Cauliflower rice is easy to make at home! Save money and have a fresher tasting side dish. This keto cauliflower rice is perfect as a base for stews or stir fries, or makes a great low carb rice dish with just a few ingredients added.
How to Make Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower rice is the perfect low carb substitute for rice and other grains in recipes. This simple swap saves calories, lowers the carbs in dishes, and adds fiber and nutrients.
During the past few years, cauliflower rice has become so trendy it’s now available premade in many grocery stores, and sometimes it’s also available frozen. While this is a great option to keep on hand for busy nights, making your own saves money, plus tastes a whole lot better!
Buying cauliflower rice at the store means it’s probably a few days old and needs to be used quickly. I use fresh cauliflower, process it, and keep cauliflower rice in the fridge for up to a week. It takes about 10 minutes and 1 cauliflower is a lot of “rice”!
Use a Food Processor to “Rice” Cauliflower
- Step 1: Break a whole cauliflower into pieces. Using small florets instead of big chunks helps the rice process more evenly.
- Step 2: Add the florets to a food processor bowl.
- Step 3: Process or pulse until the cauliflower has broken down into pieces about the size of grains of rice.
TIP: Do not over process the cauliflower. Having grains that are smaller than rice will result in watery “rice” when it’s cooked.
How to Cook Cauliflower Rice
Once the cauliflower is “riced,” store it in air tight containers in the fridge for up to 7 days. Storing it for a week shouldn’t be a problem if the cauliflower used was fresh and not old itself.
When you need a healthy, low carb side dish, it’s easy to prepare.
- Add avocado oil or olive oil to a skillet, and heat over high heat.
- Add cauliflower rice, and stir fry over high heat until grains are heated through. The rice will cook fast, in 4-7 minutes.
- Season the rice with salt and pepper, or add fresh chopped herbs, like parsley.
Tips for Making the Best Cauliflower Rice
- Start with the right sized cauliflower rice. Grains that are too big won’t have the same texture or feel as eating rice. Grains that are too small will overcook and get watery.
- Use high heat to cook cauliflower rice. Since the grains are small, it will cook fast. Don’t overcook the rice. It takes 4-7 minutes to cook rice on high heat.
- Get creative! Add your own spice blends. Try fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro, or cumin and diced tomatoes, to give your rice some flavor.
How to Make Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash the cauliflower thoroughly before preparing rice.
- Chop or pull the cauliflower apart into florets. Smaller pieces will chop more evenly in the food processor.
- Add florets to a food processor, and pulse until broken down into rice sized grains.
- To prepare rice, heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the cauliflower rice, and stir fry for 4-7 minutes, until heated through. Using high heat is necessary to keep the rice from getting watery.
- Season with salt and pepper, and serve with stews, curries, or stir fries.
- Store uncooked cauliflower rice in the refrigerator in an air tight container for 5-7 days.
Video
Notes
- fresh lime and chopped cilantro
- lemon juice and fresh herbs
- cumin, chili powder, and chopped tomatoes
Nutrition
Recipes for Cauliflower Rice
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Cauliflower Fritters, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Cauliflower Fried Rice, by Skinny Taste
A must-know to get on board the keto diet so thank you for this!