Cauliflower Rice
Learn how to make low-carb cauliflower rice with this simple step-by-step recipe. You’ll love that it’s made with only three ingredients! Riced cauliflower is used to make low-carb sushi, cauliflower fried rice, and any dish you want to reduce carbs and calories. It’s easy to make and can be a part of your everyday meals. Ricing cauliflower is perfect for vegan keto diets.
Looking for ways to add a little more health (and fewer calories) to each day? You’ll love this simple replacement for so many recipes. Riced cauliflower is not only easy to make, but it’s also freezer-friendly, and so nutritious, too!
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Making cauliflower rice from scratch is easy by using a whole cauliflower head, and it’s cheaper than packaged products at the store
- Adding a bit of rice vinegar creates subtle tanginess that contributes to the rice’s flavor
- Pan-frying riced cauliflower mellows the cauliflower flavor, making the best riced cauliflower ever!
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Lemon — We’ll use both the zest and the juice of the lemon.
- Oats — I used rolled oats for this recipe, but you can substitute instant oats.
- Chia — We’ll add some ground chia seeds to create a thicker texture. You can use whole chia seeds; I just prefer ground because it creates a smoother finished texture.
- Syrup — I used maple syrup, but you can substitute agave nectar.
- Milk — We’ll use almond milk for the best overnight oats! Substitute your favorite plant-based milk.
- Yogurt — I love adding some plant-based yogurt (plain, unsweetened) for an even more tangy flavor.
- Protein Powder — I add some vanilla protein powder for increased flavor and nutrients. If your protein powder is not sweetened, you may want to add an extra teaspoon or two of sweetener.
- Cornstarch — We’ll use cornstarch to thicken the lemon curd topping.
- Turmeric — A pinch of turmeric makes that lemon curd sunny yellow.
- Cauliflower — You’ll need one head of cauliflower.
- Nutritional yeast flakes — This is optional, but I like adding nutritional yeast flakes to this recipe to add savory flavor.
- Rice vinegar — You can use rice vinegar or substitute white wine vinegar.
What Cauliflower is Best for Riced Cauliflower?
When picking whole cauliflower heads, choose one that is heavy, firm, and relatively compact. Of course, finding a head without any brown spots is optimal; however, small brown spots and blemishes are easy to remove using a paring knife. Learn more about how to cut a cauliflower into florets. It’s easier than you think!
How to Make Cauliflower Rice
Wondering how to make riced cauliflower? It’s pretty easy with a food processor or blender. If you don’t have either of these, then simply use some elbow grease to chop it by hand.
- Combine cauliflower florets, nutritional yeast flakes, and rice vinegar in a food processor.
- Pulse a few seconds at a time until it breaks into small pieces.
- Remove the lid and use a knife to break any large pieces that are not breaking down.
- Pulse in multi-second increments until the entire mixture is down to the size of rice.
- Cook the riced cauliflower in a skillet over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender.
- Serve immediately in place of rice in your favorite recipes, or store in a lidded container.
Storage Tips
Store rice in an airtight container in the fridge where it will keep up to 4 or 5 days. You can also freeze it in an appropriate freezer container or bags for up to 2 months.
Serving Suggestions
I love knowing how to cook riced cauliflower because now I can have it with my favorite dishes all the time!
Serve homemade cauliflower rice in place of rice in any of the following recipes:
Raw Cauliflower Rice
I find cooking it helps to develop a milder flavor after its lightly sautéed, however raw works, too. So, cooking riced cauliflower is optional. You can sprinkle a little salt and pepper, and it’s good to go.
Steamed Riced Cauliflower
Alternatively, you can make steamed riced cauliflower.
- Microwave: Place the rice in a microwave-safe container and cook it in 1-minute increments until the desired tenderness is reached.
- Stovetop: Steam the rice in a saucepan by bringing a pan of water to boil. Place a steamer basket over the top and steam the rice for 1 to 3 minutes, based on your preference for tenderness.
Flavor Options
Now that you’ve made your favorite low-carb rice, it’s time to consider ways you can change up the flavor. Here are my favorite options:
- Cilantro Lime — You can make your rice Chipotle-worthy, by adding fresh lime juice. I prefer to do this after I’ve cooked it and it’s cooled slightly. Simply add a tablespoon or two (based on your taste preferences) of freshly squeezed lime and some chopped cilantro (or chopped parsley if you don’t like cilantro).
- Mexican — Add up to 3 tablespoons of taco seasoning to your cooked rice.
- Lemon Herbed — After your rice is cooked, add one to two teaspoons of lemon zest and a tablespoon or two of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Then add a teaspoon each of dried basil, oregano, and thyme.
