This homemade Cheesy Cauliflower Rice is so easy to make; just minutes to prep and cook! It’s a delicious and healthy family dinner side dish!
Welcome to my new favorite comfort food with a healthy twist: Super Cheesy Cauliflower Rice. If Mac and Cheese met Cauliflower, fell in love and had a baby, it would be this Cheesy Cauliflower recipe. It’s so good that I didn’t even get fancy here by adding any other flavors. You get cauliflower and cheese…plus some other ingredients to help it get it on. This Cheesy Cauliflower Rice is a delicious gluten free, low-carb alternative to a pasta or rice side dish.
Add Vitamins & Nutrients to a Deliciously Cheesy Dish!
After receiving my Certification in Nutrition and Healthy Living, I learned about many different diets and the benefits of each. A popular way of eating these days is low carb. But in any special diet, it’s important to consult your medical professional and look for healthy recipes with the right nutrients and vitamins from fruits and vegetables. That’s where cauliflower comes in!
Cauliflower is not only versatile, it’s great for low carb recipes because it’s full of health benefits! While it’s low in carbs, it’s high in Fiber and contains so many vitamins and minerals. Cauliflower is a Cruciferous Veggie, just like Broccoli and Kale, which we all know are extremely good for us. So, it also contains important Antioxidants which can help to reduce the risk for heart disease and may have anti-cancer effects.
Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
- Head of cauliflower – You can buy the florets, but I recommend buying the whole head of cauliflower and then cutting the florets off. You can use frozen cauliflower rice as well, but you will not need the extra liquid to cook it in the pan, you really just want to warm it through.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Oil is for starting the cauliflower in the frying pan or skillet. You can substitute in vegetable oil, canola oil, coconut oil, or other oil that you have.
- Salt – I use kosher salt for savory cooking, but any salt will be fine.
- Ground Black Pepper – I used fine ground black pepper, but coarse ground is great too. White pepper also works in this recipe.
- Vegetable Broth – Vegetable broth or stock are great for vegetarian. Substitutes are chicken broth or vegetable stock or beef broth or stock. You can also use 1 cup of hot water with 1 bouillon cube or a teaspoon of vegetable or chicken base.
- 1% milk – The milk replaces the heavy cream in the traditional recipe. You can also use skim milk, 2% milk, or full fat whole milk.
- Cornstarch – This is the thickener in the sauce and is great because it can be mixed into cold liquid to dissolve, creating a slurry. You don’t need to mix flour with butter to make a roux. It not only a low-fat thickener, it saves lots of time and fuss!
- Butter, salted – The butter is not absolutely necessary, but does give the cheese sauce a beautiful finish. You can use salted or unsalted, margarin, or ghee.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – Any mix of sharp or mild cheddar, jack, or mozzarella will work in this recipe. You can also use cream cheese to add creaminess.
- Fresh Italian Parsley – This is for a fresh finish and a pop of color. You can substitute other fresh herbs, such as cilantro, dill, basil, or oregano.
Prep-Ahead Steps for this Cheesy Cauliflower Rice
You are busy, so these are the steps you can do a day or two in advance to prepare food ahead! (See the recipe below for more details)
Making your own cauliflower rice is incredibly easy. It also tastes like rice when other flavors are added. All it takes is 1) Cauliflower and 2) a Food Processor! To make the cauliflower rice, you first cut off the cauliflower florets from the head. Add the florets to a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower resembles the size of rice. NOTE: Be sure not to over process so that it becomes breadcrumb size. I use my mini food processor, so I do this in 3 batches so that I don’t overcrowd the processor. Once you are done making the raw “rice” just store it in a baggie or container in the fridge until ready to cook!
The only other ingredient that to prep is the parsley for garnish, so just rough chop the parsley and store in a baggie.
Cooking Your Cheesy Cauliflower Rice
When the cauliflower turns into ‘rice’, it cooks incredibly fast in a large skillet on high or even medium heat with a bit of vegetable broth. Once the cauliflower rice is cooked, you can transfer it to a large bowl so that you can use the same pan for the cheese sauce.
Next you make the cheese sauce. However, rather than using a traditional roux made from flour (contains gluten) and butter, in this recipe I use cornstarch and milk to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the broth with more milk to thicken the sauce before adding in the cheese.
Add the shredded cheese to the thickened broth and milk a little at a time, mixing as you add until it melts. Continue adding and mixing until all cheese is added. It becomes this wonderfully thick and cheesy sauce that mixes so beautifully with the cauliflower.
After adding the cauliflower rice back into to the cheese sauce, simply mix to combine and simmer for a final 5 minutes so that they become one gooey, cheesy, delicious dish!
