It’s been a couple of weeks since my last recipe; I was called out of town suddenly on a family matter. Still trying to work through summertime type foods, and this week I looked at foods that were very simple for summer schedules and (dare I say) healthy?
This is called Firecracker Ground Chicken, and there are only three steps to making it – cook the ground chicken, mix together the sauce and pour it in, and cook it down until thickened. That’s it!
The “healthy” part of this is, of course, in using ground chicken, but this same recipe could be used with any ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, and probably even venison). It’s intended to be served “protein bowl” style with rice and possibly veggies on the side, which is how it’s shown in the recipe photo.
The key to the entire dish is the sauce, which has a taste best described as “sweet heat”. In the original published version of this recipe, it called for using an artificial brown sugar sweetener called “Swerve”, and if this is used the result is said to have zero grams of carbohydrates and over 20 grams of protein per serving (hence the idea of a “protein bowl”). But, when I went shopping for the ingredients, the cost of Swerve was a bit “rich” for my budget, so I used regular brown sugar instead. The nutritional info also reflects this change.
If you do meal prepping, this is a good choice as you can measure it out with rice and bundle it up nicely for reheating.
Adapted from Kinda Healthy Recipes
Firecracker Ground Chicken
Description
A quick high-protein low-carb dish with a sweet-heat sauce. Good for meal prepping or anytime a healthy dish with a little kick is desired.
Adapted from Kinda Healthy Recipes
Ingredients
Instructions
-
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except the oil and chicken and whisk into a sauce.
-
In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add ground chicken and press flat. Cook until lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes per side, to add flavor. Break up into crumbles as it finishes cooking. Drain any excess liquid.
-
Add sauce to the chicken and stir to combine. Cook 3-5 minutes or until sauce has thickened, then remove from heat. Garnish with sliced green onion and/or sesame seeds if desired.
Serving Size 4 oz chicken in sauce
Servings 4
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 231kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 12.1g19%
- Saturated Fat 2g10%
- Cholesterol 68mg23%
- Sodium 416mg18%
- Potassium 47mg2%
- Total Carbohydrate 18.9g7%
- Dietary Fiber 0.3g2%
- Sugars 17.8g
- Protein 21.8g44%
- Calcium 18 mg
- Iron 2 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Notes
- This dish has a "sweet heat" taste. To make it hotter, use hot buffalo sauce.
- Substitutions:
- Any ground meat can be substituted for the chicken (beef, pork, turkey, even venison)
- The original as-published recipe used an artificial sweetener called "Swerve" which comes in a brown sugar version. Measure 1:1 Swerve in place of the brown sugar.
- Serving suggestions:
- "Protein bowl" style with white, brown, or cauliflower rice
- Add steamed vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, or snap peas
