Cauliflower Rice Risotto
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Prepare to be surprised by this creamy cauliflower rice risotto! Made with sauteed riced cauliflower and a lusciously smooth cauliflower cream sauce (dairy-free or regular, your choice!) It has a delicious, zesty, and cheesy flavor, finished with some spinach. It’s a super simple and breezy recipe that everyone will love!
This creamy cauliflower risotto recipe centers on a luxuriously creamy sauce flavored with vibrant lemon. When you make a traditional risotto, it’s the starch from the rice that makes it creamy – cauliflower obviously doesn’t have the same effect, so you want to make sure your sauce has that velvety texture that is rich enough to make your risotto comforting and satisfying. We have made two options: a cheesy sauce and a dairy-free cauliflower sauce that gets its creaminess from cashews and its cheese-like flavor from the nutritional yeast.
For the cauliflower rice, you have a few options: either pulse cauliflower florets in a food processor until they resemble rice-sized pieces or finely chop them with a sharp knife. Alternatively, many grocery stores offer pre-riced cauliflower in the fresh produce section for added convenience.
Ingredients needed
Cauliflower rice risotto uses a vegetable instead of the arborio rice, and without the heavy cream or butter. This is what you need:
- Cauliflower rice: Buy store bought to save time, or make your own by adding cauliflower to a food processor.
- Other ingredients: Olive oil, onion, vegetable broth, baby spinach.
- Option #1 – Cheesy lemon cream sauce: Whole milk, white cheddar cheese, grated parmesan cheese, sea salt, and lemon juice.
- Option #2 – Dairy-free lemon cream sauce: Vegetable broth, raw cashews or pine nuts, nutritional yeast, sea salt, and lemon juice.
How to make cauliflower rice risotto
This stovetop recipe is super simple – cook the cauliflower, blend some up with the rest of the sauce ingredients, then combine it all together with some spinach! Here’s the instructions:
- Sauté: Cook your onion and then add the cauliflower rice and broth to the pan and simmer until the cauliflower is soft.
- Blend: Take some of the softened cauliflower and pop it into your blender to make the cream sauce – make either the cheesy lemon cream sauce OR a dairy-free lemon cream sauce.
- Finish: The rest of the cauliflower stays in the pan. Add some spinach and pour in the cream sauce you just blended. Enjoy as it is or sear up some protein to pop on top.
Variations
Just like regular risotto, cauliflower rice risotto is super versatile. It’s easy to adjust the flavors according to your tastes or whatever’s left in the fridge! Here are some of our favorite variations:
- Veggies: Add the flavor and texture by throwing in some extra veggies. Make a cauliflower rice mushroom risotto by sautéing mushrooms beside your onions, or add some zucchini and peas for a sweet burst.
- Spices: A crack of black pepper or cumin adds some warmth. Use garlic powder or minced garlic for savory depth.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Stir in chopped sun-dried tomatoes for a tangy and savory flavor that adds depth to the dish.
- Herbs: Add some fresh herbs like fresh thyme, rosemary, parsley, or basil.
- Spicy: Add cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper for a kick of heat.
- Protein: There are endless possibilities when it comes to adding protein – add crispy tofu, prawns, tender chicken, salty bacon, or pork!
- Crunch: Sprinkle some pine nuts on top for a pleasant textural contrast.
What to serve with cauliflower rice risotto
Cauliflower rice risotto works as a side dish or as the main course! Serve it beside heartier mains, or top it off with a protein. Some of our favorites are:
- Chili Lime Shrimp
- Pan-Seared Salmon with sunflower seed pesto
- Italian Seasoning Chicken
- Baked Pork Tenderloin
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
Appies that pair well include glazed chorizo or chorizo stuffed mushrooms.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make this using frozen cauliflower rice?
Technically, yes. But frozen cauliflower rice has a much stronger cauliflower flavor and won’t hide in the background as well as fresh cauliflower. Frozen cauliflower also releases more liquid, meaning you may have to sauté for a bit longer.
How do I store leftover cauliflower rice risotto?
Store leftover cauliflower rice risotto in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze for up to three months.
Which wines work with cauliflower rice risotto?
A dry white wine or a light and crisp white, like chardonnay or pinot grigio would be our top picks. If you’re a red wine drinker, go for a merlot or a pinot noir.
