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Cauliflower rice

Cauliflower rice

Missing rice in your life? The legit low-carb substitute is right here. Cauliflower rice is fantastic paired with Asian dishes, and makes a terrific stand-in for couscous or pasta. It's neutral. It's finely textured. It's even white if you omit the spices.
August 13 2019 recipe by , photo by , nutritional review by in Recipes, Side dish

Cauliflower rice

Missing rice in your life? The legit low-carb substitute is right here. Cauliflower rice is fantastic paired with Asian dishes, and makes a terrific stand-in for couscous or pasta. It's neutral. It's finely textured. It's even white if you omit the spices.
USMetric
4 servingservings

Ingredients

  • 1½ lbs 650 g cauliflower
  • 1 oz. 28 g butter or olive oil
  • ½ tsp ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ½ tsp turmeric (optional)
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Instructions

Instructions are for 4 servings. Please modify as needed.

  1. Using a grater or grater attachment on a food processor, shred the cauliflower. You could even slice it and chop it finely with a knife.
  2. Melt butter or coconut oil in a skillet. Add the cauliflower and cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the riced cauliflower has softened a bit.
  3. Add salt and the optional turmeric, or any other spices of preference, while frying.

Tip!

Use the entire cauliflower, including stem, and leaves.

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💬 Have you tried this recipe?

What did you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

38 comments

  1. 1
    Ian
    November 16 2015
    Be careful not to run the blender for too long, or you can end up with watery cauliflower.
  2. 2
    Drachula
    January 1 2016
    Ooh, I'll try that. I've been wondering what to use instead.
  3. 3
    PAMELA
    March 10 2016
    Cauliflower rice is listed as strict low carb and yet the carbs are listed as 8, what are the guide lines for strict vs moderate. Also why don't you list the fiber grams for the recipes?
    Reply: #4
  4. 4
    Reply to comment #3 by PAMELA
    Barbara Simoes
    April 3 2016
    I was wondering all of that, too. I'm surprised it wasn't cooked with olive oil drizzled over it, which would add lots of fat calories, proportionally.
  5. 5
    Deb
    June 4 2016
    That's a lot of carbs! Let me know if you get an answer please!
  6. 6
    christine
    June 6 2016
    where are the nutrition facts?
    Replies: #7, #8
  7. 7
    Reply to comment #6 by christine
    Peter Biörck Team Diet Doctor
    June 6 2016
    Hi Christine!

    If you hover your mouse over the symbol for "Strict/Moderate/Liberal Low Carb" on the pictures for all the recipes then you will get that info.

    The amount of displayed carbs is net carbs (Total amount of carbs - fiber).

    But I think there is a problem with the nutrition facts in this recipe. Hopefully that will soon be corrected.

  8. 8
    Reply to comment #6 by christine
    Kristin Berglund Team Diet Doctor
    June 9 2016
    Hi Christine!

    We've altered the recipe and the nutritional facts can be found as described in the answer above. Thank you for your comment!

  9. 9
    Yanina
    July 26 2016
    This is great! I love it and everyone thinks it is rice. :)
  10. 10
    Sue
    August 5 2016
    Very nice! Easy to grate/prepare and a lovely accompaniment to curries.
  11. 11
    stuart
    August 25 2016
    I squeezed excess water out after grating and it worked a treat.
  12. 12
    Niknik
    September 4 2016
    I boil or steam my cauliflower in very little liquid. When it is soft I mash it. The liquid I use is vegetable or chicken broth. Then I add whatever herb or soft veggie I feel like eating.
  13. 13
    Kathy Coffey
    October 1 2016
    I have type 2 diabetes and I'm supposed to have 30-45 carbs per meal plus a 15 carb evening snack. I have lost almost 90 pounds on this plan but should I lower the amount of carbs as the weight loss increases?
  14. 14
    Manon
    November 12 2016
    Hurray! The biggest supermarket in the Netherlands (Albert Heijn) has cauliflower rice in the coolsection, 400 grams for €1,99. Very handy if you don't have the time or the right kitchentools to make it, you can also keep some extra in the freezer.
    It seems that the LCHF is finally kicking in the supermarkets over here!
  15. 15
    Grace
    November 14 2016
    What can you substitute for cilium husk stuff? Would flax seed work instead?
  16. 16
    Debbie C
    January 23 2017
    The New York Times has published a handy article with several low carb recipes for cauliflower and broccoli - the pan roasted cauli with garlic, parsley and rosemary sounds great to me (it also has lemon zest and chilli). Check it out if you're interested: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/dining/cauliflower-and-broccoli-ne...
  17. 17
    J Lance De Foa MD
    March 5 2017
    To add flavour, my wife (una Mexicana) adds a small amount of onion (~1/4 smaller bulb) and some garlic. Though the onion has about double the % digestible carbs, the amount used is low, just for flavour, so it doesn't add much to the digestible carbohydrate total.
  18. 18
    jenalys
    April 21 2017
    This stuff is sooo good! I cooked with a bit of garlic as well.
  19. 1 comment removed
  20. 20
    Peter
    July 26 2017
    Step No. 3 "Add Salt" You've got to be kidding!
  21. 21
    Shannon Dahr
    August 24 2017
    After several attempts to find a healthy alternative to rice and to try to encourage my husband to try new things we had this as a side dish with dinner tonight and I'll tell you it's a winner.
  22. 22
    Parinaz
    March 6 2018
    It is a really good substitute for rice. However, I have read that eating too much of cruciferous vegetables (e.g. cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli) have some negative side effects especially hypothyroidism! but I cannot find how much could be too much? for example, having 200 gr per day would be too much?
  23. 23
    Sherry
    May 29 2018
    I think having what constitutes a serving in all of your recipes would help greatly. At least for me anyways. Thanks for all the recipes and info! I’m new and learning.
  24. 24
    Jenny
    August 3 2018
    This is really nice, my husband has perfected it.Thanks.
  25. 25
    Tim
    August 31 2018
    Hi. Is 3 oz. of butter or coconut oil by volume or weight? I assume volume but want to make sure.
  26. 26
    Jane
    October 3 2018
    Even nicer if you roast it - spread out on a baking sheet, salt, pepper drizzle of olive oil - let it brown slightly = yum
  27. 27
    Annette
    January 20 2019
    Sauteed chopped red pepper, small chunks of roasted pumpkin, peas and coriander added to the cooked cauliflower rice makes for a delicious and colorful dish.
  28. 28
    Ghassan
    January 21 2019
    I made it last night and I added some white onion , bell pepper, cabbage and tuna. Fried them all with butter then added olive oil.

