Making cauliflower rice in a food processor is a simple and quick way to enjoy a nutritious, low-carb alternative to traditional rice. This versatile ingredient can be sautéed, steamed, or microwaved, making it a perfect base for a variety of dishes.
If you're on a low-carb diet and looking for an effortless way to swap 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, I show you how to quickly make your own at home so that you can enjoy delicious dishes without sacrificing flavor or nutrition.
Jump to:
- How to Purchase and Store Cauliflower
- 3 Ways to Rice Cauliflower
- How To Rice Cauliflower in a Food Processor
- How Long To Cook Cauliflower Rice on The Stove
- For Crispy Cauliflower Rice
- How to FLavor Cauliflower Rice
- Serving Suggestions
- What Goes with Cauliflower Rice?
- FAQ
- How to Make Cauliflower Rice in a Food Processor
How to Purchase and Store Cauliflower
Choose large, firm cauliflower with even color, avoiding any with light brown spots or signs of decay. To store, remove the cauliflower from its packaging and place it in a clean, sealed plastic bag. It's best to keep it whole, but it will stay fresh for about two days if cut up.
3 Ways to Rice Cauliflower
- Food Processor #1 (S-blade)Easily make cauliflower rice by pulsing florets until they reach a rice-like consistency.
- Food Processor #2 (shredding disk) using the shredding disk, you can creat flatter pieces of cauliflowr, more like flakes.
- Box Grater: A great tool that quickly transforms fresh or frozen cauliflower into fine, crumbly pieces without an electric applinace.
How To Rice Cauliflower in a Food Processor
#1 Use the "S blade" of your food processor
Use the "S" blade of your food processor. Remove the green leaves and about 1 inch of the stem from the cauliflower, then coarsely chop the stems and florets.
Lightly pulse small batches of cauliflower until they resemble pea-size pieces of rice. If any large chunks remain, set them aside and process them with the next batch.
#2 Use the shredding disk of your food processor
The shredding disk is a better method of "ricing" cauliflower. Attach the disk to your machine, 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. Use the large holes of a box grater to grate large pieces of cauliflower. Be careful not to cut your fingers. When the pieces get too small to grate, chop them with a knife into tiny pieces.
How Long To Cook Cauliflower Rice on The Stove
- Heat a tablespoon of butter or oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cauliflower and stir to coat.
- Cover the skillet to steam the cauliflower. After three minutes, lift the cover and stir.
- Cover and cook for another three to five minutes until tender. Remove the pan from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.
For Crispy Cauliflower Rice
If you prefer your cauliflower rice crispy, continue cooking following the above directions until the edges start to brown.
This will give the "rice" a darker color and a more pronounced taste. Serve in a bowl with flaked sea salt and sliced avocado for a complete meal.
How to FLavor Cauliflower Rice
Serving Suggestions
Use cauliflower rice as a nutritious substitute for starchy rice in your favorite recipes. It can be enjoyed as a side dish mixed with butter and salt, in stir-fries, with scrambled eggs, or as fried rice. Cauliflower rice pairs perfectly with all your healthy seafood meals, keeping them low-carb with our quick fish and shrimp recipes.
You can also add cauliflower rice to a hot mug of Homemade Bone Broth or Chicken Feet Soup. For a delicious meal, try this recipe with Lemon Basil Roasted Chicken—it will be great!
To take your cauliflower rice to the next level, check out this roundup post of 17 Healthy Cauliflower Rice Recipes.
What Goes with Cauliflower Rice?
Our favorite sides:
- Pan Seared Chuck Steak
- Stovetop Grilled Fajitas
- Roasted Mahi Mahi
- Oven Baked Yellowtail Snapper
- Pan Seared Chicken Breasts
- Roasting a Whole Snapper in The Oven
More Cauliflower Recipes:
- Roast Cauliflower with Carrots
- Crispy Roasted Cauliflower
- Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic
- How Long to Boil Cauliflower
- Best Ways to Cook Cauliflower
- How to Make Roasted Cauliflower Crispy
- Roasted Cauliflower and Asparagus with Carrots
- Oven Roasted Vegetables with Garlic
FAQ
To make cauliflower rice taste great, season cauliflower rice with your favorite herbs, spices, and seasonings. You can cook the rice with soy sauce to make fried rice or Italian seasoning to use in place of pasta. to name a few.
When we were kids, my brothers and I loved to eat pastina. Made by Ronzoni, pastina is tiny bits of pasta shaped like stars. It is the smallest pasta they make.
Free from gluten and factory processing, you can make cauliflower rice and mix it with milk, butter, and salt and it is the perfect substitution!
Skip the microwave! Heat a skillet with a teaspoon of oil or butter over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower and heat, stirring constantly for a minute or so.
How to Make Cauliflower Rice in a Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1 medium head of cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Grating the Cauliflower with "S" Blade Attachment
- Wash and thoroughly dry the cauliflower. Cut out the core, chop it up, and then break the florets into medium-sized pieces. Place a third of the cauliflower (core and florets) in a food processor with the “S” blade, and pulse slowly until cauliflower is pea-size.
- Any big pieces can be run through in your next batch. It should take about three batches to do one head of cauliflower depending on the size of your food processor and your cauliflower.
Grating the Cauliflower with Shredding Disk
- Attach the shredding disk to your machine and push the cauliflower through the feeder.
How To Steam Cauliflower RIce in a Skillet
- Heat a tablespoon of butter or oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add cauliflower. Stir to coat the cauliflower with oil and cover the skillet. 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.
How To Roast Cauliflower (no fat method)
- Scatter the cauliflower on a sheet pan without crowding the pan and place in a hot oven (350 or 400 degrees F) for 5 minutes.
Notes
- Pan Seared Chuck Steak
- Stovetop Grilled Fajitas
- Roasted Mahi Mahi
- Oven Baked Yellowtail Snapper
- Pan Seared Chicken Breasts
- Roasting a Whole Snapper in The Oven
Nutrition
