Chicken saag is a popular and tasty Indian dish. To make our recipe keto-friendly, we have made a few changes—but have kept all the amazing flavors, so you’ll barely notice the difference.
Saag refers to leafy green vegetables found in the Indian subcontinent, such as spinach and collard greens. For this dish, we use spinach, which is both full of nutrients and easy to find in most food markets.
While most chicken saag recipes use cream, we have swapped that out for coconut cream and ghee. Ghee is made from butter, but it’s a clarified version whereby all of the impurities are removed. So, although this dish isn’t completely dairy-free, it is suitable for those who are lactose intolerant.
Making this dish is super simple and only takes a few minutes of prep and about 30 minutes to cook. You start by melting the ghee and toasting the spices and then cooking the onions, garlic, and ginger. Spinach is then added and cooked down. This mixture is then blended to create an aromatic paste. The chicken is then cooked in this paste with coconut milk until complete. The whole dish is then served over cauliflower rice.
If you’re looking for a super simple and magnificently tasty Indian-inspired keto-friendly meal that everyone will love, this chicken saag recipe is definitely worth a try!
Yields 6 servings of Keto Chicken Saag with Cauliflower Rice
The Preparation
Chicken Saag:
- 1/4 cup ghee
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cup spinach
- 3 teaspoon fresh garlic
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 24 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 13 2/3 ounce canned coconut milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
Cauliflower Rice:
- 400 gram cauliflower, riced
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
The Execution
1. Measure out and prepare all the ingredients.
2. In a frying pan over medium heat, melt half of the ghee, coriander, and cardamom.
3. Add in the onion, ginger paste, and garlic. Cook until translucent.
4. Add in the spinach and cook until the spinach starts to wilt.
5. Add this mixture to a blender and pulse until smooth.
6. Prepare the chicken seasonings by combining the rest of the ghee, chili powder, turmeric, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix to combine well.
7. Coat the chicken in this seasoning.
8. Add the spinach mixture back into the frying pan along with the canned coconut milk and seasoned chicken. Stir to combine well and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
9. Make the cauliflower rice by combining olive oil, riced cauliflower, and curry powder. Let cook until tender.
10. Serve the chicken over cauliflower rice. Enjoy!
This makes a total of 6 servings of Keto Chicken Saag with Cauliflower Rice. Each serving comes out to be 467 calories, 40.4g fat, 5.8g net carbs, and 23g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 0.25 cup ghee | 461 | 51.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1.00 teaspoon ground coriander | 5 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 1.00 teaspoon cardamom | 6 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| 1.00 medium onion | 38 | 0.1 | 8.8 | 1.6 | 7.2 | 1.3 |
| 4.00 cup spinach | 28 | 0.3 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 3.6 |
| 3.00 teaspoon fresh garlic | 13 | 0 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 0.5 |
| 1.00 tablespoon ginger paste | 40 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 0.3 |
| 24.00 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs | 973 | 60.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 115.4 |
| 2.00 teaspoon chili powder | 15 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| 0.50 teaspoon turmeric powder | 5 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 |
| 13.66 ounce canned coconut milk | 763 | 82.6 | 10.9 | 0 | 10.9 | 7.8 |
| 0.00 none salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 400.00 gram cauliflower | 92 | 2 | 16.4 | 9.2 | 7.2 | 7.2 |
| 3.00 tablespoon olive oil | 358 | 40.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1.00 teaspoon curry powder | 7 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Totals | 2803 | 242.4 | 53.4 | 18.8 | 34.6 | 137.7 |
| Per Serving (/6) | 467 | 40.4 | 8.9 | 3.1 | 5.8 | 23 |
Keto Chicken Saag with Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
Chicken Saag:
- ¼ cup ghee
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cup spinach
- 3 teaspoon fresh garlic
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 24 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 13 ⅔ ounce canned coconut milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
Cauliflower Rice:
- 400 gram cauliflower riced
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
Instructions
- Measure out and prepare all the ingredients.
- In a frying pan over medium heat, melt half of the ghee, coriander, and cardamom.
- Add in the onion, ginger paste, and garlic. Cook until translucent.
- Add in the spinach and cook until the spinach starts to wilt.
- Add this mixture to a blender and pulse until smooth.
- Prepare the chicken seasonings by combining the rest of the ghee, chili powder, turmeric, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix to combine well.
- Coat the chicken in this seasoning.
- Add the spinach mixture back into the frying pan along with the canned coconut milk and seasoned chicken. Stir to combine well and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Make the cauliflower rice by combining olive oil, riced cauliflower, and curry powder. Let cook until tender.
- Serve the chicken over cauliflower rice. Enjoy!
