This Whole30 Cauliflower Rice comes together in just 20 minutes and turns out fluffy and flavorful. Lightly seasoned with simple ingredients, it’s an easy low-carb side dish that works for weeknight dinners, meal prep, and quick bowl bases.
"Made this one night, and it's a game-changer! Lightly seasoned, low-carb, and ready in just 15 minutes. A new dinner table staple for sure". -Elena
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ⏲️Ready In: 20 Minutes
- 👪Serves: 4
- 🍽 Calories and Protein: 150 kcals and 6 grams of protein
- 📋Main Ingredients: Cauliflower, sweet onion, olive oil, and garlic powder.
- 📖 Dietary Notes: Dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, keto-friendly, vegan, and Whole30-approved.
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: It’s quick, clean, and lightly seasoned, making it the perfect low-carb side that pairs with almost any Whole30 or paleo meal.
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Cauliflower rice has become a go-to low-carb swap for busy families, and for good reason, it’s quick to cook, easy to flavor, and works as a base for so many meals (these tuna stuffed peppers are another great example of turning simple veggies into dinner). I love that you can keep it Whole30-compliant, use fresh or frozen cauliflower, and pair it with proteins like air fryer steak bites with soy sauce for an easy, balanced plate.
But honestly? My favorite part is that my kids actually ask for this cauliflower rice. It stays fluffy (not watery), reheats well for meal prep, and slides right into bowls, wraps, or quick dinners, and when kids are requesting vegetables, that’s a total mom win.
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💭Why You'll Love This Recipe
Fluffy: This paleo cauliflower rice comes out fluffy, not soggy, for a light base to any bowl.
Versatile: It can be used as a quick side dish, the base to a protein bowl, or mixed into other recipes.
Easy to flavor: Enjoy the cauliflower rice in different ways by mixing and matching some seasonings.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cauliflower: If you don't want to shred your own, know that you can use frozen cauliflower rice in place of freshly grated. Of course, if you have extra, here are some easy cauliflower recipes as well as unique ways to use cauliflower.
- Seasonings: The seasonings are very versatile and can be adjusted based on your flavor preferences.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Flavor Variations
Spice: Want a kick of heat to your rice? Add in a few red pepper flakes while you're cooking. This pairs nicely with my spicy, healthy chicken bites.
Cheesy: Come, nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan will add a comforting flavor, almost fajita-like.
Fried cauliflower rice: Adding in peas, mushrooms, or sprouts makes it a more complete side dish and more like fried cauliflower rice.
How To Make Whole30 Cauliflower Rice
Step 1: Grate the cauliflower and heat the olive oil slightly over medium heat. Stir-fry the onions until mostly clear.
Step 2: Add half the grated cauliflower to the pan and begin to cook for a few minutes before adding the remaining ingredients.
Step 3: Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes. Remover cover and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring once or twice.
Step 4: Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from the heat to serve.
Expert Tips
The reason you only add half the cauliflower at a time is so that a bit of its juices can burn off before adding the rest.
To keep the cauliflower rice from getting mushy, you want to let the steam escape in the last few minutes of cooking, which is why you uncover the pan.
Cauliflower rice can be stored once cooled, in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To keep it fluffy, reheat it in a skillet and not the microwave.
How To Use Whole30 Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower rice is a great low-carb addition to any meal. We use it the most:
- a base for bowl (like this Buddha Bowl or keto shrimp fried rice)
- in place of pasta
- as a side dish to something like teriyaki chicken skewers, smoked chuck roast or whole chicken in Dutch Oven, or even easy turkey smash burgers. Top it with green onions, and that's all you need.
If you're not aiming for low-carb, this gluten-free sweet potato casserole and vegan risotto are wicked side dishes for larger meals.
Whole30 Cauliflower Rice FAQs
Yes, you can use frozen cauliflower rice for the base of this recipe. Let it thaw and then cook it with the seasonings, making sure to get as much liquid out before serving.
Cauliflower rice becomes watery when not enough steam has been released from the pan or the pan is overcrowded. To fix this, start by cooking your cauliflower rice in batches and make sure that you cook it uncovered to release steam.
More Easy Recipes You'll Love
If you tried this Whole30 Cauliflower Rice Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes!
Whole30 Cauliflower Rice
Video
Ingredients
- 2 heads cauliflower 6 cups ish shredded
- ½ sweet onion chopped (one overflowing cup)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 cracks pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Grate the cauliflower using a cheese grater. Or, add it slowly into a food processor. When finished, you’ll have roughly six cups.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil over slightly over medium heat. Saute the onion until clear.
- Add half the grated cauliflower to the pan and begin to cook for 4 minutes. Add the remaining cauliflower and the spices.
- Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, stiring every so often. Once the rice is starting to brown on the bottom, remove the cover and cook for 5 more minutes, stiring once or twice to release all the steam.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat to serve.
Notes
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
Hanna says
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Anonymous says
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Dev says
A family member of mine was recently told to eat a low carb diet for health reasons and I was feeling totally lost about what cook. I tried this and it was really yummy! We're not even big fans of cauliflower and we enjoyed it.
fitasamamabear says
Happy everyone liked it!
Gail says
Loved this recipe! My son started to like cauliflower because of this dish. It's a great way to introduce veggies to the family. Btw, I noticed some typos at the beginning part of this post. You might want to check it.
fitasamamabear says
My kiddos LOVE cauliflower because of this dish so yay! Ah, typos are the death of me lol I'll get those fixed, thank you!
Louise says
Cauliflower rice can be bland, but your recipe made it so flavorful. I have been making this a substitute for rice so I can start to lose the extra weight! thanks for sharing!
fitasamamabear says
So happy it works for you!
Elena says
Made this one night, and it's a game-changer! Lightly seasoned, low-carb, and ready in just 15 minutes. A new dinner table staple for sure.
fitasamamabear says
Yes! it's so versatile too.
Joy says
I tried pressing my cauliflower in a strainer to get rid of some of the liquid just like you said and it totally helped. Thanks for the tips.
fitasamamabear says
Glad it helped!
Daniela says
Nothing beats cauliflower rice! It's been a game changer for me when I started eating mostly paleo!
Lindsey Dietz says
I love cauli-rice! Sometimes I add it to regular rice to "bulk it up" and hide extra veggies in our food!
Teresa @ Living Natural Today says
Isn't it amazing what you can use cauliflower for! I enjoy cauliflower rice. I'm sure this recipe could also be used in many other recipes too. Yummy!
fitasamamabear says
Yes! It still blows my mind how versatile it is! I like to use this recipe as the base for buddha bowls! So yummy!
Jessica Levinson says
Cauliflower rice is so easy and delicious! Perfect for an easy and healthy side dish!
fitasamamabear says
Yes! My toddler has become obsessed with it. Cauliflower was $6 a head here and she kept asking for it lol and you can't so no when a kid is asking for a veggie!
fitasamamabear says
Yes! I wouldn't have believed I'd like it but it's pretty awesome to be honest.
Raia Todd says
Love cauli-rice! It's so simple and such a great alternative for those of us who can't handle rice. 😉
fitasamamabear says
I never thought I'd like it but it's actually really tasty and helps keep the meal light which is nice in the summertime!
Sandra D Laflamme says
this is a great recipe. We have started eating more keto/paleo so I need to learn to make cauliflower rice!
fitasamamabear says
Dooo it! I thought I'd hate it to be honest and now somehow we love it lol
GiGi Eats says
Yup! I am all about this life! I would wanna make this cauliflower rice for sushi!
fitasamamabear says
OMG I never thought of it for sushi (I suck at sushi so that makes sense lol ) but YUM