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 cauliflower risotto is creamy, comforting, and packed with bright lemon flavor — everything you want from a risotto, just made a little differently. Since cauliflower doesn’t release starch the way arborio rice does, the key to making this recipe truly satisfying is the sauce. I tested this recipe with two versions: a rich, cheesy lemon cream sauce and a dairy-free option that gets its velvety texture from cashews and its savory depth from nutritional yeast.
Both versions coat the cauliflower beautifully, creating that silky, spoonable texture risotto is known for. The lemon keeps everything tasting fresh and vibrant, while spinach adds color and softness throughout. The cheesy version feels classic and indulgent, while the dairy-free sauce has an almost surprisingly creamy texture that still feels rich and comforting.
You can make your own cauliflower rice by pulsing florets in a food processor, finely chopping them by hand, or grabbing a bag of pre-riced cauliflower from the grocery store to keep things easy. However you make it, this is one of those recipes that feels cozy and satisfying yet remains bright and fresh.
Can I make this using frozen cauliflower rice? While it’s technically possible, I don’t recommend it. 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.
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.
- 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.
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.
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
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
More cauliflower recipes
For more inspiration, check out all of our dinner ideas!
Hi there! I haven’t had a chance to make this yet but it looks amazing! Do you have a calorie count perchance?
I don’t comment much, and normally I wouldn’t rate this because I didn’t follow the recipe properly (laziness, missing ingredients, more laziness).
I used salmon instead of shrimp, hot sauce instead of chili flakes and cayenne, didn’t have enough cauliflower rice so just tossed the milk and cheeses into the pan with the cauliflower and let it mix together there, and guessed on the lemon juice because I cut the recipe down by 2/3.
But even with all that, this is SO GOOD. The flavors!!! Definitely will make it again, and will do it right. Absolutely love it!
So happy that you came back to comment! Thank you!
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!
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!!