One of my most favorite Italian dishes is Chicken Alfredo. Every time I go to an Italian restaurant, it is one of the dishes I consider ordering. My favorite way to have is it with penne, mushrooms, and add broccoli to the mix too. Add a yummy salad and some bread sticks and I am in heaven. But between the dairy and the wheat, I’m left feeling pretty tired and bloated an hour or so afterward. So I’d limit my Chicken Alfredo treat to once a month. Once a month, I’d endure the discomfort to allow my taste buds the pleasure of biting into that tender chicken and cheesy creamy sauce over my favorite pasta.

Then 2015 rolled around and my hubby and I were feeling very motivated to make those necessary dietary changes in our lives. We wanted to lose weight; we wanted more energy; and we wanted to be free of allergies and intolerance. So we decided to go wheat free. We try to lean toward paleo for the most part which makes it easy, but we are not hardcore. We will still do potatoes from time to time and still enjoy some rice here and there as well or some quinoa crackers.

But one of the big paleo trends is to use cauliflower instead of pasta in certain dishes. When I heard of this, I decided to experiment a bit with my beloved Chicken Alfredo. What I created ended up being AMAZING. And I can honestly tell you that this pasta-loving gal does not even miss pasta in this dish anymore. I didn’t eliminate the dairy, but getting rid of the wheat made it so much easier on my belly, both inside and out. 😉

For a quick but delicious recipe, just buy pre-made Alfredo sauce. Otherwise use your favorite Alfredo sauce recipe instead.

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 lb of chicken breast tenderloin
• 10-15 whole white or crimini mushrooms
• 10-15 broccoli florets
• Alfredo Sauce (1 jar or 1.5 cups)
• 1/2 stick of butter
• spray olive oil
• some garlic salt
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions:

1. Bake or pan fry the chicken ahead of time in olive oil or avocado oil and some garlic salt and chop up into bite sized pieces.
2. Wash and chop up the cauliflower into rice (I chop mine up real quick in my vitamix blender on low)
3. Slice or dice your mushrooms
4. Begin steaming the broccoli florets.
5. While broccoli is steaming, Melt butter in a pan and saute the cauliflower and mushrooms together until both are soft and moist.
6. Make or warm up the alfredo sauce.
7. Pour sauce over cauliflower and mushroom mixture and then add in the steamed broccoli and chicken. Stir.
8. Serve hot and sprinkle with parmesan or romano cheese.

Even better if served with a side salad.

Like this recipe? Read more from Theresa at her new blog http://mamaguts.com

Want more ideas for gluten free cooking? Check out these gluten free cookbooks! 🙂