That’s it! Serve with parsley sprinkled on top for color.
ENJOY! 😍 Carrie
What to Serve with Cheesy Cauliflower Rice
One of my favorite recipes to serve with this cauliflower rice cheesy goodness is my Ground Chicken Meatloaf without Breadcrumbs! I also love a Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms Pork Roast to serve as the main dish.
You can also add Roasted Chickpeas over top for a complete Vegetarian meal. The chickpeas, which bring protein to the party, are seasoned simply with extra virgin olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Then they are roasted in a 400 degree F oven for 30 minutes until they become almost crispy. Pour over the Cheesy Cauliflower Rice and you have a balanced meal.
Cheesy Cauliflower Rice FAQs
You can make the raw cauliflower rice and store it in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. However, if air gets in, you may start to see it turning brown, so just keep an eye on it. You can cook the cauliflower rice and cheese and store it in an airtight container in the fridge also for up to 5 days. To warm it, place it in a pan on the stove and add a splash of water if needed to help loosen it. Warm over low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes.
You can cook this recipe and store it in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 6 months. I like to place it in a vacuum sealed bag so that all air is removed and it is flat for easy storage. To cook it, you can place the frozen cheesy cauliflower rice in a casserole dish in the oven at 350 F degrees for 20-30 minutes until warmed through. You can also thaw it in the fridge the night before and warm it on the stove as mentioned in the previous question/answer.
Easy Cheesy Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 1 head Cauliflower
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- 1 cup Vegetable Broth, divided (½ to cook the cauliflower, ½ to make the cheese sauce)
- 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 cup Milk, 1% (low fat, whole, or Skim also work)
- 2 tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Butter, salted (unsalted or Ghee also work)
- 1.5 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped Optional for garnish
Instructions
Prep Ahead
- Make the cauliflower rice by first cutting off the cauliflower florets from the head. Add the florets to a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower resembles the size of rice. NOTE: Be sure not to over process so that it becomes breadcrumb size.
- If you have a small processor, do this in batches and fill it half way with the florets, then pulse, empty, fill again and so on until you have completed it all. If you are not going to be cooking tonight, then put in a storage bag in the fridge.
- If you are using parsley for garnish, rough chop the parsley and store in a baggie.
Cook
- Measure out ¼ cup of milk and whisk in the corn starch with a fork until completely dissolved. Add another ¾ cup of milk to the mixture and whisk again. Set aside until ready to add to the pan.
- Preheat a large skillet on high heat. Add a teaspoon of oil and spread around. Then add the processed cauliflower rice to the pan with salt and pepper. Stir to mix, then cook for 2-3 minutes to lightly sear the cauliflower rice.
- Next add ½ cup of the vegetable broth and stir to ensure all of the rice gets moisture. Cook for 5 minutes stirring every minute or so to cook evenly. Transfer the cauliflower rice to a large bowl.
- Using the same pan, add the ghee (or butter) and vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Then add the milk and corn starch mixture whisking briskly as you add and as it comes back up to a simmer. It will start to thicken after it warms back up to a simmer.
- Once back up to a simmer, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and begin to add the shredded cheese a little at a time, mixing as you add until it melts, then adding more and continuing until all cheese is added.
- Now, you can stir the cauliflower rice back in. Cook on low heat for a final 5 minutes until the cauliflower rice becomes thick and gooey and cheesy and delicious! Serve, garnish with parsley for color, and enjoy!
Notes
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Can I make this cauliflower rice recipe ahead?
You can make the raw cauliflower rice and store it in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. However, if air gets in, you may start to see it turning brown, so just keep an eye on it. You can cook the cauliflower rice and cheese and store it in an airtight container in the fridge also for up to 5 days. To warm it, place it in a pan on the stove and add a splash of water if needed to help loosen it. Warm over low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes. -
Can Cheesy Cauliflower Rice be frozen?
You can cook this recipe and store it in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 6 months. I like to place it in a vacuum sealed bag so that all air is removed and it is flat for easy storage. To cook it, you can place the frozen cheesy cauliflower rice in a casserole dish in the oven at 350 F degrees for 20-30 minutes until warmed through. You can also thaw it in the fridge the night before and warm it on the stove as mentioned in the previous question/answer.
Linger says
My husband and I have gone crazy of cauliflower lately. I’m so thankful that you posted this. Comfort and healthy are so hard to find together but somehow you pulled it off. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
Chef Mimi says
This is fabulous! I have a British son in law who always asks for cauliflower cheese when they visit. I was skeptical the first time I made it, but it’s wonderful! This looks wonderful as well. I never thought about ricing the cauliflower in a food processor!