Mexican Cauli Rice

Knowing how to make cauliflower rice is very handy whether you are looking for a low-carb substitute for rice, you are trying to cut down your calories, or you simply want to use up a cauliflower or sneak some added nutrients into your meal. Try this Mexican cauli rice dish for yourself and you’ll be amazed how good it is.

This Mexican cauliflower rice recipe is simple to prepare, and it is something you can tweak to your heart’s content. The first thing you need to do of course is transform your raw cauliflower into rice-sized pieces, and the easiest way to do this is to put it in the food processor with a blade attachment and whiz it for a few seconds.

How to Make Cauliflower Rice

If you don’t have a food processor though, you can do it in the blender or else use a box grater to do it by hand. You can use the whole cauliflower apart from the leaves and the woody part right in the center. Don’t use thawed cauliflower for Mexican cauli rice because it is too mushy to separate into the rice-shaped bits.

I use the low speed on the food processor for literally 3 or 4 seconds, then just give it a second or 2 on the high speed, and that seems to make cauli rice or cauli snow (since it looks a little like it!)

Perhaps you have used grated cauliflower in the past to make a cauli pizza crust but that is slightly different because you need to cook it and drain the water out using cheesecloth or a nut milk bag or similar.

Here we are using liquid ingredients so the moisture from the cauliflower won’t make any difference. Once it’s rice-shaped, it’s ready to cook and you can go ahead and make your Mexican cauli rice.

I like to use ground beef in this Mexican cauli rice recipe but it would also be good with ground pork or chicken. You could even make a vegetarian cauliflower rice if you wanted to. Each time I make it I add something else in. This time, I added a small can of corn and some grated carrot since I had some to hand.

Getting the Mexican Flavors Just Right in Mexican Cauliflower Rice

The first thing to do is fry your meat, along with some onion and garlic. You can either pour the fat off afterwards or leave it in if you’re using extra-lean meat.

Then you can add broth and tomato, and also cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. Taste the sauce as you go, but keep simmering the Mexican cauli rice mixture until it’s mostly evaporated.

Although some recipes will suggest you cover the pan, I usually just leave mine uncovered and simmer the mixture away. It’s easy to add more liquid to the pan if it does get too dry. Keep an eye on it and stir it every once in a while.

Serve your finished Mexican cauli rice with sour cream if you like, or even some grated cheese on top. If you have some leftovers, you will find it keeps well for a couple of days in the refrigerator, but you might find the spice flavors and garlic flavor becomes more intense as it rests overnight (which is usually a nice thing!) I like to serve mine with fresh cilantro on top.

Mexican Cauli Rice

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Beef, cauliflower rice, tomatoes and other ingredients blend to make this low-carb dish. We are using chili, cumin, oregano and other seasonings to create a true south of the border flavor in every mouthful.

• Author: Victoria Haneveer
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
• Yield: 3 1x
• Category: Entree
• Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 6 oz (170g) lean ground beef
• 1 chopped small yellow onion
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small cauliflower
• 1 1/2 cups (375ml) chicken or beef broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato concentrate or 4 oz (120g) canned tomatoes in juice
• Pinch each of chili powder, cumin and dried oregano
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 5 oz (140g) canned corn kernels (optional)
• Small handful grated carrot (optional)
• Sour cream, to serve (optional)
• Cilantro, to serve (optional)

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Instructions

1. First pour a splash of oil into a pot and heat it up.
2. Next add the meat, onion and garlic.
3. Cook over a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Meanwhile break your cauliflower into florets and whiz them in a food processor until rice grain-sized.
5. Once the beef is browned all over, add the cauliflower to the pot.
6. Cook for a few minutes.
7. Add the broth, tomato, chili powder, cumin and oregano.
8. Grind in some salt and black pepper.
9. If you like, you can also add corn and/or carrot at this point.
10. Give the mixture a good stir and then simmer for 30 minutes or until everything is tender.
11. Adjust the seasonings.
12. Serve hot, with sour cream and/or cilantro if liked.

Notes

This has about 20 carbs per portion without the corn and sour cream.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/3 of the recipe...
• Calories: 250