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I’ve been eating cauliflower rice for nearly ten years now. I honestly think it is the greatest healthy food swap. The cauliflower isn’t powerful in taste and the texture is still satisfying. It is not overly complicated or time consuming. In fact, it takes less time than making a bowl of white rice.
Making cauliflower “rice” is swapping a starch/carbohydrate for a vegetable – making it a healthy alternative. So while I haven’t completely given in to all the faux healthy food trades happening lately, I do gladly swap cauliflower rice for white rice. And it’s so simple, you should too!
Here is how-to make easy cauliflower rice:
Start with a large head of cauliflower. Cut off the green parts and scrub it lightly with your finger or a vegetable scrubber, just to get the dirt off. Cut it up into manageable pieces and wash and dry it.
The full head of cauliflower florets will not all fit in the food processor at one time, so work in batches. Add a portion of the cleaned cauliflower into the food processor. Use the pulse or grater setting on your food processor. In just a few seconds you’ll get the right size for your cauliflower rice.
You will know you have pulsed enough when the size of the cauliflower is about the size of grain rice. If some pieces are too large just pull them out and work them in the next batch – or leave them – a few larger rice chunks won’t make a difference!
Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 1 Large Head of Cauliflower
- 1 Tablespoon Zucchi Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Wash and scrub any dirt off the cauliflower. Pat dry. Remove all the greens and cut the cauliflower into small florets (small enough to fit in the food processor).
- Using the pulse setting on the food processor, carefully pulse until you have rice size bits of cauliflower. You might need to do this in batches, based on how much cauliflower you have.
- Remove any excess water with a clean towel by pressing out moisture.
- Now that you have the "rice" saute it in a large skillet with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Turn to low heat, cover with a lid until the cauliflower becomes tender but not soggy. It should be done in 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally and test to get the desired texture.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve -- or use in a recipe that calls for rice!
When your rice is made add it to a large pan with 1 tablespoon of EVOO (European extra virgin olive oil) and saute. Turn the heat to a low and cover. This will start steaming the cauliflower rice. Leave it for about 5 minutes to become tender. Stir and taste. Add salt and pepper. Scrape into a serving bowl and serve warm!
**Note: I chose European extra virgin olive oil because it has a high smoke point (400° F) and great taste (compared to overly processed oils with higher acid levels). Europe has a vast history – thousands of years of farming changes evolving into tested and true methods. Europe is famous for great tasting olives and in turn, extra virgin olive oil.
This is your no-frills recipe for easy cauliflower rice. If you want other flavors, you can add soy sauce or even make a Mexican-style rice with taco seasoning and tomatoes. I use cauliflower rice in soups, as a side dish, as fried rice… the options are as plenty as you would use white rice!