Looking for a new way to cook cauliflower rice? I usually use it in my Cauliflower “Fried” Rice because I think the soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari) completely masks the flavor of the cauliflower, as it also does in my Cauliflower Rice Jambalaya, but every now and then I want a different flavor profile. This time, I decided to give the cauliflower rice a Mexican flair with this Mexican Cauliflower Rice Casserole. This Cauliflower Rice Casserole is:
An easy skillet meal, requiring just 30 minutes of hands-on preparation Slightly spicy, which you can adjust to your tastes as you go Loaded with healthy vegetables Vegetarian, but you can make it vegan if you omit the eggs and cheese or you can add meat, if you prefer. Make it your own! Higher in protein, thanks to the addition of protein-rich eggs, without becoming a frittata. (They pretty much go undetected in this dish.) A delicious cross between taco filling and a Mexican Lasagna
In this casserole, the cauliflower rice is almost reminiscent of taco meat thanks to its ground texture and spices. I used Trader Joe’s prepared Cauliflower Rice for convenience, but you can easily make your own by processing cauliflower florets and stems in a food processor, or grating them using the large holes on a box grater.
I made this casserole using fresh tomatoes the first time around, but the flavor wasn’t nearly as good as the second time when I used a box of Pomi chopped tomatoes. I think the boxed tomatoes have a more concentrated flavor, which again helps to hide any “cauliflower flavor” that you might want to avoid, but feel free to use fresh tomatoes if they are in season where you live.
To make this dish heartier and more casserole-like, I added eggs for protein and topped it off with a layer of cheese. It bakes to perfection for a comforting vegetable-packed meal, but if you’d prefer to skip the eggs and cheese, you can simply serve it as a Vegan Mexican Cauliflower Rice Stir-Fry once the vegetables are all tender. (It’s done a lot faster that way, too!) Perhaps top it off with a creamy sweet potato cheese sauce? Or a sprinkling of Cashew Parmesan? These dairy-free options would make it Paleo-friendly, too. However you serve this Mexican-inspired cauliflower rice casserole, I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Substitution Notes:
I haven’t tried this recipe using frozen cauliflower rice, but I would guess it would have a similar result to using the fresh version. Let me know if you try it! If you are trying to avoid nightshades, you might want to try using my Tomato-less Marinara Sauce instead of the chopped tomatoes in this recipe. (And then just skip the bell peppers, too.) As always, if you try another other substitutions, please let us know in the comments below so that others can benefit from your experience.
Enjoy! — Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite way to cook with cauliflower rice?
