Italian Keto Chicken and Rice
Published September 17, 2021 • Updated February 24, 2026
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My Italian take on keto chicken and rice, made in one skillet with hearts of palm rice, fresh tomatoes, spinach, and a squeeze of lemon. Dairy free and ready in about 25 minutes.
I started making this Italian chicken and rice when I realized how many of my weeknight keto dinners had turned into cheese-heavy casseroles. I love cheese, but sometimes I want something lighter that still feels like a complete dinner. This one-pot skillet version checks every box: fresh cherry tomatoes that cook down into a natural, slightly thick sauce, tender chicken thighs that stay juicy, and hearts of palm rice that soaks up every drop of flavor. The whole thing comes together in about 25 minutes, which is faster than most of the casseroles I was making before.
Hearts of palm rice is the real star here. I’ve tried cauliflower rice in this recipe (it works), but hearts of palm has a neutral flavor that lets the tomato, lemon, and basil come through without competing. One of my readers, Fatima, put it perfectly after making it four times: nothing else pulls the lemon and tomato into every bite the way hearts of palm does. After making this dozens of times myself, I agree completely. If you can find hearts of palm rice at your store, grab a few bags. I go through about two a week now.
The dairy-free angle wasn’t planned. I originally tested a version with heavy cream, and it was fine, but the fresh tomatoes cooked in chicken broth already created enough body in the sauce that the cream felt unnecessary. So I dropped it. If you’re avoiding dairy because of inflammation or just want a lighter keto chicken dinner, this is one of the best options I’ve come up with. The sauce has a clean tomato flavor that doesn’t weigh you down. And if you do want cheese on a given night, a handful of mozzarella stirred in at the end melts right in.
This is the kind of recipe I reach for on nights when I don’t have the energy to think. One skillet, minimal chopping, and the spinach wilts right into everything in the last few minutes. One detail I’ve learned from making this so many times: add the lemon juice at the very end, off the heat. If you cook it into the sauce, the brightness disappears. Off the heat, it stays sharp and lifts the whole dish. If you like Italian-flavored keto meals, my Tuscan Chicken Pasta, Skillet Lasagna, and Creamy Pesto Chicken are all in the same lane.
For a brothy version of this dinner, my Chicken and Rice Soup uses the same hearts of palm rice and has a completely different feel. I make both on repeat.
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Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil -
1 garlic clove, minced
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1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
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3/4 teaspoons salt
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1/2 teaspoon pepper
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1/4 cup chicken broth
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1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
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2 cups spinach
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9 oz hearts of palm rice, or cauliflower rice
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3 tablespoons lemon juice
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2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Sauté garlic
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Cook chicken
Add diced chicken to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until browned on all sides, then remove from the skillet.
Cook tomatoes
Pour in chicken broth to deglaze the pan. Add sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and let cook until tomatoes have burst and released their juices.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Why use hearts of palm rice instead of cauliflower rice?
I've tested both in this recipe more times than I can count. Cauliflower rice works, but it has a distinct flavor that competes with the basil and lemon. Hearts of palm rice is neutral, and it absorbs the tomato sauce in a way cauliflower just doesn't. One of my readers described it as 'nothing else pulls the lemon and tomato into every bite,' and I think that nails it. If you only have cauliflower on hand, use it, but try hearts of palm once and you'll see the difference.
Can I add cheese or cream to make this richer?
I've done both. A handful of shredded mozzarella stirred in at the end melts right into the sauce and gives it more body. Heavy cream works too, about 2-3 tablespoons. I usually skip the dairy because the tomato sauce has enough richness on its own, but on nights when I want something heavier, cheese is my go-to addition.
How do I store leftovers?
I keep leftovers in a glass container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When I reheat, I add a splash of broth because the rice absorbs liquid as it sits. Microwave works, but I prefer reheating in a skillet with a lid so the chicken stays tender instead of drying out.
What makes this different from a traditional casserole?
The traditional version uses regular rice and usually a cream-based sauce. When I converted this for keto, I swapped in hearts of palm rice and built the sauce from fresh tomatoes cooked down in broth instead of canned cream of mushroom soup or heavy dairy. It's lighter, faster, and the Italian flavors (basil, lemon, tomato) give it a completely different feel than what I grew up eating.
Can I use dried basil instead of fresh?
