Are you all over Cauliflower rice? Or still wondering what the heck cauliflower rice is?!

When we first heard that you can make rice out of cauliflower, we were like ‘what the flip’?! It seemed a bit crazy to us!

Then we tried it. It was life changing! No longer were we stuck with rice that made us feel bloated, and we had something to soak up all of that delicious sauce from our curries and stir-fries! We now can’t imagine life without cauliflower rice!

What is Cauliflower rice?

Cauliflower rice is simply ‘rice’ made out of cauliflower! The cauliflower is grated, blitzed or pulsed into rice like granules- a low carb replacement for rice and quinoa! It’s the perfect grain alternative!

Why Cauliflower Rice?

Discovering Cauliflower opened up a whole new world of Paleo cooking for us. Previously, we were enjoying curries and stir-fries without the rice, usually on a bed of greens. Now we have a filler – an extra vegetable to pad out our meals, and mop up all of that delicious sauce!

Cauliflower rice is easy to make and it tastes delicious! Plus, it’s a great way to add an extra serve of veggies and nutrients into your meals. After eating a bowl of cauli-rice you will be feeling left light and satiated, rather than heavy, bloated and sluggish after you eat rice.

Not to mention Cauliflower has so many incredible health benefits!

Cauliflower is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. Just a one-cup serving of cauliflower contains at least 73% or more of the recommended daily value of vitamin C, which helps to reduce inflammation, boost immunity and keep the body free of harmful bacteria and infections.
Cauliflower is also a good source of Vitamin K, which is a fat soluble vitamin, meaning it is absorbed in the intestines along with fat. This is one reason why eating cauliflower along with a good quality fat like coconut oil is important.
It helps improve digestion and detoxification, it support’s proper nutrient absorption and toxin and waste removal.
Cauliflower is a great weight loss aid! It’s extremely low in calories, with very low levels of carbs and sugar, and yet is high in volume and filling fibre. This makes it an excellent choice for those looking to lose weight, since you can consume large amounts of cauliflower and fill up, without over-consuming calories, fat, sugar, or carbs.

How to Make Cauliflower Rice

So how do you make cauliflower? Follow our steps below to make perfect cauliflower rice every time!

1. Wash the Cauliflower

Wash the cauliflower thoroughly in cold, running water just before cooking.

2. Prepare the Cauliflower

Remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower. Loosely break up the cauliflower into florets. It doesn’t have to be perfect, we are breaking them up so that it can fit into the food processor and be ‘pulsed’ easier

Place the florets into a food processor and ‘pulse’/’process’ the florets until they resemble rice granules. This usually only takes a few lots of pulsing, it breaks down to granules very quickly.

*Don’t have a food processor? You can easily hand grate the cauliflower. The granules wont be as small, instead they will be a slightly chunkier texture, but it will still look and taste delicious!

3. Cook the Cauliflower rice

There are a number of ways to cook cauliflower rice. You can bake it, cook it in the microwave, or even steam the rice. But our all time favourite way is to sauté them in oil. Just follow our easy steps:

Add a small amount of coconut oil to a pan and heat on low-medium temperature.
Add the cauliflower and sauté for 10-15 minutes, until the cauliflower is soft. Keep an eye on it as you don’t want it to go soggy.
Season with salt and pepper.
Use as the base for your favourite curry, casserole or stir-fry!

Flavour combos

You can really customise the cauliflower rice to compliment your meal.

You can sauté onion and garlic until soft, prior to adding the cauliflower to the pan, to give extra flavour and texture. You can then add fresh herbs and spices to the pan.

When pairing with an Indian curry, we recommend adding turmeric and saffron
When cooking Asian/Thai inspired dishes we recommend adding chilli, garlic and coriander. Lime would also be delish!
When cooking Mexican inspired dishes add lime, coriander, shallots and cracker pepper.

Our top tips

You can prepare the cauli-rice and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Cauli-rice also freezes well, so you portion the rice in ziplock bags and jut add it to the pan frozen when ready to use!
Don’t overcrowd the food processor when blitzing into granules – you can do half of the cauliflower at a time
Mix up the herbs and spices to keep it fun!

Different ways to enjoy Cauliflower Rice

As a base for stir-fries, curries and casseroles.
Create your own fried rice or Spanish rice
Used raw in salads
In burrito bowls
In our delicious Paleo Green Curry dish!

Yum! We are seriously drooling just imagining all of the amazing cauliflower rice dishes that we could make!

If you are interested in what other favourite foods you can make healthier alternatives for, check out our Top 6 paleo Substitutes here.

Nourishing Your Essence – always!

Matt and Nat