Learn how to make Cauliflower Rice 5 Ways! Choose from chili lime, ham & pineapple, Mediterranean, curried and garlic sesame seasonings.
Ingredients and substitutions
Ham & pineapple
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Cauliflower – I recommend using fresh cauliflower. You can use frozen cauliflower but your rice might be mushy.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Diced deli ham – swap out for another protein of your choice like diced chicken or turkey.
- Diced pineapple – use fresh pineapple or canned pineapple.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Chili lime
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Cauliflower – I recommend using fresh cauliflower. You can use frozen cauliflower but your rice might be mushy.
- Lime juice – fresh lime juice is best but bottled lime juice will work in a pinch.
- Garlic – I prefer fresh minced garlic. The jarred variety will also work.
- Chili powder – use a blend of paprika, cumin and cayenne instead.
- Paprika – double up on the chili powder if you don’t have any paprika.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Mediterranean
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Cauliflower – I recommend using fresh cauliflower. You can use frozen cauliflower but your rice might be mushy.
- Lemon juice – use fresh lemon juice if you can. Bottled lemon or even lime juice can be used as well.
- Oregano – basil would be the best substitute although oregano provides that authentic Mediterranean flavour.
- Garlic – I prefer fresh minced garlic. The jarred variety will also work.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Garlic sesame
- Sesame oil – if you don’t have any sesame oil you can use another neutral oil, although you won’t get that delicious sesame flavour.
- Cauliflower – I recommend using fresh cauliflower. You can use frozen cauliflower but your rice might be mushy.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Garlic – I prefer fresh minced garlic. The jarred variety will also work.
- Ginger – use fresh garlic or a bit of ground ginger.
Curried
- Coconut oil – any neutral cooking oil can be used instead like avocado oil or canola oil.
- Cauliflower – I recommend using fresh cauliflower. You can use frozen cauliflower but your rice might be mushy.
- Garlic – I prefer fresh minced garlic. The jarred variety will also work.
- Curry powder – use ground cumin or garam masala for a similar flavour.
- Turmeric – saffron is the best substitute for turmeric.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
How to make cauliflower rice
- Rice the cauliflower.
- Mix together your seasonings.
- Sauté the rice in the seasoning.
- Cook until softened.
- Serve and enjoy!
Is cauliflower rice good for you?
In the world of low carb foods, cauliflower is king, which means cauliflower rice must be the queen. In all seriousness, it is a fantastic low carb substitute for traditional rice. Also, cauliflower is packed with nutritional benefits, including:
- Low in calories
- Full of fiber
- Rich in Vitamins C, K and B6
- High in folate
- Good source of potassium and pantothenic acid (aka, Vitamin B5)
Frequently Asked Questions
Cauliflower rice is raw cauliflower that’s been chopped or processed into tiny pieces of ‘rice’. It’s a great low-carb alternative to rice and is so tasty!
Nope! Cauliflower rice is super low in carbs and a great low-carb alternative to traditional rice. One serving of cauliflower rice only has about 10 grams of carbs.
If you don’t have a food processor, don’t worry; you can still make these cauliflower rice recipes! Use a box grater or hand-held vegetable grater to grate smaller sections of the cauliflower or use a sharp kitchen knife to finely dice the cauliflower into rice. Easy-peasy!
The Best Cauliflower Rice Recipes
Mediterranean-inspired cauliflower rice
Curried cauliflower rice
Garlic-Sesame cauliflower rice
Ham & Pineapple cauliflower rice
Chili Lime cauliflower rice
Storing and reheating
You can store your leftover cauliflower rice in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight glass container. When you’re ready to eat your rice, you can reheat it in the microwave for a minute, steam it or even heat it up in a pan on the stovetop.
Freezing this recipe
If you plan to freeze the rice to use for your meal prep, it is important that you flash freeze the rice before bagging it. Flash freezing is very easy to do and it will prevent the rice from freezing into large clumps.
To flash freeze the rice:
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the cauliflower rice into an even layer on the pan and try to avoid crowding. Use more than one pan if you need to or flash freeze the rice in batches.
- Pop the pan into your freezer and keep it there until the pieces of rice are frozen. This will take about an hour, but you can leave it in the freezer for longer than that if you need or want to.
- Transfer the frozen cauliflower rice into meal prep containers or freezer-safe Ziploc bags.
- Frozen cauliflower rice will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to use the rice, remove it from the freezer. Unless you plan to stir fry or make fried rice with it, you don’t even have to worry about thawing it! Just reheat it as you would any other frozen vegetables.
More cauliflower recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on using the rice in your weekly lunches.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
- A box grater helps get the cauliflower into rice-like texture.
- A food processor speeds up the process.
How to Make Cauliflower Rice 5 Ways
Ingredients
Ham & Pineapple cauliflower rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 head cauliflower, riced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 cup diced deli ham
- 1/4 cup diced pineapple
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Chili Lime cauliflower rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 head cauliflower, riced
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Mediterranean-inspired cauliflower rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 head cauliflower, riced
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Garlic-Sesame cauliflower rice
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 head cauliflower, riced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
Curried cauliflower rice
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 head cauliflower, riced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Instructions
- Make cauliflower rice by de-stemming cauliflower and chopping into finely diced pieces either by hand or using a food processor.
- Mix together spice blend of choice in a small bowl. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower rice and saute for 2 minutes until softened.
- Add spice blend and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes until softened to your preference. Serve and enjoy!
- To freeze: bring to room temperature then freeze in individual portions in glass bowls. Reheat for 5-6 minutes in the microwave or in a skillet on the stovetop, stirring midway through.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The post How to Make Cauliflower Rice 5 Ways appeared first on The Girl on Bloor.