I’ve been intrigued by the idea of cauliflower “rice” for a while now and boy am I glad I finally tried it. This simple cauliflower rice recipe is pretty basic, but that’s what I wanted, a base for recipes that are served over rice or something I could season up for a more dramatic side. Besides being an awesome grain-free alternative, cauliflower rice takes only minutes from start to finish.
The hardest part is grating the head of cauliflower. Next time, I’ll process it in the food processor. Cut off the inner core and leaves from the head of cauliflower. Then, grate the individual florets and quite a bit of their stems. Finished quantities will depend on the size of your cauliflower, but using the largest one I could find, I got about 4 cups, grated.
I first sautéed a bit of onion and garlic, then just added the cauliflower “rice” and stirred until heated through. This time, I simply seasoned it with salt and pepper because I was going to top it with sauce (stay tuned for that tomorrow). It was tasty just like this, but you could easily kick it up with bold seasonings like turmeric, red pepper flakes, or cumin. Whatever floats your boat! If you’re trying to amp up your veggie intake as well as cut back on grains, here’s a tasty and simple way to do it.
Simple Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 1 large head fresh cauliflower free of brown spots
- 1/2 medium onion finely minced
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive or avocado oil divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove the stem and inner core of the cauliflower. Cut into large florets. Process in a food processor until the cauliflower resembles grains of rice. Be careful not to over-process it. Alternately, using a regular cheese grater on the large hole side, grate all the florets and most of the floret stem.
- Mince the onion and garlic.
- In a medium pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute' for about one minute, until onion begins to soften. Add the garlic and continue to cook until onion just starts to brown, stirring occasionally so garlic doesn't burn.
- Stir in 1/2 tablespoon oil and add the cauliflower. Continue to cook until heated, stirring occasionally.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
