You know me. I'm all about uncomplicated meals, but at the same time flavor matters since eating is a whole experience no matter the preference. On the other hand even time is also an important factor to consider. Stick around for this super easy and delicious salad recipe!
Since I'm in the summer mood and I've got a lot of fruit in my freezer I thought I might do something savory for the win suing some of those seasonal feelings... I'm heading o the beach so a Hawaiian BBQ Chicken is just the perfect recipe to set the tone!
One skillet! Baked or Air Fried?
For this recipe I only used my iron skillet and my oven. It doesn't get easier than that! On the plus side is that baking is effortless and requires less cleaning... who said me!?
You can also use your air fryer! I cooked the mushrooms and the pineapple in my air fryer... while the chicken was cooking on my second air fryer. Yes I'm a air fryer fanatic! Anyways, you can make this on the same pan too whether you choose your oven or your air fryer.
The process is basically the same. I tend to cook my chicken at 370F for 25 minutes on the air fryer, including the pineapple and mushrooms. And for the baking process, same! But at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
The difference between the baking and air frying result is the crispness. Baking it makes it juicier and more tender while on the air fryer it's still juicy but crispy.
The marinating is key!
Well, for this easy recipe the chicken is the main star and for a juicy tender chicken a good marinade is key, the one I always use at home is 2 limes squeezed for each chicken breast, sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder and the BBQ sauce of course.
I usually leave it marinating for a couple of minutes, probably the time the oven takes to preheat and the time I take to prepare the other things such as cleaning the skillet and the bacon slices.
For the BBQ sauce, whole 30 and paleo friendly... also low carb! I simply use the brand Good Food For Good! All their sauces are made with legit ingredients and the taste is also great!
This is a whole 30 friendly recipe, with bacon... cheesy. That's right! For the bacon I use Pederson's Bacon that it's just the best of the best, all my family uses this and loves it. And for the cheesy effect we are using nutritional yeast!
Whole 30 bacon?
This means that this recipe is sugar free, vegetable oil free and instead is filled with all the goodness. There's no need to cut out bacon to try to eat healthier. From my nutritional perspective the source matters so the bacon brands that I love are:
Both of these brands are paleo, whole 30 friendly and the bacon is honestly amazing, great quality and taste. If you are a bacon lover... step up the game and choose better quality for your body!
This was on repeat for two days and honestly it doesn't get boring... I mean, cheesy chicken with a tropical vibe and bacon? Come on! Such a good combo. For those busy days this chicken is perfect to keep in a glass container inside your fridge.
Ready to go for lunch, dinner... and why not, breakfast or brunch! This is more nourishing that cereal for breakfast, and don't forget more flavorful! All the fuel for your body!
Here's what you'll need for this Hawaiian Cheesy Chicken:
Boneless chicken breast
Sea salt
Black pepper
Garlic powder
Limes
Nutritional Yeast
Mushrooms
Pineapple
BBQ Sauce (I used this)
Bacon
How to plate the chicken!
Simple! for the salad, these are just a few of my veggie staples but you can play around with yours and all the colors. I always try to incorporate at least three different colors!
Romaine lettuce
Tomato
Red onion
Dressings are key too, optional but good!
On the other side, the dressing can be tricky. The supermarket is packed with "healthy" dressings when they are loaded with bad quality oils, sugars and artificial ingredients. I stick to whole foods; seeds, nuts, avocado, olive oil or good quality dressings.
Some of my favorite dressings, paleo friendly are Primal Kitchen; ranch, green goddess and Tessame's Habanero ranch.
For this recipe I firstly baked the chicken covered and after it was fully cooked I took off the foil paper to make sure that the bacon was crispy. If you have an air fryer you can put your chicken for 8 minutes or just set your oven in broil.
Anyways, this is a crowd pleaser! Kids and adults will love this recipe and I hope you do too since it's not only super easy and mostly mess free but it's also delicious!
Overall this recipe is:
Keto
Paleo
Gluten and Grain Free
Meal prep Friendly
Whole 30
Delicious!
So let's start cooking, a simple and fail proof recipe to nourish that body and still enjoy those amazing leftovers! Also, remember that sharing is caring so please share this link with your loved ones, cooking buddies, pin, save or bookmark this recipe!
With love,
María
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Hawaiian Cheesy Chicken
By María Fernanda López
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the chicken
4 pieces of boneless chicken breast
1 tsp of sea salt
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
5 limes
1 tbsp of nutritional yeast
2 tbsp of coconut aminos
1/4 cup of BBQ Sauce (I used this)
4 slices of bacon
For the salad bowl
4 cups of chopped romaine lettuce
2 pieces of sliced tomato
1/4 piece of sliced roasted red onion
Dressing
You can choose from whole 30 ranch, olive oil, sliced avocado or nuts!
Method
Preheat the oven at 350F.
Squeeze the limes on top of the chicken, add the seasonings and BBQ sauce, set aside.
Chop the bacon and cook it in a pan till crispy.
Place the chicken in a baking dish and top with pineapple, coconut aminos and mushrooms.
Add the cooked bacon.
Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Chop your veggies and serve with chicken along with dressing of choice!
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