I've done it when I'm out of fresh. Use about 1 teaspoon of dried basil and add it earlier, when you're cooking the tomatoes, so it has time to bloom. Fresh basil stirred in at the end gives a brighter flavor that I prefer, but dried still makes a good dish.
Can I make this on a busy weeknight?
This is one of my go-to weeknight dinners specifically because there's almost no prep. I chop the chicken, halve the tomatoes, and everything else goes straight from the bag or bottle into the skillet. Start to finish, I'm done in about 25 minutes, and there's only one pan to wash.
Can I add other vegetables to this?
I've thrown in sliced zucchini, diced bell peppers, and mushrooms at different times, and they all work. Add firmer vegetables like bell peppers when you cook the tomatoes, and softer ones like zucchini or mushrooms with the spinach at the end. I'd stick to 1-2 additions so you don't water down the sauce.
My son kept asking what the 'rice' was and when I said hearts of palm he just stared at me. Kid has never willingly touched spinach in his life but he scraped the skillet clean.
Spinach disappears into the sauce here. The stare was worth it.
My son knows exactly what cauliflower rice is and always pushes it to the side. I made this with hearts of palm rice and he finished the whole bowl without a word. I'd add a bit more lemon next time, but as written it worked.
That's exactly why I went with hearts of palm over cauliflower rice in this one. Neutral enough to disappear into the sauce. And yes on the lemon, I sometimes squeeze a bit more right at the end when I'm plating.
Making this tonight and my only large pan is cast iron. Will the acidity from the tomatoes and lemon mess with the flavor, or should I just grab my stainless skillet?
Cast iron is fine here. Twenty-five minutes isn't long enough for the tomatoes and lemon to do anything weird to the flavor. If the stainless is right there already, sure, use it. But don't stress over it.
Six months keto and I'd stopped expecting food like this was still an option. Made this on a weeknight and something about the lemon and tomatoes together in a single skillet just felt like a real Italian meal again. Really glad I found it.
Six months in is when keto really clicks. The basil stirred in at the end is what makes this feel Italian to me - that and using actual cherry tomatoes instead of canned.
I kept putting this off because I wasn't sold on hearts of palm rice in something this Italian-forward, and every cauliflower rice version I've tried just tastes like cauliflower with tomatoes on top. This is different. The lemon juice with the cherry tomatoes actually makes it feel like a complete dish, not a swap.
Lemon was the last thing I figured out in this one. Cherry tomatoes alone just taste flat.
Made this four times since January. The lemon at the end is what gets me, the whole skillet just comes alive when it goes in. Not changing a thing.
Four times and not touching it. The basil goes in right after the lemon, same effect.
Swapped the cherry tomatoes for sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (had a jar I needed to use) and the dish basically transformed into something else entirely. The flavor gets more intense, almost jammy where the spinach wilts into it, and the lemon at the end cuts through in a way that it just doesn't when everything is fresher and lighter. I went back and made it the original way to compare and now I'm genuinely annoyed I did that to myself. Sun-dried all the way.
The oil from that jar is doing most of the work. Sun-dried packed in it basically sauce the whole dish as they cook down, and the lemon lands differently when there's that much fat underneath it. Going back to compare was a trap (I'd have been annoyed too).
My husband is doing low-FODMAP alongside keto, so garlic is out for us. Would garlic-infused olive oil work the same way in the sauté step, or does it actually need to cook down to build that base flavor before the chicken goes in?
Garlic-infused oil works here. Use the full 3 tablespoons and let it heat before the chicken goes in. I wouldn't worry about losing the base layer, one minced clove doesn't really caramelize in a 25-minute dish. The tomatoes and lemon do most of the work.
Fourth time making this and I still can't get over how well the hearts of palm rice absorbs everything. Not cauliflower rice, not shirataki, nothing else pulls the lemon and tomato into every bite the way this does.
Four times and still noticing that. The lemon really does sink into it in a way cauliflower can't match.
Made this on a Tuesday when I had zero energy. One pot saved me and the spinach wilted in perfectly. My 4yo picked out the tomatoes but still ate the chicken.
Tuesday nights are rough. Mine do the same thing with tomatoes but the chicken thighs always win them over.
Having this tonight! My husband gets tired of chicken casserole dishes with cheese sauces. I hope he will like this one. Thank you. Love your recipes - Roxann