20-Minute Cauliflower Spanish Rice

The perfect compliment to your Mexican side dishes! This Cauliflower Spanish Rice is full of flavor and super easy to make! Such a great and healthy alternative to rice, and one that is packed with nutrients. Only 10 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cook time, with 20 minutes total! This easy recipe is low-carb, Keto friendly, Paleo, and Whole30 compliant.

Why Cauliflower Spanish Rice?

As a nutritionist, I am always looking for ways to add in more fiber for digestive health. Cauliflower Spanish Rice is basically checking all of these boxes for me: flavor, nutrition, ease, and texture!

Spanish rice will forever have a place in my heart as my most favorite food as a child. Kind of weird, right? I use to devour by the bowl full. Forget the beans. I just wanted the rice.

Now as an adult who doesn’t eat grains very often, I make a lot of my favorite rice flavors into cauliflower rice recipes! A few of my favorites include:

• Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
• Cauliflower Rice Tabbouleh
• Hibachi Steak Bowls with Cauliflower Fried Rice
• Coconut Lime Cauliflower Rice

What do I need to make Cauliflower Spanish Rice?

This cauliflower rice comes together with a few simple ingredients:

• Cauliflower (duh)
• Onion
• Garlic
• Cumin
• Salt
• Tomato paste
• Vegetable or chicken broth
• Add in some additional fresh cilantro and lime for an even tastier treat!

How to make the easiest and most flavorful Cauliflower Spanish Rice

1. We start by chopping up the cauliflower into florets and discarding the base. This will make the pulsing in a food processor so much easier!
2. Next, pulse in a blender or a food processor. And by pulse, PULSE!!! If you keep the blender on, you may end up with mush. In my Vitamix, it only requires a few pulses (3-5). A food processor is actually better to use for pulsing cauliflower. Either way, you will most likely need to do this in a few batches! Stop when you get that “rice” like texture.
3. Now we work on the saute portion. Heat a large skillet to medium heat, then add oil, onion, and garlic. Saute for a total of 4-5 minutes. Then we add in the riced cauliflower and let it saute for another 5 minutes. Let it soften and get the onion flavor. Stir in cumin, salt, tomato paste, and broth. Give it a nice stir and cover. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. It should be ready to devour when the rice is softened and the flavor has been evenly distributed.

Can I use already riced cauliflower?

Absolutely!! I do this sometimes when I’m lazy. Most stores actually have already riced cauliflower in the produce section. Or you can also buy in the frozen section. Trader Joe’s sells the organic cauliflower rice frozen at $2!!! This will alter the cooking time a bit, and release more water. So you won’t need as much broth, if any at all.

I prefer to pulse my own cauliflower, mainly because a large head of cauliflower produces more rice then I can get in the frozen section. You will most likely need 2 bags of the frozen!

Serving and Storing:

Squeeze a little lime juice and add some cilantro for a more fantastic flavor! Taco Tuesday is going to be so much better with the addition of this rice. It’s perfect to just add in a protein, and toppings for a complete meal! You can also store in the fridge and it will keep for an additional few days.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes to serve over my Cauliflower Spanish Rice:

• Instant Pot Chicken Tinga
• Sheet Pan Chipotle Steak Fajitas
• Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Creamy Southwest Chicken
• Sheet Pan Shrimp Tacos

Be sure to rate the recipe below and comment if you make it! Also, tag me on Instagram @wholesomelicious with your creations. I love to see them!

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20-Minute Cauliflower Spanish Rice

Cauliflower Spanish Rice is the best side dish to any of your Mexican dishes! So simple to make with only 20 minutes of total time. Paleo, Vegan, Keto, and Whole30.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 94 kcal

Author Amy Rains

4.96 from 63 votes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 large head of cauliflower*
• 1 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt + more to taste
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• Fresh cilantro for garnish optional
• 1 lime, juiced optional

Instructions

1. Cut your cauliflower in half and in half again. Remove stem and discard. Chop the head of the cauliflower into chunks (1-2 inch pieces). Place inside a food processor and pulse. You probably need to do this in 2-3 batches. Between each batch, remove and set aside.

2. Heat up a large skillet to medium heat. Coat the pan with oil. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes, then add garlic and saute another 1-2 minutes.

3. Add in riced cauliflower and saute for another 4-5 minutes. salt, and cumin. Stir around the veggie mixture to coat.

4. Now add in cumin, salt, tomato paste, then 1/4 cup broth (you might not need broth with frozen rice as it produces enough moisture). Bump up heat to medium high. Continue to stir around until the tomato paste dissolves in the mixture. If the mixture is too dry, add in more broth by the tablespoon. If the mixture is slightly wet, continue to cook until the liquid dissolves.

5. Serve hot with garnished cilantro, lime juice, and added salt to taste.

Recipe Notes

*You can also use the 12 oz bag of frozen Trader Joe’s in place of the head of cauliflower. You will most likely need two bags for this recipe.

Calories 94kcal

Fat 4g

Saturated fat 1g

Sodium 561mg

Potassium 610mg

Carbohydrates 13g

Fiber 4g

Sugar 5g

Protein 4g

Vitamin A 138%

Vitamin C 81%

Calcium 56%

Iron 1%