A lighter take on Chicken Scarpariello that’s not just delicious, it also happens to be gluten-free, low-carb, whole30 compliant and paleo-friendly.
Chicken Scarpariello
Italian inspired dishes are a frequent request with my family when it comes to dinner time. Some of our favorites are Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Broccoli, Baked Pesto Chicken, Baked Ziti, and Grilled Chicken Bruschetta.
I’m thrilled to share this recipe from my friend Jackie Ourman of CAFE (Celiac and Allergy Friendly Epicurean). I met her last summer at the Big Summer Potluck after tasting her gluten-free coconut cake that was unforgettable! After she shared this chicken recipe with me, I tested it myself and thought it was great – I think you will too!
My name is Jackie Ourman, I’m so thrilled to be here on Skinnytaste today. The recipes are amazing and you are some of the best and most engaged readers on any food blog out there. I met Gina last summer and was very inspired by her hard work and genuine nature. I really appreciate the opportunity she is giving me to connect with all of you here.
I recently graduated from culinary school at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City and completed an internship in the test kitchen at Bon Appétit Magazine. So now, I suppose I can officially say I am a trained chef. Pretty exciting!
However, my most important job is being a mom of 3 incredible young boys. Two of my sons have life-threatening food allergies to peanuts, most tree nuts and sesame. One also has celiac disease and I was recently diagnosed with the same. These issues were overwhelming at first, especially when it came to thinking about what I could feed our family. You see, I had always been a big food lover but, I began to fear food and mostly the potential it had to harm my children.
I decided to go to culinary school, regain my passion for food and help my children learn to love it despite all of our dietary restrictions. Once I replaced fear of food with enjoyment again, I decided to share it with others.
Gluten-Free is not a fad for the many people out there who need it for celiac disease or other medical issues. The biggest misconception is it helps you lose weight. As in, “that gluten-free chocolate chip cookie must be healthy, right”? No way! It’s a treat and loaded with sugar, butter and carbs just like any other dessert.
I really appreciate the effort Gina makes to share naturally gluten-free and healthy recipes here on her site. It’s important for all of us to be mindful of the little decisions we make when preparing a meal that can lead to unnecessary calories.
Chicken Scarpariello is one of my favorite Italian dishes. It’s spicy, rich and truly a comfort food. The skinny version is absolutely delicious. I kept the chicken breast on the bone and just pulled off the skin in order to reduce the fat but keep the meat nice and tender. Traditional potatoes were replaced with cauliflower florets. They are strong enough in texture to stand up to the braising process and really enhanced by the seasonings in the dish.
I like things really spicy and this version packs a lot of heat. However, the spice level can easily be modified by reducing the number of cherry peppers, leaving out the extra liquid or even just subbing in red bell peppers and using the light heat from the sausage. Either way, it will still be a very flavorful and rustic dish, which also just happens to be healthy, gluten-free and very allergy friendly. Enjoy!
Skinny Chicken Scarpariello
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large chicken breast halves, bone in, skin removed
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1 link cooked sweet Italian chicken sausage, sliced thinly on a bias (I used Aidells)
- 1/2 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets (about 4 cups)
- 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
- 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
- 4 jarred hot cherry peppers, sliced plus 1 tbsp liquid (optional for extra heat)
- 1/3 cup dry white wine, omit for whole30, paleo and replace with chicken stock
- 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken stock
- 1 sprig rosemary, needles removed and roughly chopped, plus additional for garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
- Cut chicken in half to make 4 pieces, leaving the bone on.
- Heat oil in a large, oven safe sauté pan with straight sides over medium-high heat.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown 2-3 minutes per side.
- Remove chicken and set aside.
- Lower heat to medium and add onion, chicken sausage, cauliflower florets, garlic and cherry peppers.
- Sauté, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes until vegetables and sausage start to brown.
- Add the white wine, cherry peppers and additional optional liquid.
- Raise heat and allow to boil for about 2 minutes before adding chicken stock.
- Add chicken breasts back into pan, bone side down, sprinkle rosemary on top, bring to a boil and then place the pan in the oven, uncovered.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken reaches 165°F.
- Remove from oven carefully, with towel or kitchen gloves, serve and enjoy!
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You can find Jackie posting weekly on her blog , CAFE (Celiac and
Allergy Friendly Epicurean) by Jackie Ourman. She is also on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Skinnytaste for the win! (As usual!!)
I seriously doubted this dish would be good. It’s so simple, I thought there was no way it could be flavorful. Boy, was I wrong!!!!!! It’s amazing! Spicy, hearty, the chicken is so tender, the cauliflower is firm and packed with flavor. Four thumbs up from this household!! (Ps: the sausage can totally be omitted if you don’t want to buy a whole package just to use one).
looks very tempting and yummy must try your recipe with other vegetable cause my kids is not like cauliflower
If using boneless chicken breasts and potatoes, how much potatoes and how long would you cook it for?
If using boneless chicken breast that I have on hand-need to put in oven at all? Afraid of over cooking.
I would cook it less time
Any suggestions for something instead of cauliflower? Still keeping it healthy.