Frequently-Asked Questions
What is cauliflower rice?
Riced cauliflower is basically grated cauliflower. If you love rice, then riced cauliflower is lower in calories and carbs, and offers lots of great nutrition! Also, with a riced cauliflower recipe, you’ll notice that ricing cauliflower is super easy. In fact, it’s much easier than cooking rice.
Can I buy riced cauliflower?
These days you can buy riced cauliflower pre-packaged in the freezer section of your grocery store. You can also find it at health food stores and places like Sprouts and Trader Joe’s.
What does cauliflower rice taste like?
Riced cauliflower tastes best when cooked. It has a slightly neutral taste similar to grain rice, but some slight undertones of flavor that have a bit of a nutty tendency. Raw riced cauliflower will have even a slight bitterness to it and more crunch.
Is ricing cauliflower healthy?
You will love making riced cauliflower because it’s a cruciferous vegetable and that means it’s healthy. Cruciferous vegetables are named after the four equally sized petals in the plant’s flower, basically resembling a cross. There are a lot of healthy plants in the cruciferous family, including arugula, broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, and kale. Cruciferous vegetables offer important nutrients, like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folic Acid, fiber, and more. Eating 100 calories from a cruciferous vegetable will provide up to 25% of your daily fiber.
Nutritional Information
Let’s talk about the nutritional information for this veggie rice compared to grain-based rice.
Brown rice = 218 calories (3.5g of fiber + 45g carbs = 41.5g net carbs)
White rice = 205 calories (0 grams of fiber + 45g carbs = 45g net carbs)
RICED CAULIFLOWER = 27 CALORIES (2.1g fiber + 7g carbs = 4.9g net carbs)
That means this recipe is perfect for a keto or low-carb diet. Go ahead and have more vegan sushi or more Crispy Orange Tofu!
More Cauliflower Recipes
If you love this riced cauliflower, here are even more cauliflower recipes you’ll like too:
Here are even more vegan cauliflower recipes to try.
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Riced Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower stems removed, broken into florets
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- Toppings: chopped parsley, chopped cilantro, and/or squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Instructions
- Combine the cauliflower florets, nutritional yeast flakes, and rice vinegar in a food processor. Pulse a few seconds at a time until it breaks into small pieces.
- Remove the lid and use a knife to break any large pieces that are not breaking apart. Pulse in multi-second increments until the entire mixture is down to the size of rice.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and spray with vegetable spray. Add the priced cauliflower and cook for about 5-10 minutes, until it is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro. Add splashes of fresh lime juice.
- Serve immediately in place of rice in your favorite recipes, or store in a lidded container.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2016 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2022.
I think you should put the recipe first. That’s what I’m looking for and your blurb after. That would be nice.
Hi Shelly. Thanks for your comment. We do have a jump to recipe link at the top of every recipe for people who want to go straight to the recipe. Hope that’s helpful!
What is the ingredient in the spoon? I couldn’t find it listed in the article. Thank you 🙂
Hi Lee! It’s nutritional yeast flakes. I find adding just a little bit adds a little more “brown rice” flavor to my cauliflower rice. Hope you enjoy!
Can I use without nutritional yeast? I can’t find it in my country! ugh!
Hi Zarina. Sure, you can make this without nutritional yeast. It adds a little flavor, but it will be fine without it.
Until reading this article I didn’t know that anti oxidants had blood levels
Hi Bryan. The data is amazing. Here’s a video that shows why you can’t get the antioxidants from a pill. And here’s a quick video showing the impact of the blood of vegans on cancer. The video shows that the blood from vegans “has 8X the stopping power when it comes to cancer cell growth.” Also, check out this video that talks about antioxidant levels in different fruits. Impressive stuff!
Oh my gosh I made cauliflower rice earlier this month and it’s amazing! Best of all my hubby who loves rices says he would have this as a substitute and begged me to make more. I LOVE what you added to it!
Your hubby is one smart dude! I am putting cauliflower rice on everything now. I keep cauliflower in the fridge because it’s so easy to make this stuff! I put it on my salads even. Yum!
Cool! I’ve actually never heard of cauliflower rice before… Would love to try it out! 🙂
Ooh, I hope you love it as much as I do! You can add other spices to it, like taco seasoning and serve it over a salad to make a very nice, flavorful, and low-calorie taco salad!
I tried pizza with cauliflower but this looks even better! 🙂
I personally think this is better. Glad to see you agree!
Just made my first cauliflower fried rice earlier this year and now I am love. I need to try it with nutritional yeast!
Isn’t that stuff the best? I’ve been using it in my vegan sushi (recipe coming soon) and just loving it! I’m going to make some more today in fact! 🙂