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What is Cauliflower Rice

How to Make Cauliflower Rice

Question:
What is cauliflower rice?

Answer:
Cauliflower rice is not actually rice, nor is it any type of a starch. It is simply the vegetable, cauliflower, that has been riced.

The verb “riced”, according to the dictionary, means to pass potatoes or other vegetables through a sieve or ricer. Often cooked potatoes are riced before making mashed potatoes for a smoother result. Cauliflower is riced, usually before cooking, in order to turn it into tiny bits that then look like rice. Cauliflower rice is a low calorie healthy substitute for grains of actual rice.

How to Make Cauliflower Rice

All you really need to make cauliflower rice is a head of raw cauliflower and either a box grater or a food processor. Here are the steps and options to make a recipe of basic cauliflower rice.

Wash and halve a head of cauliflower.

Get out either a box grater or a food processor.
– For the grater, run each half of the head of cauliflower over the grater. Also grate the stems, no one will know the difference from the floweret once riced. Be careful when grating as the flowers can fly off randomly as you go. Also, make sure to stop before you draw blood on your fingers!
– For the food processor, continue cutting the head into eighths and then place the pieces into the food processor. Pulse until the pieces become the size of small shreds. If any larger pieces remain, then remove the riced cauliflower bits before re-pulsing the larger chunks.

The cauliflower rice can then be used raw in salads, microwaved in a microwave steamer that does not need water, cooked on the stovetop or even turned into things like a pizza crust. Cauliflower rice is very versatile. On the stove, it is recommended to heat a little olive oil or butter in a pan and then add the riced cauliflower. Cover the pan and cook on medium to medium-low for a few minutes. Give it a splash of salt, herbs or cheese before serving if desired.

The trick to making cauliflower rice is to undercook the vegetable!
That’s right, the cauliflower should be steamed for a shorter amount of time than when making mashed cauliflower as you want to be able to appreciate the grain-like texture that was created. Usually about 2 minutes is enough time to cook cauliflower rice, no matter which cooking method is chosen. Riced cauliflower can even be used to stir-fry and make a mock fried rice!

Everyone passing by this dish in our test kitchen thought that it was actually rice! Even tasting it, your eyes play tricks on your mind making it unsure if it is rice or not. Even without any seasonings, this is a tasty dish. With the addition of a stir fry or protein it becomes a dish that also gives good feelings because a vegetable is the star of the dish.

Cauliflower rice can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. It is recommended to rice the cauliflower just before serving for best results. Remember that the whole cauliflower will keep better and longer than riced cauliflower which has endless moist edges.

For a long term storage option, riced cauliflower can be frozen with good results up to 3 months.

What is Cauliflower Rice?

Additional Information

To find out how long cauliflower lasts, see our cauliflower page.

To find out how long rice lasts, see our rice page.

To find out how long other foods are good for, please visit the Dairy, Drinks, Fruits, Grains, Proteins, Vegetables and Other sections of Eat By Date or use the search function below.