How to Make Cauliflower Rice

If you want to discover all the secrets behind cauliflower rice, you are in the right place! Find out everything there is to know about riced cauliflower: what is cauliflower rice, how to rice cauliflower, how to prepare cauliflower rice, and more cauliflower rice tips and ideas!

Cauliflower is this amazing vegetable high in fiber, filled with B-vitamins, vitamin K, vitamin C, antioxidants, and nutrients that promote health. Not to mention that cauliflower is versatile and can be easily transformed into many delicious dishes and side dishes like this Cauliflower Gratin. Or this Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower. Or maybe this Cauliflower Gratin. Or, you know what, take a look at these 10 Healthy Cauliflower Recipes if you still don’t believe me when I say cauliflower can be used in so many delicious ways.

If you guessed I love cauliflower recipes, your guess is correct.  So, naturally, I love cauliflower rice recipes too!

But what’s not to love? Cauliflower rice is a great substitute for rice. It’s low in carbs and in calories. It’s a great way to make your little ones eat more veggies. It’s also a great way for you to add more veggies to your diet. And, if you don’t like complicated recipes with numerous steps, you’ll be more than happy to learn that making cauliflower rice is very quick and easy.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not hard when you find the right substitutes. Healthy doesn’t mean tasteless. Healthy can mean delicious, flavorful, and full of amazing nutrients.

Substituting rice for cauliflower rice is a great way to transform your favorite meals. And, you have to believe me, making cauliflower rice is just as easy as making regular rice.  In fact – it’s actually a little easier!

Are you excited to learn how to cook cauliflower rice now?

HOW TO MAKE CAULIFLOWER RICE

Everybody is talking about it but… what is cauliflower rice? And most importantly, how to make cauliflower rice?

Cauliflower rice is basically grated cauliflower that tastes amazing when you cook it. It is fluffy and tender and it can be made in 2 different ways.

You can make cauliflower rice with a food processor but you can also learn how to make cauliflower rice without a food processor (if you do not own one). A box grater will do the job of the food processor for you so you don’t have to worry.

How much rice does one head of cauliflower make?

If you’re wondering how many cups of cauliflower rice per head that depends on the cauliflower head but, in general, a medium cauliflower head weighs approximately 2 pounds.

From one pound of cauliflower, you can make about 4 cups of cauliflower rice.

That means a cauliflower head makes about 8 cups of cauliflower rice.

That’s a lot of cauliflower rice you can use in numerous recipes like the ones listed below.

How long does cauliflower rice last?

Are you the type of person who likes to prep meals ahead of time? You’re one of my people, then!

The good news is you can make riced cauliflower ahead of time. How long does cauliflower rice last? Well, that depends…

• if you cook it, you can store it in the fridge for 1 or 2 days in a sealed bag or container;
• if you want to store it for more days, store it raw and it will last for up to 4 days in your fridge or up to 6 months in the freezer.

How to freeze cauliflower rice?

Want to learn how to freeze cauliflower rice and store it in the freezer?  The process is very easy!

After making the riced cauliflower…

1. transfer it to reusable freezer bags;
2. seal them;
3. and store them flat in the freezer.

When you want to use cauliflower rice in a dish, unzip the bag, transfer the rice to a pan and cook it as you would normally do. If you usually steam the rice, make sure you stir from time to time to break the frozen blocks.

If you’d prefer to keep them as separate as possible, you can freeze first on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper with the rice separated from each other as much as possible.  Once frozen, transfer to a bag or freezer safe container.

WHY USE RICED CAULIFLOWER INSTEAD OF REGULAR RICE

White rice has 45 g of carbs per cup. That’s a lot of carbs for you. And, while you can enjoy rice as a side dish from time to time, eating it on a regular basis is not a good idea for your health.

How many carbs in cauliflower rice though? After all, this is what we should be talking about! I think you’ll be shocked to find out that cauliflower has only 5 g carbs per cup.

Huge difference, right?

And let’s talk about the calories, too. Rice has approximately 218 calories per cup while cauliflower has only 25.

Yes, seriously!

And did I mention cauliflower rice is crazy delicious?

HOW TO RICE CAULIFLOWER WITH A FOOD PROCESSOR

We reached the most important part of making cauliflower rice the how do you rice cauliflower part?

For the first option, we’re going to discuss – how to make cauliflower rice with a food processor.

This is my favorite riced cauliflower recipe because it’s so easy. To make cauliflower rice with a food processor:

1. cut the cauliflower into small florets;
2. add the cauliflower florets to the food processor (the food processor should be ¾ full);
3. pulse the cauliflower florets until small pieces are formed.

Extra tip: stop pulsing and scrape the scrape the sides of the bowl. Pulse again. Repeat if necessary.

You could also rice the cauliflower, floret by floret, with the motor running and pressing one floret at a time through the dispenser.

HOW TO GRATE CAULIFLOWER BY HAND

You can learn how to make cauliflower rice without food processor if you don’t own one. Learning how to rice cauliflower by hand basically means how to grate cauliflower so here’s how it’s done:

1. cut cauliflower into larger florets;
2. use a box grater and push across cauliflower florets until you make small pieces.

That’s pretty much it. Now off to learning how to cook cauliflower rice.

HOW TO COOK CAULIFLOWER RICE

Cooking cauliflower rice can be done in different ways. You can try cauliflower rice recipes where the riced cauliflower is already incorporated into the recipe steps or you can cook cauliflower rice from scratch and serve it as a side. I have 3 recommendations for you:

Microwave Riced Cauliflower

Microwaving riced cauliflower is the easiest and fastest way of cooking cauliflower rice. To do it:

1. add cauliflower rice to a bowl;
2. cover the bowl with paper towels;
3. microwave for approximately 3 minutes on high;
4. season and serve.

