Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you’ve definitely heard about the new favorite food trend, cauliflower rice. It has the shape of rice (or couscous or shredded cheese, depending on how you grate it!) and it can serve the same purpose as rice, but it is definitely not rice! It is cauliflower, which is finely grated to turn this cruciferous vegetable (same family as kale, broccoli, cabbage, etc.) into a low-carb, super healthy substitute for rice.
It’s simple to make…you take a head of cauliflower, remove the leaves and stems and grate the florets into small rice-like pieces. You can do this with a box grater or you can take cut florets in batches and pulse them in a food processor. If this sounds like too much for you, you’re in luck! Trader Joe’s now sells bags of this amazing stuff in both the produce and freezer section. I prefer the one in the freezer section because it is organic and obviously lasts longer than the other, but keep in mind that it does contain salt (270 mg per bag) so you may not need to add much salt during your cooking process. The best part is you don’t need to thaw it before cooking. I simply bang the bag against the counter a few times to break it up and throw it right in the pan!
Like traditional rice, cauliflower rice is totally versatile and mixes well with most veggies, all greens, any protein or basically anything you want to add to it. I like to make a big batch on Sundays and keep it around for the week (if it doesn’t all get eaten by Monday!). Here is my base recipe for Cauliflower Rice…be sure to check back for some of my favorite variations coming soon to Liv-Light.com.
Ingredients:
- 6 cups riced cauliflower or 2 bags of Trader Joe’s frozen cauliflower rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1-2 garlic gloves, minced
Directions:
Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until soft and lightly browned. Add riced cauliflower and sauté until cooked through.