It may sound strange, but Cauliflower Rice is a great alternative for rice in a low-carb, grain-free diet! Tips on how to make easy cauliflower rice.
So….have you ever heard of cauliflower rice? I’ll admit that up until 6 months ago, the only time I ate cauliflower was if it was cut up small and smothered in ranch dip.
I truly have come a long way.
Is cauliflower rice better than rice?
After we set out on our Whole30 journey, I found something called Cauliflower Rice. So is cauliflower rice better than rice? Although it can be used interchangeably in recipes, they definitely don’t taste the same. It is lower in carbs and grain free so in that way is “better”.
How does cauliflower rice taste?
I’ll have to say that we were all pleasantly surprised. I really thought it would have a weird taste, but it doesn’t. Sometimes the rice has a stronger”veggie” aroma than other times, but I have a fairly sensitive nose and this has never turned me off from eating it.
If you add seasonings such as stir-fry sauces, butter or a coconut milk gravy, the cauliflower taste will mostly be masked.
How do you make cauliflower rice?
You’ll need a washed head of cauliflower, a food processor and a Ziploc Zip & Steam bag.
Cut the cauliflower heads off and cut or break them into small pieces. Put the cauliflower pieces into your food processor. We love our Ninja…you can buy one here.
Process that cauliflower until you have little rice-size pieces.
Then you’ll take those tiny pieces of raw cauliflower and empty them into a Ziploc Zip & Steam bag. If you’ve never used one of these bags, you’re missing out. It makes steamed veggies so easy! Whatever type of veggies you love, just throw them into the bag, seal it, and microwave them from 3-6 minutes. So simple that there’s really no excuse why you can’t be eating steamed veggies! You can find these where the Ziploc bags are in the store or you can purchase them here.
I cook about 1 1/2 cups of cauliflower rice for about 3 minutes in our microwave. It really doesn’t take long!
Can you freeze cauliflower rice?
Yes! After you rice the cauliflower, blot it dry with a paper towel so there is not extra moisture. Then place it in the portion sizes you’d like in a freezer bag. Seal and freeze for up to 6 months. This makes meal prepping for your Whole30 so easy!
Where to buy cauliflower rice?
If you don’t feel like making your own cauliflower rice or need a few bags to pop in the freezer, you can buy them at your local grocery store. I know they sell it at Aldi, Kroger, Trader Joes and Meijer. Look in the freezer vegetable section.
What do you use cauliflower rice for?
This Cauliflower Rice is simple to make, and we’ve used it in so many of our standard recipes that call for rice. Our favorite times to use cauliflower rice are when we have burritos or for making fried rice. I’ll be sharing recipes over time that can use cauliflower rice, so here’s how we make it!
Rice Recipes
I dare you to give it a try. You could even give yourself time to get used to the change by adding in just a little bit of cauliflower rice when you make normal grain rice. Then slowly replace more of the grain rice with cauliflower until you’ve completely switched over.
What are some of your favorite rice dishes that you think this would work in? Here are a few of ours:

Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- food processor
- 1 Ziploc Zip & Steam bag
Instructions
- Wash and cut the cauliflower into small pieces.
- Put the cauliflower pieces into your food processor and process it until it is in rice-size pieces.
- Put the rice into a Ziploc Zip & Steam bag and cook in the microwave for about 3 minutes, or according to the directions on the bag.
- Serve the cauliflower rice as you would normally serve rice.
Kim @ Too Much Time says
I discovered cauliflower rice when I did my Whole 30 last spring and I still like to use it. What a great way to get some extra nutrients into a meal and it really does taste good!If you get a second this weekend, I would be excited if you stopped my to share this at my linky party, Get Schooled Saturday!
xxx
Kim from Too Much Time on My Hands
http://too-much-time.com/2014/01/get-schooled-saturday-110.html
Lizzy T says
Cauliflower rice is a pretty ingenious idea! Congrats on your Whole 30. We did one last summer and are about to start another one! Thanks for stopping by!
Andrea Fogleman says
I love this idea. My hubby is anti vegetable and I too have to hide veggies. Thanks for sharing!
Lizzy T says
I hope you guys like this! We try to find as many ways to hide veggies as we can 🙂
Christopher James says
All I can say is those chicken recipes look yummy
Lizzy T says
Thank you so much!
Allison says
I’ve used it in veggie fried “rice”. Turns out great!
Lizzy T says
Yes, Allison…one of my favorite ways to have it!
Nanci P says
My sister made this for me. I use turmeric, and other seasonings, fresh herbs, to jazz it up too. Yum
Lizzy T says
I love to add spice, depending on the dish we are creating. It never gets old! 🙂
Lisa @ Cooking with Curls says
I love cauliflower rice! I need to give microwaving it a try, one less pan to clean, LOL
[email protected] says
I really need to give this a try! Love the idea of more veggies 🙂
Amanda Edwards says
I have been working on and tirelessly (sp?) Researching paleo eating habits for myself and am always amazed at all of the “out-of-the-box” thinking that I am coming across. I am definitely going to try the cauliflower rice. Keep those ideas flowing.
Lizzy T says
Amanda,
It’s like relearning to cook! But we’ve been working on turning some of our favorite comfort foods into paleo-friendly meals. Stay tuned!
Peggy says
Can you freeze the cooked caulirice?
Julie Clark says
I think you can.