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How to Make and Cook Cauliflower Rice

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Cauliflower is not just a perfect low-carb and grain-free alternative to rice and potatoes. If you follow a healthy low-carb diet, you should always have some cauli-rice ready in your fridge.

Al you need to make cauli-rice is either a food processor with a grating blade, an S blade , or even a hand grater if you don't have any of these. Check out the recipe below for more information on how to do this step by step.

Cooking Tips

Steaming: Place in a steam pot and cook for 5-7 minutes. Otherwise, place in an airtight container and store up to 4 days.

Microwaving: Place the processed cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cook on medium-high for 5-7 minutes. You won't need any water when cooking in the microwave. Season with salt and pepper (if desired).

Pan roasting: You can briefly cook the "rice" on a pan greased with butter or ghee or add directly to the pot with meat or sauce you plan to serve it with.

Oven cooking: Preheat the oven to 200 °C/ 400 °F (fan assisted), or 220 °C/ 425 °F (conventional). Spread the grated cauli-rice over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cook for 12-15 minutes flipping 2-3 times.

You can even make cauli-rice in a blender - what a great idea! You can keep the cauli-rice sealed in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Hands-on Overall

Serving size about 150 g/ 5.3 oz

Allergy information for How to Make and Cook Cauliflower Rice

✔  Gluten free
✔  Dairy free
✔  Egg free
✔  Nut free
✔  Nightshade free
✔  Pork free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Coconut free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free
✔  Beef free
Pescatarian
Vegetarian
Vegan

Nutritional values (per serving, about 150 g/ 5.3 oz)

Net carbs3.6 grams
Protein2.3 grams
Fat0.3 grams
Calories30 kcal
Calories from carbs 54%, protein 35%, fat 11%
Total carbs6 gramsFiber2.4 gramsSugars2.3 gramsSaturated fat0.2 gramsSodium36 mg(2% RDA)Magnesium18 mg(5% RDA)Potassium359 mg(18% EMR)

Ingredients (makes 8 servings)

  • 1 large head cauliflower (1.2 kg/ 2.6 lb)

Instructions

  1. Remove the leaves and the hard centre core of the cauliflower and cut into florets. How to Make and Cook Cauliflower Rice
  2. Grate with a hand grater or in a food processor with a grating or an S blade. Pulse until it looks like rice. A grating blade will make it look closer to real rice. Don't overdo it - it only takes a few more seconds to make purée out of it. If you don't have any of these, use a hand grater.
  3. Place in an airtight container and store up to 4 days. How to Make and Cook Cauliflower Rice

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, about 150 g/ 5.3 oz)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Cauliflower, fresh
3.6 g2.3 g0.3 g30 kcal
Total per serving, about 150 g/ 5.3 oz
3.6 g2.3 g0.3 g30 kcal

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Martina Slajerova
Creator of KetoDietApp.com

Martina Slajerova

I changed the way I ate in 2011, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. I had no energy, and I found it more and more difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

That’s when I decided to quit sugar, grains, and processed foods, and to start following a whole-foods-based ketogenic approach to food.

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Comments (21)

Can this be Frozen?  After Cooking not before.  I have tried Freezing some Foods before cooking and they just smelled up my Freezer.

Hi Cathy, I do freeze my cauli-rice when I know I won't be able to use it but have to admit that it is not the same. It's ok but I prefer to keep it in the fridge, in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

I have a tip for this rice. After its cooked. Sautee in 1 5BSP of vegetable oil, 1 clove of minced fresh garlic. When garlic is beginning to cook, add the cauliflower and mix well. If you want to look like Spanish rice, put some sweet paprika and mix well. Its delicious!

Thank you Roberta, you may like this recipe: Keto Golden Cauliflower Couscous
Also, I'd avoid vegetable oils and use healthy fats instead: Complete Guide to Fats & Oils on a Low-Carb Ketogenic Diet

I'm wondering if I could use frozen cauliflower, thawed, to make the rice, or would it be too mushy to process properly?  I don't have access to fresh cauliflower where I live.  Thanks.

It may be too mushy if you do that. I usually grate fresh cauliflower and then freeze it (uncooked) and defrost in the fridge as needed. That seems to be working best.

When I grate the cauli through the processor, it is wet and spoils too fast if I don't use it all of it right away. How do I dry it to preserve it from spoiling and how many cards does .75 cups have. My app shows 9gr of carbs. Is that correct?

Hi Oxana, I keep mine in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. 1 cup of raw cauli-rice is only 6 grams of total and 3.6 g of net carbs. The reason is that most apps and websites use crowdsourcing to build their food databases and there isn't much they do to prevent errors. Their priority is quantity rather than quality. As a result, you may end up with missing or inaccurate macros. I explained more about what we do in our app to prevent this in this post: Barcode Scanning and Food Database in the KetoDiet App
We use verified sources so our calculations are accurate (this includes my books). I hope this helps!

You can make this with frozen cauliflower. I partially defrost, then chop in Cuisinart.

I am going to try to put this into stuffed peppers tonight.  Any suggestions that are not already here?

Hi Barb, I would precook the cauli-rice in a pan with some ghee or duck fat, chopped onion and/ or garlic and cook it for 5 minutes (this will add flavour). Then mix it with the stuffing and bake 😊

I made fried rice with it. So yummy. Cook half head of cauli rice in oil til slightly brown. Add stir fry veggies and cook about 4 min. make a well and pout 2 slightly beaten eggs in the middle. Scramble and slowly pull in other ingredients. Add pepper and soy sauce..

Sounds delicious!! 😊

Have you ever tried freezing it after you've riced it (either before or after cooking)?  Just wondering if that would work for longer-term storage.

Hi Kitty, yes I tried freezing it but only before cooking. I haven't tried freezing it after cooking - I thought it was more practical as it only take 5-10 minutes to cook.

Thanks for the tips, I've never tried oven roasting! I bet it makes it crispy and dry - maybe closer to real rice 😉

It does - oven roasting reduces the moisture 😊

I LOVE cauliflower and always chop and microwave it and keep it sealed in the fridge. Then I add it in meat sauces or even scrambled eggs. I will try the food processor & water method, it looks very easy! 😊

I've been doing the same - adding to scrambled eggs! 😊

I'm going to try it with eggs tomorrow.  this rice was DELICIOUS.  Thanks so much for this website

I'm glad you liked it Judi! Cauliflower is amazing for anything from "rice" to "potato" mash 😊