How do you make cauliflower fried rice, is cauliflower fried rice good, is it healthy? All of these are great questions and I am here to answer all your questions on how to make cauliflower pizza and rice or couscous.
Cauliflower rice is so easy, quick and really has a profile similar to couscous. I was skeptical about cauliflower rice but I tried it and is pretty good!
I won’t lie to you and tell you cauliflower rice is just as good as normal rice or dough for pizza, however as a substitute that has me feeling way better after eating it… I approve.
For those who are celiac this is a great option to get back to eating fried rice bowls, pizza and more! I have a bit of a gluten issue so cauliflower rice is an amazing gluten free alternative.
Cauliflower rice is an exceptional healthy alternative and you can do so much with it. You can create cauliflower rice dishes with shrimp, chicken, make pizza, make mexican rice, do asian bowls and more!
You can eat cauliflower rice raw or just cook it for a 5-6 minutes with a little oil and whatever seasoning or sauce you’d like. I truly just love it as you feel so much lighter after eating it vs. standard options.
Cauliflower Rice Tips
Be sure to the rice as dry as possible or else it will be a little mushy. You can do this by squeezing it with a cheesecloth or dish towel and laying it out to dry. You can also lay it out to dry for 24 hours.
Make a 1-2 heads at a time and freeze the remainder for up to 3-4 weeks. Get creative, use it wherever you use rice normally!
Cauliflower Rice Recipe Ideas
Cauliflower rice is of course just a great rice substitute. A couple of my favorite uses for cauliflower rice is as pizza dough or make this cauliflower rice recipe. It also goes amazing as a rice substitute for this Jamaican brown stew chicken recipe, or as a side to this easy baked salmon recipe.
Does Cauliflower rice taste good?
It does taste pretty good. I can’t lie and say it is as good as the carb alternatives it is replacing like standard rice and dough but you 100% feel much lighter and better when using it over the alternatives.
I would say as a taste substitute it gets a 7.5/10 but for how you feel after it gets an 11/10! Overall I think benefit analysis I would give it a 9/10 to dough or regular rice if you consider the health benefits and feelings.
Can you freeze cauliflower rice?
Yes, you can absolutely freeze cauliflower rice. Typically when you make cauliflower rice you end up with a ton of rice so feel free to throw it in the freezer to use down the road. Freezer bags work really well.
What is cauliflower rice?
Cauliflower rice is just cauliflower blended into a couscous like texture that is then dried and used as an amazing grain-free substitute to rice or dough.
How do you make cauliflower rice taste really good?
As with anything… the more stuff you add the better it tastes. I found myself using more pizza sauce and seasoning to hide the sharper cauliflower taste and equally more asian sauces when making fried rice.
Do you need a food processor to make cauliflower rice?
No you do not, a blender with multiple blades up the spine works just as well. You can also use a cheese or box grater to grate the cauliflower but that takes a lot longer than tossing it into a blender for 4 seconds.
You will want to use a blender like a Ninja Blender with multiple razors and not just the one razor at the bottom.
Best way to quickly dry cauliflower rice for pizza dough
If you don’t have time to let your blended cauliflower lay out and dry then using a cheesecloth or dish towel and squeezing it works really well.
You can also bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes to help the drying out process. You really need to dry out the cauliflower to be able to make a pizza dough that doesn’t fall apart.
Does cauliflower rice taste like regular rice?
Yes and no. It is definitely comparable and a good substitute but I can’t tell you it taste the exact same. The texture can be a touch mushier and the taste a touch sharper.
However, as mentioned if you want a healthy, lighter and gluten free alternative this is a great way to go about it. As noted above health/taste overall I would say 9/10 to the standard regular rice options.
How to Make Easy Cauliflower Rice & Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
Optional
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Creating Cauliflower Rice
- Remove cauliflower core and cut cauliflower into florets the put into a blender or food processor and blend until it as the texture of rice. You can also cut it into chunks and use a cheese grater to grate it into the couscous like consistency.
- Place the cauliflower on a towel or cheesecloth and squeeze drain it to get moisture out and then let it rest to dry out more while prepping everything else you are making. The drier the better as if it is wet it will be mushier.
- You can also lay it out to dry for 24 hours as an option.
Cooking Cauliflower rice
- You can of course eat it raw but to cook it just heat it up in a pan or skillet on the stove for 5-6 minutes and season or sauce with your favorite flavors. It is amazing in this easy cauliflower fried rice recipe.