How to Make Cauliflower Rice

Cauliflower rice is a wonderful low-carb, grain-free, paleo-friendly rice alternative. It’s also a sneaky way to get more veggies into your diet. Watch the recipe video below and see how easy it is to make at home.

What pairs well with cauliflower rice? My Shredded Chicken, Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken and Slow Cooker Pulled Pork are delicious. With a few extra spices or a flavorful sauce you could easily turn it into a tasty meal!

Cauliflower rice (lovingly called “cauli rice”) is a healthy, low-carb, grain-free, less starchy replacement for rice. Now, I’m not necessarily a low-carb girl – I do eat white rice and other organic grains – but it’s always nice to get some extra veggies into your meals and switch things up.

Cauliflower, while sometimes not as popular as its cruciferous cousin broccoli, offers an array of health benefits. It’s high in antioxidants and vitamin C (providing 73% of your daily vitamin C needs in one cup!). It’s also a known cancer fighter, thanks to its well-studied anti-inflammatory properties.

You can use the chopper attachment on your food processor (the one you probably use most often) instead of the grater attachment, but I find that the cauliflower grains are much more consistent with the grater attachment.

The chopper attachment tends to mush the florets on the bottom and not chop the florets higher up. If you don’t have a food processor, just slice your cauliflower head in half (or quarters) and use a box grater.

How To Make Cauliflower Rice in a Vitamix

Did you know you can also make this in your Vitamix? Simply follow the instructions below.

1. Cut the cauliflower into smaller pieces and place them in the Vitamix (No more than 2/3 full).
2. Fill with water just until the cauliflower lifts above the blade.
3. Pulse until desired consistency is reached, about 6-8 times.
4. Pour the mixture through a sieve and pat the cauliflower dry.

Can you Freeze It?

Yes! Absolutely. Once you’ve riced the cauliflower, divide the raw cauliflower rice into Stasher Bags or my favorite Glasslock Storage Containers. It’ll stay good for up to 6 months. Then, when you’re ready to eat it, just toss it frozen into a sauté pan as per the instructions below and cook a few additional minutes.

Cauliflower Rice Recipe Video (Step-By-Step)

This recipe is a staple in my house and it’s easy to make. But it always helps to watch a quick step-by-step tutorial video. Give it a watch below!

6 Tasty Cauliflower Rice Recipes

• Cauliflower Fried Rice: Your Asian restaurant favorite fried rice, made healthy.
• Cauliflower Rice Tabbouleh: A delicious veggie spin on traditional tabbouleh that swaps bulgar with cauliflower rice. It’s healthier and gluten-free!
• Asian Cauliflower Rice with Ginger Shrimp: This is a bowl full of flavorful goodness with creamy avocado, and spicy shrimp.
• Garlic Parsley Cauliflower Rice:  Follow the below recipe, then stir fry 3-4 cloves of minced garlic after sautéing the onions. Cook the cauliflower rice for 5-7 minutes and stir in freshly chopped parsley before serving.
• Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice: Follow the below recipe, then stir fry 1-2 cloves of minced garlic after sautéing the onions. Cook the cauliflower rice for 5-7 minutes and stir in a handful of finely chopped fresh cilantro. Top it off with a squeeze of 1-2 limes over the rice.
• Mexican Cauliflower Rice: Follow the below recipe, then stir fry 2 cloves of minced garlic after sautéing the onions. Cook the cauliflower rice for 5 minutes, then add 2 tomatoes (finely diced), 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 jalapeno pepper (seeds removed and finely diced), 1/2 tsp cumin, juice from 1 lime, and finely chopped fresh cilantro. Stir it all together for a couple of minutes then serve.

Cauliflower rice is also used as the base in my Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipe!

Want more greens? Give my broccoli rice a try. You can use substitute it for cauliflower in any of the low-carb recipes above.

How to Make Cauliflower Rice - Easy Recipe!

5 from 24 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Lisa Bryan

Print Pin Review

Cauliflower rice is a great grain-free rice alternative. It provides a healthy, veggie base for so many meal options and tastes delicious! Make sure to watch the recipe video above to see how I make it.

Recipe Video

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 1 head of cauliflower, washed
• ▢ 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• ▢ 2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions 

• Slice the cauliflower head in half and use a knife to remove all the florets. Cut some of the larger florets into smaller pieces so they'll fit within the chute of your food processor.
• Insert the grater adapter into your food processor and start feeding the cauliflower florets through the top. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may have to empty it halfway through.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the diced onion for a few minutes, until its translucent.
• Add the cauliflower rice to the pan and sauté for another 5-7 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 119.7kcal, Carbohydrates: 12.2g, Protein: 4.2g, Fat: 7.4g, Saturated Fat: 1.2g, Sodium: 63.9mg, Fiber: 4.5g, Sugar: 4.8g

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cauliflower rice, cauliflower rice recipes, how to make cauliflower rice

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Recipe originally posted October 2016, but updated to include new photos and information.