My Italian take on keto chicken and rice: one skillet of tender hearts of palm rice, juicy fresh tomatoes, spinach, and a bright squeeze of lemon. Dairy free, about 25 minutes, 3.1g net carbs and 20.4g protein.
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.
Why I Keep Making This Italian Chicken Dinner
I’m always looking for keto chicken dinners that everyone in my house will eat, and this one has been on repeat. Everything cooks in one skillet, which means minimal cleanup and about 25 minutes from start to plate.
A few reasons I keep coming back to it:
One pan meal. I brown the chicken, build the sauce, and add the rice and spinach all in the same skillet. One pan to wash.
Dairy free. No cream, no cheese. The tomatoes cooked in broth create all the sauce this needs. If you’re avoiding dairy or just want something lighter, this is it.
Almost no prep. I chop the chicken, halve the tomatoes. Everything else goes in as-is.
How It Gets Creamy Without Dairy
Most low carb versions of this dish lean on cheese or heavy cream for richness, and I get why. But when I made this with just fresh cherry tomatoes cooked down in chicken broth, I realized the cream was unnecessary. The tomatoes burst and thicken into a light sauce on their own, and the flavor is cleaner. If I want more richness on a given night, I’ll stir in a handful of mozzarella at the end, but honestly I skip it most of the time.
Make It Ahead
I make double batches of this and freeze half. It holds up in the freezer for about a month. When I reheat, I add a splash of chicken broth to loosen the sauce, and it comes right back. The hearts of palm rice keeps its texture better than cauliflower after freezing, which is another reason I prefer it here. If you like to meal prep, chop everything the night before so all you’re doing at dinner is cooking. My Hamburger Helper is another one-pan recipe that reheats just as well.
Swaps That Work
If you’re out of chicken broth, white wine works as a substitute (I’ve done it and the sauce picks up a slightly deeper flavor). Water works too, just season more aggressively. For the rice, hearts of palm is my first choice because it doesn’t have that cauliflower taste some people notice. Cauliflower rice works fine if that’s what you have on hand. I’ve also tested zucchini rice here, and it’s good but a bit more watery, so I cook it an extra minute. For more easy weeknight dinners, try my chicken casserole or my Chicken Stir Fry.
Cut up chicken thighs into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
2
Sauté garlic
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
3
Cook chicken
Add diced chicken to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until browned on all sides, then remove from the skillet.
4
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.
5
Add everything back to the skillet
Add spinach, chicken and rice or cauliflower to the skillet. Stir to combine and let cook for 3-4 minutes or until spinach is wilted and rice is heated. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and fresh basil.
Nutrition
Calories
253
Fat
17.4g
Protein
20.4g
Total carbs
5.5g
Net carbs
3.1g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
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.
Cutting the thighs into bite sized pieces first really makes a difference. You get way more browned edges that way than searing a whole thigh and slicing it after. Flavor ends up all through the skillet instead of just on the outside. Been making it on weeknights since.
Three days is fine, day four starts pushing it. Hearts of palm rice holds better than cauliflower rice in the fridge, but it does absorb the sauce as it sits. Add a splash of broth when you reheat, Camila.
Phil, breast works fine here. I’d cut it a little thinner and pull it as soon as the pink is gone. Breast dries out faster than thighs, but the tomato sauce in this one helps keep it from going rubbery.
Hearts of palm holds up fine, 3 days no problem. It does absorb the sauce as it sits, so splash a little broth in when you reheat. Cauliflower works if that’s what you have but the flavor competes with the lemon and basil.
My mom made a version of this every Sunday when I was little. Went keto four years ago and figured that dish was just gone. The lemon and cherry tomatoes together tasted exactly like hers.
Italian food was the one thing I couldn’t stop missing when I went keto, and this gave some of it back. Lemon and cherry tomatoes make it taste like actual food, not diet compromise. Spring evening, one skillet, felt normal again.
Finally made this after it kept showing up in my feed. I cook a lot of chicken but hearts of palm rice was new to me, and somewhere between the tomatoes and the spinach I realized this was going to be better than I expected. The lemon at the end is what seals it. Not sure why I waited so long.
Hearts of palm gets people like that. Neutral enough that it just takes the sauce without doing its own thing. Cauliflower would have competed with the lemon.
My mom used to make this exact thing on Sunday nights, like the exact flavor profile, olive oil and garlic and those tomatoes all jamming together in one pan, and I haven’t tasted it in two years because I figured that was just done for me after going keto. The hearts of palm rice kind of breaks your brain a little when you first see it, but then it soaks up all that lemon and broth and you stop thinking about it because you’re too busy eating. I actually sat there after my first bowl feeling kind of emotional about it. Sounds ridiculous. Wasn’t, though. Something about the squeeze of lemon at the end pulls the whole thing into this very Italian place, not fussy, just right. Made it on a Tuesday night and it genuinely felt like a Sunday. Going in the regular rotation.
I’ve been doing keto on and off for three years and chicken and rice was always the thing I mentally filed under ‘foods that are just gone now.’ Made this Tuesday night and the hearts of palm rice was doing something cauliflower never quite managed for me. It’s not a perfect swap but the texture holds up in the sauce, and the lemon with the spinach kept it from feeling heavy the way a lot of my keto dinners do. I’m just grateful this exists.
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.
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.
