Easy Cheesy Cauliflower Rice Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it cheaper to make cauliflower rice or buy it? ›

Cheaper: Making riced cauliflower from scratch will save you money in the grocery store. A head of cauliflower is cheaper than buying fresh or frozen riced cauliflower. Tastes Great: Because it's made fresh, it also tastes better. You can use it in any recipe that calls for rice.

One additional step I like is to press any excess moisture from the rice by transferring the cauliflower rice to a large paper towel or absorbent dish towel and squeeze/press to remove any remaining water. This ensures no excess moisture remains, which can make your dish soggy.

Leave riced cauliflower on the heat too long and it will become soft and soggy. Follow this tip: Quickly cooked in a little butter or olive oil on the stovetop, riced cauliflower becomes softer and more tender. As a rule of thumb, about three minutes over medium heat and not too oil much should do the trick.

Cauliflower rice is a nutritious alternative to rice that's low in calories and carbs. It may even provide a number of benefits, such as boosting weight loss, fighting inflammation, and even protecting against certain illnesses. What's more, it's simple to make and can be eaten raw or cooked.

However, rice can be high in calories and carbohydrates, meaning it will fill you up without providing you with many additional nutrients. Substituting cauliflower rice for white rice is a great way to get more antioxidants while reducing calories and carbohydrates in order to save room for other nutrient dense foods.

Overcooking It

"When it is riced it's really easy for it to turn mushy from overcooking and then it won't hold up as well in your dishes where you're trying to use it to substitute rice," says Maggie Michalczyk, MS, RD.

It can also serve as a low calorie substitute for high calorie foods, such as rice and flour. As a good source of fiber, cauliflower slows digestion and promotes feelings of fullness. This may help reduce the number of calories you eat throughout the day, an important factor in weight control ( 2 , 9 ).

Some people just don't like the smell of cauliflower. You can minimize it by cooking it quickly, and not overcooking it. Cauliflower rice is chopped into very small pieces, and requires only minimal cooking.

This is true of any vegetable — boiling it will give you a flavor closer to the raw flavor, which means more bitterness and more astringency. Caramelizing it will bring out its hidden sweetness. This light, vibrant roasted cauliflower salad is a recipe I developed for the fall menu at Duo.

It can also taste bitter from a lack of moisture, uneven watering, waiting too long to harvest, or overcooking.

Why does cauliflower rice make me bloated? ›

The reason for this is that cauliflower, as well as other cruciferous veggies, such as kale and broccoli, contains raffinose and other oligosaccharides. These are specific types of sugars that remain undigested until bacteria in the gut ferment them, producing gas, and, in turn, causing bloating and gas.

In recipes like soups or casseroles, where the rice cooks WITH the other ingredients, you have to wait and add the cauliflower rice at the end, so it doesn't get mushy. In recipes like stir fries, burritos, etc. where you use COOKED rice, you can heat your cauli rice and just add it in.

Cauliflower may be just what you're searching for. This versatile veggie can be eaten raw, cooked, roasted, grilled, baked into a pizza crust, or cooked and mashed as a substitute for mashed potatoes. You can even rice cauliflower and serve it in place of white rice.

Cauliflower can develop brown spots due to oxidation, a chemical reaction from prolonged exposure to light and air. But don't fret, you can still make easy cauliflower recipes and your dinner isn't necessarily ruined.

Cauliflower prices are rising due to a lower yield, while demand remains consistent. Quality is fair with good weight and coloring.

Cauliflower is a seasonal vegetable which means its availability comes at certain times. For example, when it's not in season and supply is limited, prices often increase due to higher demand and less availability.

No. Frozen food is just as nutritious as a fresh head of cauliflower. Plus it's a quick and easy alternative to the homemade version, where you either have to use a box grater or a food processor to make cauliflower rice.

Frozen has nearly identical nutritional values to fresh cauliflower rice. Similar to fresh produce that's available to us when it's fully ripened and at its nutritional peak, frozen produce is also processed at its prime, which means vital nutrients are maintained even long after sitting in the freezer aisle for weeks.