Cauliflower Rice Risotto Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion (finely minced)
- 36 ounces cauliflower rice
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 5 ounces baby spinach
Option #1: Cheesy Lemon Cream Sauce
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup white cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Juice of 1 lemon
Option #2: Dairy-Free Lemon Cream Sauce
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup raw cashews or pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it is transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the cauliflower and broth and bring to a boil. Cook the cauliflower uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it is soft, about 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 medium onion, 36 ounces cauliflower rice, 1 cup vegetable broth
- If you're using the Cheesy Lemon Cream Sauce:Remove 2 cups of cauliflower from the pan and add it to your blender with the milk. Blend on high until smooth. Add the cheddar, parmesan, sea salt, and lemon juice and blend again until the cheese has melted.1 cup whole milk, 1 cup white cheddar cheese, ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon sea salt, Juice of 1 lemon
- If you're using the Dairy-Free Lemon Cream Sauce:Remove 2 cups of cauliflower from the pan and add it to your blender with the vegetable broth, cashews, nutritional yeast, sea salt, and lemon juice and blend on high until smooth.1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 ½ cups vegetable broth, 1 cup raw cashews or pine nuts, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, Juice of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Add the spinach to the cauliflower rice and put the pan back on the heat. Let the spinach wilt and then pour in the sauce you made and let it heat through.5 ounces baby spinach
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Notes
Nutrition
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For more inspiration, check out all of our dinner ideas!
Just made this tonight and everyone had seconds! I would do 1/2 cup of vegetable broth next time to lessen the liquidity of the risotto. Other than that it was delish
Thank you for letting us know you loved the recipe!
This is my go-to recipe each week. Even my husband loves it. Both the dairy and non-dairy versions are amazing.
I’m so happy to hear the recipe is a hit!
It was absolutely delicious and I didn’t even have to add salt. The lemon juice and cheese made it tasty enough. Easy and yummy.
So happy to hear it was a hit!
Because I was making my own cauliflower rice, I was able to use the Cuisinart for the other ingredients, so prep went quickly. I also substituted squeezed, grated zucchini for the spinach. I think it looked prettier. Delicious! Thank you
You are very welcome!
Where does the 2 cups of cauliflower come from in the dairy free sauce option? The only cauliflower in the ingredients list is the cauliflower rice.
You remove 2 cups of the cooked cauliflower rice from the pan. 🙂
I used a big bag of frozen rice cauliflower and it was perfect! I just increased the cooking time to boil off the excess water from the freezing process.
I’m so happy you liked the recipe! And thank you for letting us know it works with frozen riced cauliflower!
This was SO good! This is my first time using nutritional yeast and walnuts instead of cheese and I was shocked how delicious this was!!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that! Even though I’m not vegan, I use nutritional yeast all the time. It’s great sprinkled on salads too!
This is absolutely delicious. I would serve it
To guests-that good.
I’m so happy it was a hit!
Where does the 1 1/2 cup of vegetable broth used in the dairy-free cream come into play in this recipe? I only saw vegetable broth mentioned once and I assumed its the vegetable broth that was listed at the beginning ofthe ingredients.
Thank you for bringing that to my attention and I apologize for the mistake. I’ve corrected it. The 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth is needed to blend the dairy free cream sauce.
Hello! When the recipe says add 2 cups of the cauliflower for the dairy free sauce do you mean the cauliflower that we cooked in the pan or additional cauliflower rice? Thank you!!!
Sorry for the confusion! Yes, what I meant is to remove 2 cups of the cauliflower that you cooked and add it to the sauce. 🙂
Just made this. I subbed heavy cream for the milk and added some fresh cracked black pepper. Absolutely delicious and decadent with the lemon cheese sauce. Yummy!!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit!
Made the vegan version just because I was curious to try nutritional yeast. Delicious!! And easy to make. Thanks. Great side dish (did not make shrimp).
You are so welcome!
Hi Kristen! Sadly, they don’t carry Mann’s at my local IGA (despite the fact that the website says they do). If I make my own cauliflower rice from scratch, how much cauliflower do you reckon it requires? 1 large? Looks like the pieces are a little bigger that typical food processor cauliflower rice so I’ll be judicious about pulsing it. Soooo excited to try this out!
Oh what a shame! One of their bags is roughly 1 large cauliflower. One of the things I like about using Mann’s (other than it’s SO easy) is that the pieces are a little bigger so it has more texture. Maybe I just pulse mine too much!
That seriously makes me so happy to hear. Hooray!!
I made the original dairy free recipe and realized that it would convert to a nice Alfredo sauce with a little garlic. The second batch served the sauce over zoodles to my picky husband without a hint that it was a lighter version. He kept raving about it!
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!!
I’ve been really focusing on being more clear about which recipes can be adapted to different diets. I’m so happy it’s working!
You should totally make this one. It’s my fav!