Cauliflower rice is the perfect vegetable side dish for a quick lunch or light dinner. It’s easy to make in just 10 minutes with three simple ingredients.

We love serving it with a wholesome soup, earthy stew, or creamy curry instead of regular rice or bread.

Cauliflower rice with lemon and parsley

Check out our best vegetable sides recipe collection!

Our cauliflower rice recipe is cauliflower grated with a box grater or processed in a food processor, then lightly cooked on the stove and served as if it were regular rice.

Of course, cauliflower rice does not taste like rice; it has fewer calories and carbs and won’t make you as full.

However, if you are looking for a low-calorie, low-carb, and high antioxidants alternative to regular rice or bread, you might want to give this recipe a shot.

Its neutral flavor and appealing texture make it the perfect side dish for curries, soups, stews, stir-fries, or any meal with a sauce.

We love eating it for a light and nutritious dinner, then saving the leftovers and using them for a quick and light lunch.

Because it’s so versatile, you can also use it in wraps, tacos, burritos, salads, or toasted bread with a spoonful of hummus.

cauliflower rice in a pot

Ingredients

cauliflower rice ingredients

Cauliflower

We make cauliflower rice with a fresh, large, white cauliflower head. Half a cauliflower will feed 3 to 4 people. If you make more, you can store the leftovers for several days.

We use both the cauliflower florets and the stem.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice, freshly squeezed, is a great flavor match with cauliflower. You can substitute lime juice for lemon.

Parsley

Flat-leave parsley, lemon, and cauliflower are also a perfect match.

If you use lime instead of lemon, you could substitute cilantro for parsley and make more Mexican-tasting cauliflower rice.

Chives, dill, and mint are other fresh herbs that go well with cauliflower rice.

Salt and pepper

We use sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Extra virgin olive oil

We don’t add olive oil to this recipe; however, if you want to add extra flavor to the cauliflower rice, you could drizzle it with some good quality extra virgin olive oil. You can sub avocado oil for olive oil.

Extra spices and flavors

Try grated garlic cloves, ground cumin, paprika, smokey chipotle powder, curry powder, and more.

Cauliflower is a blank canvas you can color with your favorite herbs and spices.

Instructions

Rinse, dry, and cut the cauliflower in half. Now chop each half into three large chunks.

Cauliflower on a cutting board

Grate each piece with the large holes of a box grater. 

Tip: grate the cauliflower starting from the florets so that the stem keeps the pieces together while you grate.

If you prefer, you can use a food processor with a grater attachment, making sure not to over-process the cauliflower, or it’ll turn mushy when you cook it. Pulse the cauliflower instead of blending continuously.

Grate the cauliflower

Transfer the grated cauliflower to a large non-stick pan or skillet, add the juice of a lemon without the seeds, and cook cauliflower rice on medium heat for about 4 minutes, moving it around often and without letting it brown.

Tip: restrain from using high heat, as the cauliflower will brown too quickly. Keep the heat to medium-low.

Cauliflower rice on a pan

When the cauliflower is tender and there’s no excess moisture on the pan, add a handful of finely chopped parsley, salt, and pepper, then taste and adjust.

Cauliflower rice ready to serve

That’s it; in 10 minutes, we have an easy side dish to go together with many of our soups, stews, curries, or any main dish you choose.

Cauliflower rice and bean stew

Serving suggestions

This cauliflower rice is an easy vegetable side dish with tofu, legumes, and salads. Serve it with plant-based proteins such as:

Serve it as a vegetable addition to a salad, for example:

Variations

Lime and cilantro cauliflower rice

cauliflower rice with hands

You can change the flavors of this cauliflower rice by simply changing the herbs and the seasoning. For instance, substitute cilantro and lime for parsley and lemon for a more Mexican flavor.

Also, you can add spices such as paprika, turmeric, or ground cumin to make this meal even more exotic.

Oven-roasted cauliflower rice

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Transfer the raw cauliflower rice onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and season with olive oil, salt, and black pepper.

Toss and bake for about 10 minutes, until tender.

