Last night was a lesson in not giving up on a recipe and thinking on the fly in the kitchen. This dish was so close to being a failure, but ended up turning out better than I ever expected. At first I wanted to slow cook the entire thing (chicken, sauce and mushrooms first and adding broccoli at the very end). But after putting my frozen chicken and sauce in the slow cooker on high, so the chicken would defrost, i realized my sauce was going to burn or curdle before the chicken even started cooking. SO I took out the chicken, and put it on a pan, added the broccoli on top, and roasted it in the oven for 45 minutes before tossing it back in the sauce (and keeping the delicious roast broccoli separate, I’ll never cook broccoli any other way again). And it was amazing! Yay for salvaging recipes on the brink of disaster!

Keto-Friendly Chicken Alfredo with Mushrooms and Roasted Broccoli

7 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 jar of Alfredo Sauce (I used Gia Russa brand that I found at Whole Foods; you want something that has all the good stuff (cream, butter, parmigian) and no hidden sugars/carbs)

1/3 cup of heavy cream/whipping cream

1.5 heads of broccoli, separated into florets

1.5 cups of sliced crimini mushrooms

3 garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 an onion, chopped

Olive Oil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

(These are the ideal instructions, without the ways I messed up) Preheat oven to 375°. Place chicken into any oven-safe pan with high sides. Top with onion, garlic, mushrooms, and broccoli. Make sure Broccoli sits on top of the chicken, not touching the bottom of the pan (juices will form on the bottom of the pan, and you don’t want the broccoli roasting in that, since it will get mushy). Drizzle everything with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast uncovered for 10 minutes (broccoli should be pretty browned) and then cover loosely with tin foil and roast another 35 minutes (45 minutes total). While this is happening, throw Alfredo sauce and heavy cream into slow cooker, on LOW, to heat. Stir frequently. (You can also do this in a pan, just make sure to heat it very slowly). Add salt and pepper to taste. When chicken is done, separate broccoli (it tastes so good roasted and plain that I didn’t want to throw it into the cream sauce) and place chicken, onion, mushrooms, and garlic into slow cooker or pan and mix to cover with sauce. Heat on low for another 5 minutes, just long enough for everything to incorporate. Serve with broccoli on the side!

And the nutrition facts, for those interested! Only 4 net carbs per serving!

Enjoy! Please post a comment if you try it and let me know how it goes!