How’s it going my foodies? Are you feeling the heat? The summer Sun? The sleepless nights? The typical summer laziness? Or is it just me?
No matter how lazy I get, for me, it’s never too much asking to fire up the BBQ and throw together a summer feast. It gives me the chance to be outside, to enjoy the summer and just be myself.
I love it.
Today’s dish is one of my new favorites. It’s simple, it’s healthy and it’s very easy to put together. It’s a Cajun-Style Grilled Chicken served with crunchy green beans.
Wait a minute, are green beans keto?
Considering the fact that green beans are a member of the legume family, one could consider them to be out of reach if one is following a keto diet. However, since they have a low carb count, green beans can actually be part of a healthy low-carb/keto diet.
That’s good, right? Well not quite, for some people even the 6g net carbs per cup that come with green beans can be too much and can possibly kick them out of ketosis.
So, if you are one of those people, you might want to swap the green beans for cauliflower or broccoli. It’ll work just the same.
The chicken is the star of the dish, whatever you serve it with will do just fine my friends.
Cajun-Style Grilled Chicken
Now let me just start by stating that I am in no way an expert in Cajun cuisine, far from that. This is not a traditional Cajun recipe, but rather an inspiration from the cuisine itself.
I love the flavors of Cajun BBQ and I thought of making a sugar-free keto-friendly recipe for us to enjoy this summer.
That being said, here is my spice mix:
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sugar-free sweetener (I used Truvia which is a blend of Stevia and Erythritol)
- 1 tbsp paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried summer savory (you can replace with thyme)
- ¼ tsp cayenne powder
That’s just about it. Again to some of you, this might not a be classic cajun spice mix, but this my favorite version of it and I strongly advise you to tweak it and make it yours. After all, that’s what cooking is all about.
As far as the choice of chicken meat goes, well, I chose to go with breasts and thighs (Skinless & boneless). This is a matter of preference as I like having both cuts but you can definitely go all thighs if you are worried about having too much protein.
Plus, chicken breasts are far more photogenic. The camera loves them.
Enough talk, it’s recipe time!
Cajun-Style Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
Spice Mix
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sugar-free sweetener
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried summer savory
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
Marinade & Chicken
- 1 lbs chicken breast sliced into cutlets
- 1 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp avocado oil mayonnaise
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Green Beans
- 4 cups green beans
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl, add your chicken cutlets, worcestershire sauce, avocado oil mayonnaise, lime juice, spice mix and black pepper. Mix thoroughly until your chicken cutlets are well coated.
- Fire up your BBQ and bring it up to 400° Fahrenheit. Place your seasoned chicken on the hot part of your grill and cook on both sides until the internal temperature reaches 165° Fahrenheit (75° Celsius). This could take between 15-25 minutes depending on how efficient your grill is. Set aside and let it cool down for 10 minutes.
Green Beans
- Heat up a pan on medium-high heat and add in your butter. Add your green beans and cook for 5-7 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like them. Add your heavy cream and season. As soon as your cream starts bubbling, remove your pan from the stove.
- Serve with you chicken and enjoy!
Ron
August 4, 2018 at 09:29Sugar free spice rub, great idea. If you’re not making it Keto can one use regular mayo?
Idriss
August 4, 2018 at 19:09Thanks, Ron!
Yeah for sure you can use regular mayo. It’ll still technically be low-carb 😉