Storage

Cauliflower rice keeps for three days in the refrigerator; best if stored in an airtight container.

We reheat it in the microwave, but a pan with a dash of water would do too.

If you have people over for dinner, you can grate the cauliflower up to one day in advance and store it in the refrigerator.

This way, you’ll just have to cook it on a pan without having to do the grating and cleaning up.

Questions

Is cauliflower rice good for you?

Yes, cauliflower is a very healthy vegetable that has several health benefits. It’s nutritionally dense and low in calories, and it has high fiber content and antioxidants, including sulforaphane (associated with reduced cancer, heart disease, and diabetes risk).

Can you eat raw cauliflower rice?

Yes, you can eat raw cauliflower rice safely; however, some people might experience gas and bloat from raw cauliflower due to some hard-to-digest sugars found in cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli).

To avoid bloating, we recommend cooking the cauliflower rice lightly.

Does cauliflower rice taste like rice?

No, it doesn’t. It tastes like cauliflower.

More cauliflower recipes

If you love cooking with cauliflower, get fresh inspiration from these wholesome cauliflower recipes:

More vegetable side ideas

If you’re looking to increase your veggie intake, look no further! Here are some of our favorite greens with plenty of delicious flavors:

For many more side dish ideas, check out our sides category page.

Cauliflower rice and wooden spoon

Cauliflower Rice

By: Nico Pallotta
5 from 4 votes
Cauliflower rice is the perfect vegetable side dish for a quick lunch or light dinner. It's easy to make in just 10 minutes with three simple ingredients.
We love serving it with a wholesome soupearthy stew, or creamy curry instead of regular rice or bread.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Side dish
Cuisine: American

Equipment

  • Box grater or food processor with grating disk attachment

Ingredients

  • ½ head of a large cauliflower
  • 1 medium lemon the juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
  • 2 twists black pepper
  • 1 handfull parsley finely chopped

Instructions 

  • Rinse, dry, and cut off the leaves of a large cauliflower.
    Cut the cauliflower in half, then chop each half into three large chunks.
    Cauliflower on a cutting board
  • Grate each piece with the large holes of a box grater.
    Tip: grate the cauliflower starting from the florets so that the stem keeps the pieces together while you grate.
    If you prefer, you can use a food processor with a grater attachment, making sure not to over-process the cauliflower, or it'll turn mushy when you cook it.
    Grate the cauliflower
  • Transfer the grated cauliflower onto a large non-stick pan, add the lemon juice, and cook on medium heat for 4 minutes.
    Stir often without letting it brown.
    Cauliflower rice on a pan
  • When the cauliflower is tender add a handful of finely chopped parsley, salt, and pepper, then taste and adjust.
    Cauliflower rice ready to serve
  • Serve instead or rice with your favorite stews, curries, stir-fries, tacos, wraps, and more.
    Cauliflower rice and bean stew

Notes

Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 portion of cauliflower rice out of 4.

Nutrition

Calories: 47kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Potassium: 494mg, Dietary Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 30IU, Vitamin B6: 0.3mg, Vitamin C: 87mg, Vitamin E: 0.2mg, Vitamin K: 28µg, Calcium: 43mg, Folate: 89µg, Iron: 1mg, Manganese: 0.3mg, Magnesium: 26mg, Zinc: 0.4mg
Tried this recipe? Leave a comment below or mention @theplantbasedschool on Instagram. We are also on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok.

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[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”UDSa3oNe” upload-date=”2022-02-24T06:31:54.000Z” name=”cauliflower rice.mov” description=”Cauliflower rice is the perfect side dish to curries, stews, and anything with a sauce. It’s easy to make in just 10 minutes with a few simple ingredients.

We love serving it with our chickpea stew or with our beans in tomato sauce to make a complete and wholesome everyday dinner.” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]


Nico and Louise in the kitchen

Hi! We are Nico & Louise

Welcome to The Plant-Based School, a food blog with easy, tasty, and wholesome recipes.

Our aim is to help you and your family eat more veggies through delicious recipes with simple ingredients.

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