I made this tonoght, but altered the recipe to use my pressure cooker instead of braising in the oven. The only thing I changed was I didn’t sautee the cauliflower for fear of it overcooking. It was perfect at 7 minutes under high pressure. Will make again.
This was delicious! Yet another ST recipe we'll be adding to our "cookbook." The flavor was great. I lowered the spice a bit for our pallates. The cauliflower was very good prepped this way. Thanks!
I made this for dinner tonight! I loved it! My husband did too, although it was a tad too spicy for him, so next time I make it, I will plan on cutting down the peppers and/or liquid a hair. I only had boneless skinless breasts and was in a hurry so I just did everything in my big cast iron pan and it turned out wonderfully! Love a great tasting/easy recipe.
Made for dinner tonight and really liked the dish. I used Italian turkey sausage and a red bell pepper with red pepper flakes as I could not find hot cherry peppers. I really wish I could have found the peppers to spice this dish because I like spicy food. It also smells super yummy while in the oven. I am curious why Skinny Taste's nutritional information does not include a saturated fat fact?
What could I substitute for hot cherry peppers? I'm out west, and we only have sweet cherry peppers…sweet with red pepper flakes?
You can use red bell pepper and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes for the spice.
Congratulations on graduating from culinary school, Jackie! What a fantastic looking dish this is.
Thank you! 🙂
This looks so hearty, healthy and delicious! What a wonderful weeknight meal.
Thank you, Georgia!
Wonderful flavors! I used half potatoes and half cauliflower – starting the potatoes a bit earlier. I'm going to take these ingredients and modify them into a soup, too.
Sounds tasty! I'm really happy you liked the flavors and let me know how the soup turns out.
Healthy eating, exercise and good sleep promotes healthy living. I am really thankful Jackie that I am a follower of your blog because I get to eat my favorite dishes in a healthy way and just maintain my weight. Also, I drink Swami Mami Teas because detoxifies my body and better my lifestyle.
Jackie I just checked out your website. I love it. Now I have two favorite websites I run to for heathy yummy recipes!!
Vanessa
Vanessa, thank you so much! I'm really happy you enjoyed it and were able to modify the dish to work for everyone in your family!
I made this last night! I made some separate for my son since we love spicy food! I replaced the sausage with artichoke hearts and olives since I didn't have sausage in the house. It was spectacular! Thanks for sharing! So glad you found your love for food again! Stay well!
Vanessa
I couldn't find jarred hot cherry peppers. Would pepperoncini's be an acceptable substitution?
Yes. Definitely!
Hi Jackie… sounds delish… any suggestions for a side? or is one really needed with all the goodness already in the recipe? Congrats on your chef status… that's awesome..
Thanks, Glen! Not necessary but if you'd like to add a carb and are not worried about the extra calories, you can serve it with some rice or angel hair pasta. Enjoy!
So much cauliflower! I love it!!!! 🙂
www.appetitesanonymous.com
Making this right now…will it still taste the same if I don't put it in the oven?
I should think so. I would probably cover and simmer it on low to cook through if finishing it on the stove. Hope it turned out great!
I'm interested in the recipe for that unforgettable coconut cake 😉
Here you go http://jackieourman.com/?p=2500 🙂
Looks and sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing. Hope to see you back soon!
Thank you!
When you place the dish in the oven what temperature is the oven at?
The oven should be at 375 degrees F.
I think this might also be great with shrimp! Maybe just throwing them in raw before putting it in the oven might work.
Sounds really good. You may want to blanch the cauliflower in boiling salted water for about 5 minutes first since the shrimp will likely cook much more quickly.
This looks so good! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks! Enjoy!
Thank you, Jackie! This looks SO good and I can't wait to try it! Such a great tip, cooking the chicken with the bone on. It really does add a lot of flavor. I also love the idea of using cauliflower instead of potatoes. I'm sure Gina would be happy to have you back to share with us any time!
Thanks so much, Mary Beth!
Quick question–do the cherry peppers go in with the other vegetables or with the liquids later? The recipe says both.
So sorry for the confusion! The cherry peppers go in with the white wine.
Do you think this would work with boneless, skinless thighs?
Yes, definitely! May need a little less cooking time but should be tasty.
Can't wait to try this over here in the UK – bringing some Italian to the county of Wiltshire. Thank you for recipe.
Great! You are very welcome!
Yum, this looks so tasty! Can't wait to try it!
Thanks! Enjoy!
What can I sub instead of wine? Don't drink alcohol.
Sarah, you can deglaze the pan with some fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon) before adding the chicken stock.
Could you do this in the crockpot?
Hi Kristen,
I haven't tried it in the crockpot but it should hold up pretty well in there since the chicken is on the bone. I would still recommend browning everything and deglazing with the wine before pouring into the slow cooker. It really adds a good deal of flavor.
Yum – this looks amazing! I can't wait to try it!
Thanks, Calista! I hope you love it!
What wud u change if u wanted to use skinless boneless chicken?
I would blanch the cauliflower for about 5 minutes in boiling salted water before adding it to the pan since boneless chicken would take a little less time to cook.
So happy to be on your blog today, Gina! Thanks for having me! xo
Jackie