Cauliflower Rice Pilaf is a low carb, Keto-friendly version of classic rice pilaf. Buttery, cooked with chicken stock and ready in under 20 minutes!
Cauliflower Rice is the classic, low carb Side Dish that you can serve with anything. This Cauliflower Pilaf takes the same idea and adds caramelized onions, butter, and chicken broth. It’s a smooth and delicious dish your whole family will love.
CAULIFLOWER RICE PILAF
This delicious Cauliflower Rice recipe is sure to become your new go-to low carb side dish. It’s one of the easiest healthy recipes you can make, and it comes out perfectly crispy and savory every time.
Cauliflower is one of the best ingredient substitutes you can use to lower your net carb intake. They work for a gluten-free, low carb, and Keto diet. Plus, they have such a mild taste you can flavor them to pair well with practically any meal. Whether you’re making Roasted Cauliflower Rice, Mashed Cauliflower, Cauliflower Fried Rice, or this pilaf, you’re guaranteed a filling side dish to round off your meal.
And all it takes to make this dish is one pot, a few minutes, and a handful of simple ingredients. First add butter to a large pan over medium heat. Then, toss in the onion and cauliflower rice. Cook them in the butter for about 5 minutes. Once they’re sautéed, add the chicken base and chicken broth. Continue to cook until the liquid cooks off. The rice will be left slightly toasted, with rich flavors from the onion and chicken.
Because this recipe is so simple you can easily add other ingredients while you’re preparing it. Feel free to throw in some minced garlic cloves, peppers, or other seasonings to sauté with the onion and cauliflower.
HOW TO MAKE RICED CAULIFLOWER
To decrease the total time on this recipe, buy frozen riced cauliflower. Wherever you shop, most grocery stores will have some frozen cauliflower rice available. But you can make your own riced cauliflower from cauliflower florets very easily!
- Wash and dry the cauliflower, and remove any green from your cauliflower floret.
- Cut your cauliflower into 1-2 inch pieces.
- Place the cauliflower in a food processor.
- You may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your food processor is.
- Pulse the food processor until the cauliflower is in rice-like pieces. Pilaf uses longer grained rice, so you won’t have to make them too small.
- If you don’t have a food processor, use a grater, or chop the florets to make rice-sized cauliflower pieces.
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VARIATIONS ON CAULIFLOWER RICE PILAF
- Vegan: To make this Cauliflower Rice Pilaf vegan, start by replacing the butter with a dairy-free alternative like olive oil. Then replace the chicken base with a vegetable base, and the chicken broth with a vegetable broth. So, you can still enjoy this Keto side dish on a vegan diet.
- Add-ins: There are so many flavorful additions you can make to this Keto-friendly pilaf. Some easy additions would be garlic, black pepper, red pepper flakes, parsley, chopped green onion, sea salt, scallions, and turmeric powder. This is a dish you’ll find yourself making over and over again, so you can make little changes and experiment each time.
- Almond Cauliflower Pilaf: One classic addition to rice pilaf are slivered almonds. Try adding ⅓ cup slivered almonds along with the onion. Then just prepare the recipe as normal. The almonds will end up toasted and pair wonderfully with the cauliflower.
WHAT TO SERVE CAULIFLOWER RICE PILAF WITH
HOW TO STORE CAULIFLOWER RICE PILAF
- Serve: Don’t leave your cauliflower pilaf at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: Once it’s cooled cover the pilaf or store it in an airtight container. It will stay good in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freeze: To store this side dish longer you can keep it in the freezer for 6 months. Make sure it’s sealed in an airtight container before storing. To reheat the rice pilaf, let it defrost in the fridge, then simmer on the stovetop until heated through.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , or olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion , minced
- 20 ounces cauliflower rice
- 1 tablespoon chicken base , Better than Bouillon
- 1 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Add butter to a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and cauliflower rice and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until it starts to crisp.
- Add the chicken base and chicken stock, stirring well to combine.
- Raise the heat to high and cook until the liquid completely cooks off leaving the cauliflower rice dry and crispy again, stirring every minute.