How to Make Cauliflower Rice
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Learn how to make cauliflower rice in just a few minutes. It’s an easy recipe that tastes great with curry, stir-fries, rice bowls, or any saucy main course.
Cauliflower rice is our most frequently made side dish. It’s a great way to lighten up dinner and add extra veggies to your diet. The texture resembles rice and is the ideal base for saucy dinners.
It’s also very easy to make. If the people at your dinner table wouldn’t be thrilled with pretending a vegetable is rice, you can easily put on a pot of regular rice and make this for yourself. When we make curry or stir-fries, I often make basmati rice for my family and cook some cauliflower rice for myself.
But if you spice up the rice using one of our variations, chances are, everyone will love this recipe!
Variations to try
If you’re not a big fan of cauliflower, you may want to add a little flavor to the rice to hide the cauliflower taste. My favorite way to do this is to saute the cauliflower rice in coconut oil. Here are a few other tasty variations:
- Garlic + Ginger. Sauté a little of each before you add the rice to the pan.
- Mexican. Mix in a teaspoon of cumin, some lime juice, and chopped cilantro.
- Indian. Use coconut oil and stir a teaspoon of curry powder into the cooked cauli rice.
- Cheesy. Sauté a couple of minced garlic cloves before adding the rice. Then stir in ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese once it’s cooked.
A few faqs
Can I make cauliflower rice in advance? The cauliflower can be riced and kept in a sealed container in your fridge for up to a week. Because cooked cauliflower develops a strong flavor when refrigerated for a few days, I recommend cooking only what you plan to eat. If you are making cauliflower rice for work/school lunches, add it to your containers raw. It will cook when you heat your lunch in the microwave.
How can I make cauliflower rice without a food processor? You can either use the large holes on a box grater to grate the cauliflower, or you can chop it by hand.
Can I use frozen riced cauliflower? Yes, but DO NOT thaw the cauliflower rice. Simply add it frozen to the pan and saute for a few extra minutes.
Another cauliflower rice recipe to try is my cauliflower fried rice – it’s delicious!
How to Make Cauliflower Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower (about 3 lbs)
- 1 tablespoon oil (coconut oil tastes great. use avocado or canola for a neutral flavor)
Instructions
- Remove the leaves then chop the cauliflower into 2-inch pieces.1 large head of cauliflower
- Working in batches, pulse the cauliflower in your food processor until it resembles rice, about 10-15 pulses. Do not over-process or it will turn mushy.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the riced cauliflower and cook, stirring a few times, for 2-3 minutes, or until the cauliflower has softened slightly.1 tablespoon oil
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
This was great! Love the suggestions for flavoring it. I used coconut oil and it really did give it a nice flavor.
That’s wonderful to hear!
Hey! Can I use frozen cauliflower? I guess I should unfreeze it first, just I’m afraid it will get a mash consistency ?. Thanks!
Frozen cauliflower can be used! Simply add a few extra minutes to the cooking time and it will thaw in the pan. 🙂