This cauliflower rice enchilada skillet is light, tasty, and made in ONE pan, with a whopping 50 grams of protein per serving. Because I love you. And me.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Skillet
- Serves: 4 servings
- Calories: 400 cal
- Protein: 50g
- Fat: 8g
- Carbs: 28g
- Why You'll Love It: This healthy cauliflower rice enchilada skillet is not only macro-friendly, it is full of delicious flavor!
I hate to be a one-trick pony and grab for cauliflower too often. But it is what it is… and it’s an excellent way to bulk up a meal while keeping things light! On its own? Meh. But if it’s done right, I’m a fan. And if it’s in a dinner with limited dirty dishes, it tastes EVEN better.
Rotisserie chicken, peppers, black beans, green chilis, and melty cheese make it taste like enchiladas without rolling a single tortilla. If you love the real thing, my skinny creamy chicken enchiladas are a must.
What Is a Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Skillet?
It’s all the flavors of chicken enchiladas cooked in one skillet, with cauliflower rice standing in for tortillas. Sautéed onions, peppers, and cauliflower rice get mixed with crispy seasoned rotisserie chicken, green chilis, black beans, and Greek yogurt, then topped with melted cheese.
Is Cauliflower Rice Healthier Than Rice?
It’s a lot lighter. Cauliflower rice is much lower in carbs and calories than regular rice, so it’s an easy way to bulk up a meal and keep it filling. That’s how a big 435g serving of this skillet is only 400 calories. Want some real rice too? Add it! It fits right in.
What Seasoning Do You Put in Cauliflower Rice?
For this skillet, I keep it simple: cumin, salt, garlic, and chili powder, plus a can of diced green chilis. The seasoning goes on the chicken, and everything gets mixed together at the end so the cauliflower rice soaks up all that enchilada flavor.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cauliflower rice: fresh or frozen bagged cauliflower rice both work. You’ll need 24 oz.
- Shredded rotisserie chicken: it gets a little crispy in the pan, which is the BEST part. Any cooked shredded chicken works.
- Nonfat Greek yogurt: I love it since it doesn’t add fat and is full of protein. Sour cream is yummy too, and dairy-free plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- Frozen garlic cubes: if you don’t feel like mincing garlic (me forever and always because WHY), I love the Dorot frozen garlic cubes. They’re easy to keep on hand, and your hands don’t smell like garlic for hours.
- Shredded Mexican cheese: Monterey Jack or cheddar would be so yummy too. Use what you love!
Before You Start Cooking
- Grab your largest skillet. A big, heavy-bottomed pan like cast iron fits everything without spilling over.
- Shred your chicken ahead. You’ll need 4 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Cook out the moisture. Sautéing the cauliflower rice for about 5 minutes lets the excess moisture go so the skillet isn’t soggy.
- Plan for about an hour. That’s 30 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking.
- Weigh your empty skillet if you track macros. One serving is 435g. Here’s how I add a recipe to MyFitnessPal. If you’d rather skip the math, my macro-friendly meal plans have complete macros on every recipe, preloaded into MyFitnessPal, Macros First, and Lose It.
How to Make a Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Skillet
- Cook the veggies. Sauté the onions and peppers until soft. Add the garlic and cauliflower rice and sauté another 5 minutes or so to soften and let the excess moisture go. Remove the veggies from the pan.
- Crisp the chicken. Let the pan heat up again for a minute, spray with olive oil spray, and add the chicken. Season with all of the seasonings, but don’t toss too much. Let it crisp up for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the mix-ins. Stir in the green chilis, black beans, and Greek yogurt.
- Combine. Pour the cauliflower and veggie mixture back in and combine everything well.
- Melt the cheese. Top with cheese and cover until it’s melted, or broil the pan for a few minutes until bubbly and gooey.
What to Serve with Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Skillet
You can eat it on its own, bulk it up with some real rice, or throw it in tortillas. I love mine with a green salad, or just piled on top of lettuce like a taco salad! My light Mexican Caesar salad, corn avocado salad, or a simple house salad are all great with it. Add a dollop of avocado cilantro cream on top.
Need a quick breakfast to go with your Mexican food cravings? My 5 minute skinny chilaquiles are SO good.
How to Freeze Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Skillet
This one is on my list of macro-friendly freezer meals, and it reheats great.
- Let the skillet cool, then portion into containers and label with the date and grams (one serving is 435g).
- Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Reheat in a skillet over medium heat to cook off any extra moisture from the cauliflower rice. The microwave works too!
- Pile it on lettuce or a green salad after reheating.
- Keeps up to 3 months.
Want more one-pan dinners for the freezer? Try my creamy green chili chicken bake, sweet potato chipotle chicken skillet, low carb turkey cauliflower chili, fajita ground turkey skillet, creamy Mexican chicken bake, or Instant Pot chicken enchilada casserole.
Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Skillet Calories and Macros
One serving (435g) of this cauliflower rice enchilada skillet has 400 calories, 50g protein, 8g fat, 28g carbs, and 7.5g fiber. The recipe makes 4 servings, and the full nutrition is in the recipe card below.
This macro-friendly cauliflower rice enchilada skillet is so yummy and full of flavor. Healthy food can still be amazing and FILLING! If you are looking for other macro-friendly meals, check out my cookbooks. ONE specifically focuses on delicious and comforting, yet still healthy, meals that are essentially served from one dish just like this skillet meal. I am always sharing the new things I am trying on Instagram. Come hang out with me! I’ve always got something going on.
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Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup onion, diced (150 g)
- 2 cups bell peppers, diced (200 g)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (or frozen cubes)
- 24 oz bagged cauliflower rice, fresh or frozen (672 g)
- 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (530 g)
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 4 oz can of diced green chilis (113g)
- 15 oz can of black beans, drained (215 g of drained black beans)
- 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt (140 g)
- 1 1/2 oz shredded Mexican cheese (or cheddar or Monterey Jack etc.) (42 g)
Instructions
- Sauté onions and peppers ‘til soft, add garlic and cauliflower rice and sauté another 5 minutes or so to soften and let some of the excess moisture go.
- Remove veggies from the pan and let it heat up for a minute again.
- Spray with olive oil spray and add chicken. Season with all of the seasoning but don’t toss too much, just to let the chicken crisp up a little bit…. 3-5 minutes.
- Add in green chilis, black beans, and Greek yogurt.
- Pour back in cauliflower /veggie mixture and combine everything well.
- Top with cheese and cover ‘til it’s melted. (Or you can broil the pan for a few minutes.)
- Enjoy with a green salad!
Notes
Tried this recipe?
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my hubby isnt a big fan of the cauliflower rice, do you think i could substitute equal amounts brown or white rice?
Delicious! My picky kids and husband loved it too!
This has quickly become an every other week staple in our household. So easy and tasty – it heats up great and I love having it as leftover lunches!
One of the best recipes I’ve found using cauliflower rice! My kids were all hesitant, but cleaned their plates and asked for more! Definitely adding this to our monthly rotation.
Three stars because the idea for this dish is solid! Loads of protein and veggies. Great for macro counting.
But holding off on five stars because the seasoning profile, as written, needs some pretty substantial adjustments. Given that the backbone of the recipe is fairly bland foods (chicken, cauliflower, beans, etc; no judgement though, a jambalaya starts out the same way), we added quite a bit more salt, chili powder, cumin, doubled the green chilies, and eventually just dumped a whole can of red enchilada sauce into it!).
All that said, we loved this recipe idea and will make again with the punched up seasonings!
Just made this! It’s wonderful … question, does it freeze well?