Garlic Chicken with Cauliflower Rice
The dressing is cottage cheese. Not thinned out, not blended smooth. Just 84 grams of 4% milkfat cottage cheese whisked with raw pressed garlic, half a chili pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. It thickens into a cold, tangy sauce that clings to every grain of blanched cauliflower rice.
The chicken is simpler. The remaining garlic gets rubbed directly onto a flattened breast, seasoned, and pan-fried for twelve minutes until the edges brown. 308 kcal and 34g of protein, twenty minutes start to finish.
Ingredients
- red onion 0.5 piece
- garlic 2 cloves
- chili pepper 0.5 piece
- cottage cheese, 4% milkfat 3 oz
- lemon juice 1 squeeze
- cauliflower rice 8 oz
- chicken breast 3 oz
- olive oil 0.5 tablespoon
Method
-
Finely chop the onion and press the garlic. Finely chop the chili pepper.
-
Whisk together a dressing in a bowl with the cottage cheese, half of the garlic, chili pepper and lemon juice. Season with pepper and salt.
-
Heat plenty of water in a pan and blanch the cauliflower rice in boiling water for 30 seconds until al dente. Let the cauliflower rice drain in a colander.
-
In a bowl, mix the cauliflower rice with the onion and the cottage cheese dressing. Allow the flavors to meld together.
-
Flatten the chicken breast with the flat side of a knife and rub the remaining garlic firmly over the chicken. Season to taste with pepper and salt.
-
Heat the oil in a pan and cook the chicken breast for about 12 minutes until done and browned.
-
Serve the cauliflower rice with the garlic chicken.
This recipe splits its garlic between two preparations. Half gets pressed raw into the dressing, half rubbed on the chicken and pan-fried. That split matters: when garlic cells are crushed, they produce allicin, the most studied compound in garlic. Heat degrades allicin, so the pan-fried garlic contributes flavor while the raw garlic in the dressing keeps its allicin intact.
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Why cottage cheese instead of yogurt for the dressing?
Cottage cheese at 4% milkfat has a thicker, chunkier texture than yogurt, which helps it cling to cauliflower rice rather than pooling at the bottom of the bowl. It also delivers roughly 10g of protein per 84g serving, combining with the chicken breast to reach the meal’s 34g total.
Read the full evidence reviewCan I skip blanching and use the cauliflower rice raw?
You can, but the texture changes. Thirty seconds in boiling water takes the raw, grainy edge off cauliflower rice without making it soft. It stays al dente, firm enough to hold the dressing without getting soggy. Raw cauliflower rice has a drier, more starchy bite that some people find difficult to mix evenly with the cottage cheese.
Does pressing garlic change anything compared to slicing it?
Pressing ruptures more garlic cells than slicing, which means more allicin is produced. Research has found that heat destroys allicin within the first few minutes of cooking. Pressing the garlic raw into this recipe’s dressing maximizes the allicin that reaches your plate, while the sliced or rubbed garlic on the chicken loses most of its allicin during twelve minutes of pan heat.
Read the full evidence review
