Cauliflower Rice is a soft and nutty low carb side dish made with cauliflower, onion, and seasoning. It’s the PERFECT low carb substitute for rice or pasta, and ready in under 20 minutes!
Cauliflower is a great low carb option for a light meal, like these other great cauliflower recipes, Buffalo Cauliflower and Turkey Shepherd’s Pie!
CAULIFLOWER RICE
CAULIFLOWER RICECauliflower Rice is the PERFECT low carb side dish recipe. It’s really simple to throw together in a food processor, and works with almost any combo of spices. I like to sauté it with onion and salt, then top with fresh chopped parsley or green onions.
The best part is that this cauliflower rice recipe takes a total time of 20 minutes to throw together, making it a really quick and easy weeknight side dish option. This is still cauliflower, so it won’t taste exactly like white rice, but it’s still gained a lot of popularity for being the perfect healthy substitute!
HOW TO MAKE CAULIFLOWER RICE WITHOUT A FOOD PROCESSOR
If you don’t have a food processor, you can make cauliflower rice in a blender. Pulse the blender until you have small rice-sized pieces. Avoid leaving the blender on, as the cauliflower might puree instead of chop. You want to pulse the cauliflower similar to how you’d pulse it in the food processor.
You can also use a small cheese grater to rice the cauliflower by hand to get the rice-like texture. Keep in mind the size of your grater will be the size of your rice.
Or just do it the old fashioned way and chop the cauliflower florets with a cutting board and a knife. Personally, I’m going to stick with the making my cauli-rice in the food processor.
CAN YOU FREEZE CAULIFLOWER RICE?
Riced cauliflower is PERFECT for meal prepping. You can take it straight from the freezer to the oven or saute pan without waiting for it to defrost.
After you’ve grated your cauliflower rice, store it in freezer-safe bags until you’re ready to cook it. Cauliflower rice will keep in the freezer for 5-6 months.
HOW LONG WILL CAULIFLOWER RICE KEEP?
Cauliflower rice will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, when sealed tightly. Personally, I prefer to freeze this cauliflower rice recipe, because once refrigerated cauliflower may become soft.
HOW MUCH CAULIFLOWER RICE PER PERSON?
A serving of cauliflower rice is 1 cup. I like to prep a little bit of extra cauliflower per person, just in case anybody wants a second helping. One head of cauliflower will make 4-5 cups of rice, depending on how big it is.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU ADD TO CAULIFLOWER RICE?
- Mushrooms
- Chives
- Low fat sour cream
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Frozen mixed vegetables
- Coconut oil
- Garlic
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CAULIFLOWER RICE
- Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
- Ground Hawaiian Beef
- Beef Fajita Skillet
- Skinny Teriyaki Chicken
- Lemon Dill Salmon
- Easy Healthy Meatloaf
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TIPS FOR MAKING CAULIFLOWER RICE
- To make softer cauliflower rice add two tablespoons of water, cover and steam for two minutes. Avoid totally submerging the rice with water, or it may soften too much.
- If your recipe is too watery, you can squeeze the water out of the cauliflower after steaming it in the microwave using cheesecloth or a paper towel.
- Spread the cauliflower out on a baking sheet, lightly coat with extra virgin olive oil cooking spray, and roast at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn on the broiler for 1-2 minutes for a deeper golden brown color and strong nutty flavor.
- Sauté riced cauliflower in a large skillet over medium-high heat with some mixed vegetables, rice wine, sesame oil, and soy sauce for a cauliflower fried rice recipe!
- Add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes with some chopped green peppers for a spicy version of this cauliflower rice. Leave some seeds in the peppers for an even spicier flavor!
- This cauliflower rice recipe is a great low carb, gluten free, dairy free, and grain-free paleo side dish option!
- Add a teaspoon of cumin and paprika to the sautéed rice, then top with chopped cilantro!
- You can usually find cauliflower pre-riced in the frozen vegetables section at the grocery store. I usually steam this and squeeze excess water out before using it.
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower cut into 3 inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Add the cauliflower to your food processor and pulse until it looks like couscous or short grain rice and uniform in size (if large chunks are just not getting cut down remove them and process them last).
- Add the olive oil to a skillet on medium heat then add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until translucent, stirring often.
- Add the salt and the cauliflower, stirring constantly and cooking for 8-10 minutes until softened before garnishing with parsley and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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