    It was very delicious

  29. 29
    Yvette
    May 19 2019
    I really like this recipe. It is a wonderful substitute to rice. I served it as a side dish to the chicken recipe and felt completely satisfied. Can anyone recommend a good grater for the cauliflower? I used my Ninja but it was very messy and time consuming. Cauliflower rice is definitely something I want to add to my diet.
  30. 30
    Mary
    May 20 2019
    I made this on two occasions . I didn’t have a food processor so I used the pulse option on my blender , took longer but it got it done. I squeezed the liquid off and added it to my stir fry which consists of lemon pepper, curry, onions, garlic, black olives and bell peppers. Best rice ever, a must try.
  31. 31
    Leyla
    May 31 2019
    This was great! I made it with coconut oil, added the turmeric plus some sesame seeds, a tsp of flaxseed meal and sprinkled it with parmesan cheese at the time of serving. My husband and I loved it.
  32. 32
    Rose
    August 31 2019
    This is very good, I made it with stir fry 😋
  33. 33
    Ferdi
    November 4 2019
    does cauliflower rice have a bad smell?
  34. 1 comment removed
  35. 35
    sarai
    May 20 2020
    I HATE CAULIFLOWER! Really... ick! But this recipe? WOW! It's not only edible, but it's also second serving worthy! Even my husband enjoyed this "rice". Kudos to the creator!
  36. 36
    reynold24
    July 6 2020
    id like to know the ingredients for cauliflower fried rice and can you use store soy sauce?
    Reply: #37
  37. 37
    Reply to comment #36 by reynold24
    Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor
    July 6 2020

    id like to know the ingredients for cauliflower fried rice and can you use store soy sauce?

    Use of soy sauce is a personal choice. It contains gluten which many people on a low carb/keto way of eating choose to avoid. Tamari or coconut amnios are good alternatives. I shared your request for a Cauliflower Fried Rice recipe with our Recipe team.

  38. 38
    Lani
    January 7 2021
    I made cauliflower rice today. I didn’t steam it. Firstly I sautéed veggies like garlic, green long beans, shiitake mushrooms and aubergine in Ghee. Once that finished I put some cauliflower rice on top with Mexican spices, salt and pepper. This combo was so goood!
    Reply: #39
  39. 39
    Reply to comment #38 by Lani
    Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor
    January 7 2021

    I made cauliflower rice today. I didn’t steam it. Firstly I sautéed veggies like garlic, green long beans, shiitake mushrooms and aubergine in Ghee. Once that finished I put some cauliflower rice on top with Mexican spices, salt and pepper. This combo was so goood!

    I also like to sauté caulirice. The important thing is to find the way you like it best and you've done that :)

  40. 40
    Eug
    September 25 2021
    This was ace. I’ve come across cauliflower for pizza bases before but not as ‘fried rice’. But the bullet today. But before cooking the ‘rice’ I fried up small pieces of lamb/onion/cumin in coconut oil. Then cooked the butter cauliflower + added the lamb in at the end. Pure tastebud bliss 🎉🎉

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