How to Make Cauliflower Rice

If you're looking for an easy way to swap out white rice for something healthier, cauliflower rice might be your answer! Packed with nutrients, cauliflower rice is versatile and can be used in all sorts of tasty dishes.

In this post we'll show you how to quickly make your own at home so that you can enjoy delish dishes without sacrificing on flavor or nutrition.

How to Purchase and Store Cauliflower

When at the grocery store of farmer's market, look for large firm cauliflower with even color. Light brown spots on the outer florets are a sign of decay and mold formation. If you're in the store and see brown, or it looks like the brown areas were cut away (large areas of flat spots), do not purchase.

To store your cauliflower, remove it from its original packaging and place it in a clean, sealed plastic bag. Preferably, you should leave it whole, but it will still be good for about two days if you cut it up.

Organic farm fresh cauliflower is your best bet. Next, unblemished organic fresh supermarket cauliflower. Frozen cauliflower is always an option, but use fresh vegetables when available for maximum nutrition.

Cauliflower is low in calories and high in fiber (3g per cup)--making it an excellent choice.

3 Ways to Rice Cauliflower

You can easily make cauliflower rice using a food processor. If you don't have one or don't feel like getting yours dirty, use a box grater.

A box grater is an incredibly versatile kitchen tool that can make quick work of turning your fresh or frozen whole cauliflower into fine crumbly pieces.

Here are three different ways to make cauliflower rice.

#1 Use the "S blade" of your food processor

1. Remove green leaves and about 1-inch of the stem from the cauliflower and coarsely chop up stems and florets.
2. Using your food processor with the "S" blade in place, lightly pulse small batches of cauliflower into pea-size pieces that resemble rice.
3. When most of it is in small pieces, pull out any remaining chunks and run them through in the next batch.

#2 Use the shredding disk of your food processor

Using the shredding disk is a better method of "ricing" the cauliflower. Just attach the disk to your machine (if you still have it) and push the cauliflower through the feeder. The cauliflower is shredded evenly in seconds.

#3 Use a box grater

If you don't want to pull out the food processor, you can grate the cauliflower by hand.

To "rice" cauliflower with a box grater, grate large pieces on the large holes of the grater. Be careful not to cut your fingers. When the pieces get too small to grate, chop them with a knife into tiny pieces.

How To Cook Cauliflower Rice on The Stove

Heat a tablespoon of butter or oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add cauliflower. Stir to coat with the fat and cover the skillet to steam the cauliflower.

After three minutes, lift cover and stir. Cover and cook another three to five minutes until tender. Remove pan from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.

If You Want Crispy Cauliflower Rice

I like this dish on the crispy side. It will make the "rice" a little darker with a more pronounced taste.

Following directions above, continue cooking the cauliflower until you see the edges of each piece start to brown. This is how we like to eat it.

I put it in a bowl with some flaked sea salt and a sliced avocado for a whole meal.

Serving Suggestions

In place of starchy rice, use cauliflower rice in your favorite recipes .

It can be used as a side dish mixed with butter and salt, in stir-fries, mixed in with scrambled eggs, and fried rice, to name a few.

Try this recipe with Lemon Basil Roasted Chicken--it will be great!

Try Some Other Easy and Healthy Vegetable Recipes

• Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic
• Roast Cauliflower with Carrots
• Plain Roasted Cauliflower
• Oven Roasted Broccoli
• Roasted Broccoli with Garlic
• Oven Roasted Asparagus
• 17 Best Healthy Cauliflower Rice Recipes

Questions & Answers