 🙂
This was so simple to make, veggie packed, and so flavorful!!! Perfect weeknight dish!
So happy to hear you loved it! Thanks for coming back to leave a review and let us know! We appreciate hearing from you. 🙂
Delish. I will cook it a little longer next time. I also sprinkled macadamia nut crumbles on top which was a yummy addition. I subbed Dino kale for spinach which is out of my template and it worked perfectly.
Thanks for a great recipe. Will make again for sure.
Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review! We appreciate you sharing on IG, too! 🙂
I love finding clean, low carb meals that are actually delicious…and one-pan is such an added bonus!!!! This is definitely being added to the rotation. I love that there was asparagus included. I seriously might pull out some tortilla chips to eat with it next time. The entire family enjoyed it.
We are so happy it was a hit for the whole fam! And yes to tortilla chips dipped right in! 😉 Thanks so much for sharing on IG and for taking the time to come back and leave a rating/review. We really appreciate your support!
This dish is absolutely delicious! I used broccoli instead of asparagus because that’s what I had, and it was still great. I also used thighs for my fiancé and breasts for me. Absolute perfection! We eat paleo/whole30 most nights during the week, so we’ve had a ton of different recipes and this is my new favorite!
Love hearing that you guys enjoyed it so much! Thanks for sharing on Instagram too! We appreciate your support!
This was so good!!!! So cheesy tasting but with no cheese. Couldn’t believe it. Hearty and comforting but healthy. Ok I need to make this again tomorrow because now I’m craving it.
Hahhaha! We are so glad you loved this one! Thanks for trying our recipes and following along with us! We’re so glad we got to connect with you during our Whole30 takeover! 🙂
Another 5 star winner by Erica and Justin. Will definitely be making this again.
Hooray! We are so happy you enjoyed this one! Thanks so much for giving another recipe of ours a try. We are so grateful you’re here and appreciate you taking the time to return and leave a rating/review! 🙂
Phenomenal recipe. Made tonight, and my husband and I loved it. Will make delicious leftovers, too!
I have made this every week since I first saw it. I’ve even made it without the chicken to eat with other things during the week. I have doubled the artichoke a couple times and it’s spectacular every time!!
Thanks for coming back to leave a review Teri 🙂
So.Dang.Good! As noted in other reviews, this is going into the weekly rotation….and I’m going to double the spinach/artichoke sauce so I have enough to dip into while it’s cooking. Thanks Justin and Erica!
You’re very welcome!
This is a family fav in our house! We’ve made it in our instapot sometimes with modifications and it’s delish even then! So glad I found RealSimpleGood!
We are glad you found us too :).
Do you know if any alternatives for replacing the nutritional yeast in your recipes? I have a yeast allergy and don’t want to compromise flavor, so trying to get creative.
If you can eat dairy, a little cheese would work! If not, you can omit the nutritional yeast and most of the recipes should still taste great. The nutritional yeast just adds a little “cheesy” flavor to the dish.
Made it 2 nights ago and my husband simply loved it. All your recipes are so delicious. I am starting making your recipes very often and all of them are so good.
Thanks for sharing with us!
We’re so happy to hear you guys enjoyed it! Thanks for giving our recipes a try and for taking the time to come back and share! We’re so grateful! 🙂
This was delicious! The only change I made was to shred the chicken into the sauce before layering it on the cauliflower rice. Both my husband and I loved it, and I passed the recipe on to all our kids!
Thanks for sharing, love the idea of shredding the chicken :).
I’m always on the hunt for easy, healthy dinners and this did not disappoint! Super delish. My husband asked to take the leftovers for lunch and even my kids asked for seconds.
Sounds like an all-around win for sure! We’re thrilled to hear it went over so well! Thanks so much for sharing on IG and taking the time to come to the post and share too! 🙂
Easy and so flavorful!
Simply irresistable!
This was easy and delicious! Ended up not adding the cauliflower rice because my husband was craving oven fries – we dipped the fries in the baked asparagus/sauce mixture, delicious! Definitely will make again, with and without the cauli!
Loved this!!!
So full of flavor easy to whip up! Will definitely be making this delicious dish again!!!
Another great easy meal!
Yummy!
Stumbled across this recipe and can’t wait to try it. It’s on the schedule for this week
Hope you love it!
Delicious ‼️ And healthy ‼️ It’s a new family favorite ‼️
My new favorite recipe! I have made it twice in one week. It is so yummy and healthy.
This dish is incredible! I’m not a cook, my husband is, and he LOVED this meal I cooked. Thank you for the wonderful recipe! It was easy for me to follow as well.
So great to hear your husband loved it!
This is my new favorite recipe! So delicious! It will be in my weekly rotation.
That’s so great to hear! Thank you for coming back to leave a review :).
This was a delicious recipe! It’s hard to find keto recipes that have the fat you need to stay full but aren’t super heavy, this one definitely fits that bill. It was super easy to make but tasted like it took hours. I’m definitely keeping this one in my back pocket. Thanks Erica and Justin!
You’re welcome, so glad you enjoyed this one :).
This recipe is amazing. The whole family enjoyed. I made it with rice and keep the rice on the side rather than mix in the pan with the rest. The leftovers were even tastier! Will be adding this to my “eat often” recipe saves!
We love hearing that you’ll be adding this one into the rotation :).
SO Good!!! Read your recipe, made your recipe, Loved your recipe! (My husband had 3 helpings!). I’m always looking for keto/whole30 recipes because I feel best when I combine these two, as best I can. This recipe hits the mark!!! Thanks!
Perfect! So glad this recipe is a good one for you – and obviously your husband too 🙂