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dani california cooks

homegrown and homemade in CA

Baked Chicken in Veggie “Couscous” (paleo)

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This has quickly become one of our favorite dinners! Juicy chicken thighs are baked to perfection in a flavorful vegetable “couscous”. It’s a hearty, simple, and healthy one-dish meal.

For some reason, I thought this was the first chicken recipe I had ever posted. I was all excited to be like “introducing DCC’s first chicken recipe!” I just googled “Dani California Cooks” and “chicken” to fact check myself and I realized that I had posted plenty of other chicken recipes throughout my time on this blog! And oh yeah, one was posted last week. And one of my earliest recipes - Chicken Enchiladas with Kale. And this Crockpot Orange Sesame Chicken with Broccoli. How could I forget those?! They seemed like such memorable meals!! I honestly think it’s because chicken is certainly the most benign, the least sexy protein out there. It was almost taboo growing up to order chicken in a restaurant. “Don’t order the chicken!! You can make that at home!!” Since I travel for work, I can only cook so many meals at home and usually chicken isn’t at the top of my list. I get most of my protein from eggs, legumes, beans, nuts, and fish. But I’ve made this dish twice in the last month! With different variations of this vegetable “couscous”. The first time I made it, Nate went “I really liked this. You can make it again. But I’ll likely never see it again, since you are always trying out new recipes for the blog”. So I made it again, you know, just to prove him wrong! It looks like enough food for 4 people, but I’ll be honest with you - we polish off a whole dish of this just the two of us. Usually if I see a recipe that serves “4-6” I know Nate will make up 3 of those four. His appetite and metabolism is a thing of wonder. But since this dish is only veg/chicken, you really can eat a whole lot of it without feeling weighed down. The word “comfort food” conjures up a lot of images in my mind. I polled my colleagues, asking them what was the first thing that they thought of when they heard the word “comfort food”. Responses included fried chicken, mac n’ cheese, and cereal. Why do we associate comfort food with something that’s usually unhealthy? That’ll provide no comfort to your belly if you aren’t feeling well! I usually think of oatmeal, or something hot and soothing. I’ve made this baked chicken recipe twice now, and each time it seemed like the ultimate comfort food. It was flavorful, warm, and easy to make and easy to enjoy. In the oven, the vegetables start to caramelize in their “couscous” form, and the chicken takes on all sorts of delicious flavors. I highly recommend serving with a salad, and there’s dinner!

So, Nate - it’s a good thing you liked this, because you’ll seeing it again!

5.0 from 2 reviews
Baked Chicken in Veggie "Couscous" (paleo)
 
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Juicy chicken thighs are baked to perfection in a flavorful vegetable "couscous". It's a hearty and comforting one-dish meal that is free of most allergens.
Author:
Serves: 2-4 servings
Ingredients
  • ½ head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
  • 2 medium sized carrots
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • ½ cup cilantro leaves
  • ½ onion
  • Olive oil
  • 5 chicken thighs - I used boneless and skinless
  • Paprika
  • Salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Place the cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, garlic, cilantro, and onion into a food processor. Process until the vegetables are in a rice-like pieces
  2. Pour the mixture into a 9 x 11 baking dish.
  3. Toss with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, and form five "wells" for each chicken thigh to go into
  4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
  5. In a medium stove pan, drizzle some olive oil and put on a stovetop over medium heat
  6. Sprinkle paprika, salt, and pepper on each side of each chicken thigh
  7. Once the olive oil is a bit hot, place the chicken thighs in the stove pan
  8. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes on each side, or until the outsides are a bit crispy. The chicken will not be cooked through and shouldn't be!
  9. Remove the chicken from the pan, and place each thigh in its "well" in the baking dish
  10. Bake for 25 minutes
  11. Serve immediately and enjoy!
If you like this, you’ll love: 5-Ingredient Stuffed Peppers (see?! another chicken recipe!)

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Comments

  3. Girl, I don’t think I can praise your food photography enough! All of your food always looks so beautiful and fresh!
    I am definitely book marking this one- I love all the different textures I see here.
    I am bad about not making recipes more than once. Thus, anytime someone asks me what my specialty is, I can’t really say!
    Kate recently posted…Sick therapy vs Well therapyMy Profile

  12. You are genius with this veggie couscous!! My step dad is on a very low carb diet for the next week because he had to get a shot that will make his insulin spike and he’s diabetic. Can’t wait to make a version of this for him (no carrots though). YaY thanks chick!
    Sam @ PancakeWarriors recently posted…Simple Turkey Stuffed PeppersMy Profile

    • Wow that is a super low carb diet!! This will taste delicious even without the carrots. Hope he feels better - this comfort food will help! 🙂

  14. When I think of comfort food I typically think soups and something from the slow cooker. Why is it that most people think of something heavy and unhealthy!? Such a great question. Let me know if you figure out the answer! 😉 Anyways, this baked chicken in veggie couscous looks perfectly comforting and fabulously delicious! I am a HUGE fan of cauliflower “rice” and “couscous”! But paired with that chicken and the addition of broccoli and other yummy nom noms? YES YES YES! Love this, Dani! Pinned! Cheers, girl!
    Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary recently posted…Thai Chicken Tacos {with Bean Sprout Slaw & Peanut Sauce}My Profile