Buffalo Chicken Mac And Cheese W Smashed Cauliflower Medallions

About

This full Keto meal can be fun for you and any kids too. The whole family will enjoy a little spicy twist on mac and cheese with an addition of sliced buffalo chicken. You’ll be making a homemade cheese sauce that is thick and creamy for your Keto-friendly shirataki elbow noodles. Don’t worry, any shape or style of shirataki noodle will have the same macros, so finding elbow noodles isn’t something to worry about. The buffalo sauce for your chicken is also homemade! For some healthy vegetables on the side, you’ll make ‘smashed’ cauliflower medallions, modeled after smashed potatoes. Topped with parmesan cheese and green onion, the smashed cauliflower pairs perfectly with this rich, cheesy, delectable meal. Great news – this is a fantastic recipe for your Keto meal prepping too!

Serving Suggestions

On your Keto diet, you’ll get the most accurate macros if you portion your meals by weight. In this case, grams will be more accurate than ounces. For each serving, one chicken breast will be approximately 101 grams. A serving of mac and cheese will be about 168 grams, and a serving of smashed cauliflower will be about, 82 grams (4-5 pieces). For the buffalo mac and cheese, you can choose to slice the chicken for serving on top or chop it up to mix into the macaroni.

Make Smashed Cauliflower More Fun

If you like the parmesan and green onion topping on the smashed cauliflower medallions, make sure to get creative with the toppings! There are lots of Keto ingredients you can add to add flavor variety to your meal. At your discretion, add any additional seasonings to the cauliflower, like garlic powder, onion powder, or paprika. Fresh herbs would also be very fragrant and delicious here! You can substitute other cheese or even add crunchy bacon bits before you finish cooking the medallions in your oven.

Ingredients

10 oz cauliflower
½ tablespoon olive or extra virgin olive oil
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ tsp, grated parmesan cheese, fresh (hard)
½ tbsp, chopped scallions
2 tablespoon butter, unsalted
2 tablespoon red hot original cayenne pepper sauce
10 oz chicken breast boneless skinless raw
½ teaspoon olive or extra virgin olive oil
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon onion powder
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon oregano, dried
1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
2 oz cream cheese
½ cup almond milk
½ cup, shredded cheddar cheese
¾ cup, shredded colby jack cheese
4 oz shirataki noodle

Instructions

Turn on an oven to preheat to 350 degrees. Cut the core off a head of cauliflower, and break the cauliflower into large florets. Add the listed amount of cauliflower florets to a mixing bowl, and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper until the florets are coated evenly. Arrange the cauliflower on a seasoned sheet tray sprayed lightly with pan spray, and place to tray in your oven. Cook the cauliflower for 35 minutes, rotating the florets halfway through, until the thickest parts of the cauliflower are tender.
Use the back of a spoon, fork, or spatula to gently smash each cauliflower floret into a flat medallion. Don’t “smash” them to the point of mush! Sprinkle parmesan cheese and chopped green onion over each medallion. Return the smashed cauliflower to the oven, and bake for another 10 minutes. Look for golden brown edges on all the medallions and melted, lightly browned parmesan cheese.
While the cauliflower is in the oven, start on the chicken. Melt the first amount of butter in a small pot over low heat on the stove. Pour your favorite brand of traditional hot sauce into the pot, and stir with the butter until combined. Let the sauce heat until bubbling as you stir the sauce for about an extra minute. Remove the pot from the heat at set the buffalo sauce aside to cool and thicken a little. If you’d like to make more buffalo sauce for the recipe, just make a 1:1 ratio of butter and hot sauce.
Prepare 5-ounce chicken breasts by patting them dry with a paper towel and rubbing olive oil into the flesh. Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano. Heat a clean pan on high heat. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken in the pan seasoned side down. Use a marinade brush to brush some of the buffalo sauce onto the exposed side of the chicken in the pan.
Cook the chicken undisturbed until it chars on one side. Then, flip the chicken over so the buffalo sauce you brushed on sears into the meat. Brush more buffalo sauce over the newly exposed side of the chicken breasts. Again, let the chicken cook undisturbed for about 3 minutes. Reduce the stove heat to a lower temperature, and pour all remaining buffalo sauce into the pan. Flip the chicken breast over in the sauce back and forth until sauce is coating the chicken as it thickens.
Set the pan of buffalo chicken aside to rest. Make the mac and cheese by melting the second amount of butter in a pot over low heat on the stove. Stir cream cheese into the melted butter continually until the cream cheese and butter are melted and emulsified. Pour almond milk into the pot, and bring the pot to a simmer while you stir the butter and cream cheese into the almond milk. Once the liquid is hot, reduce the heat back down to a low setting, and stir cheddar and colby jack cheese into the sauce until it’s melted, thick, and creamy.
Keep the cheese sauce warm as you prepare your shirataki macaroni noodles. Rinse the noodles in cold water and drain them before adding to your pot of cheese sauce. Fold the noodles gently into the cheese sauce as the steam cooks the noodles. Serve each portion of mac and cheese with smashed cauliflower medallions and a buffalo chicken breast. Serving suggestions are described in more detail in the recipe introduction.