This one pot keto chicken ala king simmers chicken breast with mushrooms, onion, green bell pepper, peas, and pimentos in a creamy sauce. Our low-carb and gluten-free version is ready in 30 minutes, family-friendly, and sure to be the new comfort food dish you’re looking for!
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Is Chicken Ala King Keto?
From the first time I found a recipe for “a la king sauce” in a collection of vintage 1970’s church cookbooks inherited from my husband’s grandmother, I’ve been infatuated with it ever since. There’s a fascinating history behind this sauce.
Traditionally, the sauce uses flour as a thickener. Gluten is great for that, but not so great for a keto diet.
For a keto-friendly chicken ala king recipe, we’ll simmer two ounces of cream cheese in the sauce instead of flour.
Also, in effort to keep carbs low, you’ll want to pass on serving with noodles or a puff pastry. But don’t worry, because I have some great alternatives to suggest below.
You can serve this creamy mushroom gravy sauce on various protein, but I recommend starting with chicken because you can’t beat creamy keto chicken for dinner!
How to Make Healthy Chicken ala King
Gather your ingredients and pull out the pan. This keto chicken skillet recipe will be ready in 30 minutes or less.
You need a manageable list of fresh ingredients available at any grocery store. The hardest thing to find might be jarred pimientos, but usually, they are with all the jarred food, next to the pickles. Just ask a clerk if you can’t locate them.
Ingredients
- Butter – my cooking fat of choice
- Vegetables – a medley of mushrooms, onion, green bell pepper, and garlic
- Chicken – chicken breast or substitute with canned chicken, rotisserie chicken breast, or pre-cooked shredded meal prep chicken
- Salt and pepper
- Heavy cream – I don’t always do this, but you’ll see the best if you use room temperature cream so as to avoid curdling it when cold cream touches the hot pan.
- Chicken broth – do you keep some in your pantry? If not, buy an organic broth bundle here and stock up!
- Cream cheese – for thickening the sauce
- Peas – but are peas keto?! We only use one-half cup, so yes, still keto.
- Pimientos – a type of chili pepper. I used canned ones, but you can substitute with fresh.
Step-By-Step Directions
Is this keto dinner with chicken breast calling your name? It sure was calling mine!
Follow these simple directions, and you won’t mess it up.
First, heat butter over medium heat in a skillet. Second, add the mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Then, sauté for 3 minutes until the ingredients start to soften.
Next, add the cubed chicken. Have you cubed chicken breast before? Maybe not. Take a look at this tutorial for how to cube chicken breast if you’re unsure.
Season with salt and pepper and continue sautéing for 5 minutes until all sides turn brown. If you take a shortcut with canned chicken or rotisserie chicken, the chicken is already cooked so go ahead and jump to the next step.
Once the chicken looks cooked, pour the cream and broth into the skillet. Then, mix in the cream cheese and add the peas and pimentos. Finally, bring the sauce to a simmer and maintain this heat for 6 minutes until the peas cook through and the sauce reduces.
Serve warm over cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, keto bread or my favorite keto drop biscuits!
You’ll see those in the pictures here. Chicken and biscuits never tasted so good!
Nutritional Info for Keto Chicken a la King
The full recipe yields 6 servings, so it’s a great family-friendly weeknight dinner meal.
Each serving contains:
- 400 calories
- 36 g protein
- 25 g fat
- 7 g total carbs
- 1 g fiber
- 6 g net carbs
Please note that the nutritional value will change if you substitute ingredients. Use a nutrition app like My Fitness Pal to recalculate and reflect your changes.
More Keto Chicken Dinner Recipes
Make keto Alice Springs chicken if you love cheesy chicken comfort food.
Other ideas include:
- Keto Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
- Keto Chicken Francese
- Chicken Keto Curry with Pumpkin
- Keto Chicken Paprikash
- Green Chile Chicken With Leftover Shredded Chicken Thighs
Keto Chicken ala King Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 small green bell pepper cut into long strips
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 pounds chicken breast boneless, skinless, cut to ½-inch cubes
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 oz cream cheese
- ½ cup peas
- 1 2 oz jar diced pimientos drained
Instructions
- Heat butter over medium heat in a skillet. Sauté mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, and garlic for 3 minutes until ingredients soften.2 tbsp butter, 1 cup mushrooms, 1 medium yellow onion, 1 small green bell pepper, 2 cloves garlic
- Add cubed chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, until chicken is browned on all sides.2 pounds chicken breast, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- Pour the cream and broth into the skillet. Mix in cream cheese. Add peas and pimentos. Bring sauce to a simmer and maintain for 6 minutes until the peas are cooked through and the sauce reduces. Serve warm.1 cup heavy cream, ½ cup chicken broth, 2 oz cream cheese, ½ cup peas, 1 2 oz jar diced pimientos
Notes
Nutrition & Macros
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, please calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients and amounts used, using your preferred nutrition calculator. Under no circumstances shall the this website and the author be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the given nutritional information.
This was delicious! I love that I can enjoy takeout right in my own home, without all the carbs you typically get in restaurants. It was so quick and easy to make, perfect for those busy weeknights!
I’m thrilled that you loved the recipe! Your positive feedback means a lot to me. Happy cooking!