Cauliflower rice could not be easier to make and is a healthy veggie-packed carb swap for rice in fried rice, risotto, Mexican rice, sushi and more. There are a lot of reasons to love cauliflower rice. It’s low-carb, gluten-free, keto-friendly, easy to make and is the perfect neutral base for a ton of different flavor combinations.
Prepping Cauliflower for Cauliflower Rice
Before you can turn your cauliflower into rice, you have to break the cauliflower into large pieces. Here’s how:
Cut the head of cauliflower in half, down the middle.
Cauliflower-Head Credit: Photo Credit: Alison Miksch
Cut a “V” into the core where it meets the head.
Cutting the core from cauliflower.
The cuts will separate the core from the head. Do this to each half.
Cut the halves into quarters.
Breaking Down Cauliflower for Cauliflower Rice
Cut the quarters into eighths to break them down into manageable pieces (bigger pieces are good for grating; smaller pieces are good for the food processor).
Easy Ways to Make Cauliflower Rice
Now that your cauliflower is prepared, you have two options for turning it into rice:
Option 1: Use a food processor.
Add the cauliflower florets to the food processor bowl making sure it’s not packed.
Cauliflower-rice-in a food processor
Press the “pulse” button on the food processor to break down the pieces further.
Continue to pulse the cauliflower until it’s chopped into a size you like.
Option 2: Use a grater.
Just like grating cheese, slide the florets up and down the box grater. This leaves you with perfect rice-sized pieces but will take a little bit longer than busting out your food processor.
Grated-Cauliflower-Rice
DIY Alternative: Buy it.
You can find riced cauliflower at almost any grocery store. Trader Joe’s sells it frozen and fresh. Most grocery stores will have some in the frozen vegetables section and in the prepared produce section. Green Giant sells frozen cauliflower rice plain, as a medley with other veggies and as a risotto (plus, they have a whole line of other riced veggies in the freezer). Frozen cauli rice is a great staple to keep in your freezer for quick weeknight dinners.
How to Cook Cauliflower Rice
It’s not quite like regular rice until you cook it, so once your vegetable is in rice-sized pieces, you’ll want to heat it up a bit. Packages of pre-made raw cauliflower rice come with instructions, so go ahead and follow the back of the bag. If you make your own cauliflower rice, cook it on the stove.
Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add your cauliflower rice.
Sauteed-Cauliflower-Rice
Cook the cauliflower rice, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until softened.
Cauliflower-rice-plain
Recipe Ideas
Now that you know how to make cauliflower rice, it can be seasoned with salt and pepper for a side dish, but here are some fun recipes to make.
Cauliflower Rice
Basic Cauliflower Rice
A super-simple recipe that still has plenty of flavor thanks to the use of fresh herbs–try chives, parsley, basil and cilantro.
Cauliflower Rice Pilaf
Riced Cauliflower & Sweet Potato
This zesty and herbaceous dish gets topped with chopped almonds for flavorful rice pilaf with a crunch.
Cauliflower Chicken Fried “Rice”
Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice
Our take on classic fried rice makes for a well-rounded meal that’s packed with flavor.
Cauliflower Rice vs. White Rice Nutrition
I love that I can swap cauliflower rice into any recipe where rice is called for to get more fiber and veggies in my diet. Let’s start with calories: 1/2 cup of riced cauliflower delivers 37 calories, while 1/2 cup of cooked white rice has 100 calories.
You’ll also go from 22 grams of carbohydrates per cup to just 7 grams per cup when you switch from white rice to cauliflower.
That’s a savings of 63 calories and 15 grams of carbs.
Added bonus: You’ll get 3 grams more fiber when you choose cauliflower rice.
Watch How to Make Cauliflower “Rice” Pilaf
Cauliflower-Head Credit: Photo Credit: Alison Miksch
Cauliflower-Head
Credit: Photo Credit: Alison Miksch
Cutting the core from cauliflower.
Cutting the core from cauliflower.
Breaking Down Cauliflower for Cauliflower Rice
Breaking Down Cauliflower for Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower-rice-in a food processor
Cauliflower-rice-in a food processor
Grated-Cauliflower-Rice
Grated-Cauliflower-Rice
Sauteed-Cauliflower-Rice
Sauteed-Cauliflower-Rice
Cauliflower-rice-plain
Cauliflower-rice-plain
Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower Rice
Riced Cauliflower & Sweet Potato
Riced Cauliflower & Sweet Potato
Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice
Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice
