We love serving it with a wholesome soup, earthy stew, or creamy curry instead of regular rice or bread. Check out our best vegetable sides recipe collection!
Ingredients
Cauliflower
Instructions
Variations
Storage
More cauliflower recipes
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
Mushroom tofu cutlets: satiating tofu cutlets with sauteed mushroomsPizzaiola tofu steaks: a 15-minute dinner with a rich tomato sauceChickpea soup with authentic Italian flavor and fresh herbsLentil curry: a super simple curry and a guaranteed crowd pleaser
Serve it as a vegetable addition to a salad, for example:
Easy chickpea salad with fresh vegetables and a creamy mustard dressingBlack bean salad with roasted sweet potatoesQuinoa salad with chickpeas: a quick lunch idea ready in 20 minutes!Avocado salad with greens, tomatoes, and a creamy vinaigrette
Chickpea Salad
Black Bean Salad
Quinoa Chickpea Salad
Avocado Salad
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. 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
Cauliflower curry: ready in just 30 minutes, a veggie-packed weeknight dinner!Cheesy cauliflower pastaChickpea and cauliflower saladLentil salad with roasted cauliflowerCreamy cauliflower soup
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:
Cauliflower curry
Cauliflower Soup
Cauliflower Salad
Cauliflower Lentil Salad
Red cabbage slaw with apple and carrot.Pear salad with orange and ricotta.Shaved Brussel sprout salad with a mustard-syrup dressing.Easy zucchini salad with raw zucchini, pine nuts, and cherry tomatoes.
For many more side dish ideas, check out our sides category page.
Red Cabbage Slaw
Zucchini Salad
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
Fennel and Orange Salad
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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”]