Stir-frying Riced Cauliflower

Another easy way for cooking cauliflower rice is stir frying. All you need is a little bit of olive oil, your riced cauliflower, and salt and pepper to season. In approximately 5 minutes, your healthy, low carb rice will be ready. To make stir-fried cauliflower rice:

1. heat a pan on medium heat;
2. add a little bit of olive oil and cauliflower rice;
3. cook for approximately 5 minutes stirring frequently.

Roasting Cauliflower Rice

Lastly, roasting cauliflower is a great cauliflower rice recipe for sides. To make roasted cauliflower rice:

1. drizzle a little bit of olive oil over riced cauliflower and toss;
2. spread the riced cauliflower evenly on a baking sheet;
3. roast the low carb rice in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees F;
4. mix the tray halfway through roasting for evenly roasted cauliflower rice.

How to season riced cauliflower

You want to learn how to cook riced cauliflower because you’re afraid you won’t like its taste? Don’t worry, there are so many ways to make cauliflower rice that one is sure to be right for you.

Besides salt and pepper, sweet onions or yellow onions are usually used to season cauliflower rice when frying it. Garlic is also an option. Add onion powder too if you prefer a stronger onion taste. Same thing goes for garlic.

If you love parsley, you can add fresh chopped parsley. Or other herbs and spices you like. Don’t be afraid to experiment. After all, the secret to clean eating is finding ways to make it work for you.

WHAT TO MAKE PAIR WITH CAULIFLOWER RICE

Now that I convinced you that cauliflower rice is not only healthy but also incredibly tasty, I have to discuss with you some cauliflower rice recipes and pairings you should try. To be fair, the possibilities are endless but in case you need ideas, here are 3 healthy pairings that I recommend:

• Make Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls – making burrito bowls is a great way to incorporate cauliflower rice into our family’s diet without making it too obvious. Burrito bowls are a healthier
• Steak Fajita Bowl with Cilantro Lime Rice – replace the rice with low carb rice AKA cauliflower rice in this recipe for a healthier and just as tasty option. Cilantro Lime is not only for regular rice, peeps. It’s delicious in cauliflower rice recipes as well!

3 MORE EASY CAULIFLOWER RECIPES

I hope learning how to make cauliflower rice made you realize how amazeballs cauliflower is. Because it really is amazing. And I have 3 more recipes to prove it. One is another riced cauliflower recipe, the other 2 are slightly different but just as amazing.

25 MINUTE CHICKEN CAULIFLOWER FRIED RICE

This Chicken Cauliflower Rice recipe is a great dinner recipe you can make during busy weeknights. It’s also a great way to introduce your family to cauliflower rice.

377 calories per serving. Healthy, easy to make, ready in 25 minutes. Sounds like the perfect dinner recipe, right? Get the recipe.

LOADED CAULIFLOWER TOTS RECIPE

This Loaded Cauliflower Tots Recipe makes healthy totes, friends. I think this says it all.

But in case you want more details – the cauliflower totes are filled with bacon, cheddar, and green onion. So YUMMY. Get the recipe.

FALL HARVEST BUDDHA BOWL ON CAULIFLOWER GRITS

You can use cauliflower to make grits, then pair it with roasted veggies and other yummy ingredients to put together this delicious Fall Harvest Buddha Bowl on Cauliflower Grits.

The Fall Harvest Buddha Bowl on Cauliflower Grits is healthy, packed with nutrients, and so darn delicious. Get the recipe.

How To Make Cauliflower Rice

If you want to discover all the secrets behind cauliflower rice, you are in the right place! Find out everything there is to know about riced cauliflower: what is cauliflower rice, how to rice cauliflower, how to prepare cauliflower rice, and more cauliflower rice tips and ideas!

• 1 large head cauliflower
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1. There are two ways to turn the cauliflower into rice-size pieces: (1) using a kitchen grater on the larger holes or (2) in a food processor. (The food processor makes this way quick and easy so I recommend it if you have one). If using a grater, keep the cauliflower whole and grate as you would cheese. If using a processor, break the cauliflower into florets – it may be necessary to do this in 2-3 batches.

How To Make Cauliflower Rice on the Stove

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.

2. Add the cauliflower “rice” and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower rice is tender and just slightly golden brown, about 7-10 minutes.
3. Mix in the remaining salt, pepper, and garlic powder into the cauliflower rice and stir to combine.

How To Make Cauliflower Rice in the Oven

1. First, start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F and lining a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Lay out the “rice” evenly on the rimmed baking sheet, and place into the oven.

3. Roast the cauliflower for 20-25 minutes, tossing halfway through, until the cauliflower is tender and starting to brown around the edges of the pan.

4. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

5. If using the cauliflower rice to make cauliflower tortillas or cauliflower pizza crust, it is necessary to squeeze the liquid out of the rice.  Once the cauliflower rice is cool enough to handle, place it into a thin clean dish towel or cheesecloth and squeeze out as much excess liquid as you can. This will be very helpful when it’s time to cook because they won’t be super liquidy. You can just discard the liquid once you’ve gotten as much out as you can.

Nutritional info provided is for cauliflower rice cooked on the stove.  Cauliflower rice cooked in the oven will contain less calories and fat since that method does not use any oils.

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