Here’s another way to transform veggies and protein into a quick and flavorful meal.
I don’t have much to say about this recipe except that I love it so much I’ve made it three times in one week.
You’ll notice I am loosey-goosey with the measurements (a “medium” squash and a “small head” of cauliflower, rather than precise cup measurements). That’s because this recipe is very flexible, and the less you have to measure, the easier this meal is.
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 1 small head of cauliflower (or half a large head) cut into florets
- 2 Tbs. coconut oil or ghee
- 6 skinless/boneless chicken thighs or two skinless/boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
- Juice of 2 large/3 small limes
- Primal Kitchen’s Cilantro Lime Dressing, optional but HIGHLY recommended (best price available at Thrive Market)
- Salsa of your choice, optional
- Put the butternut squash cubes in a blender or food processor, and pulse until you get rice-sized crumbles.
- Heat 1 Tbs. of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the butternut rice. Start cooking, and meanwhile pulse the cauliflower to make into rice-sized crumbles as well. Then add the cauliflower to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally.
- While the cauliflower-squash rice is cooking, heat the other tablespoon of oil in a saute pan and add the chicken. Cook over medium heat until the chicken is done.
- When the veggie rice is tender (about 7-10 minutes), add the cooked chicken with any flavorful juice from the chicken pan.
- Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste, and add the cilantro and lime juice.
- Serve with the optional Primal Kitchens dressing and salsa.

Hi Lauren, this recipe looks great and easy! Here in Canada, we’re unable to purchase from Thrive Market. Do you have another suggestion to replace the Cilantro Lime dressing?
How about coconut milk yogurt or regular yogurt, mixed with some chopped cilantro? Or you can google recipes for “avocado cilantro sauce” and make something with blended avocado, lemon juice, and cilantro.
Hi, Lauren please can you include nutritional amounts of each of the ingredients in your subsequent posts? Thanks is a great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Lauren,
Do you have calorie counts and macros for your recipes?
Thanks!
No I don’t provide that info, but there are lots of free tools online for that where you can plug in the ingredients.
Oh love cilantro and chicken. Such a great combination.
This is really good! I actually thought it sounded like it could be a little bland based on the ingredients, but the lime does the trick. Really fresh and light tasting.
Hello!
Just wanted to let you know that my wife and I tried this recipe the other night. It so happens that my inlaws were there too. They like the recipe so much that they ask for the leftovers to go!
Anyways, thanks a lot for sharing this. Excited to send the next recipe here to my wife.
Have a great day!