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Home » Recipes » Side Dishes

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Published: May 12, 2022 by Lexi

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This cilantro lime cauliflower rice is the easy and low carb side dish that you've been looking for. It makes an amazing base for burrito bowls, in breakfast burritos, or a great side dish that you can use instead of rice. Best of all, it cooks more quickly than rice does, and it's way easier to get right!

Overhead view of cilantro lime cauliflower rice in a pan.
Fresh cilantro and lime take this dish up another level.
Jump to:
  • Why We Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Ingredient Notes
  • How to Rice Cauliflower
  • Step-by-step Instructions
  • Expert Tips and FAQs
  • More Easy Cauliflower Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe

Why We Love This Recipe

  • Way easier than regular rice: Rice can be tricky - it's easy to undercook or overcook, and typically takes a while to prepare. This cilantro lime cauliflower rice is much more fool-proof.
  • Light and fresh: With cilantro, lime juice, and zest, this recipe has plenty of fresh flavor. It's also low carb, making it a lighter option.
  • Keto-friendly: This cilantro lime cauliflower rice has about 5g of carbohydrates per serving, making it a great keto-friendly side dish or base for toppings.
  • Chipotle copycat: We love Chipotle's cilantro lime rice, and this recipe is a pretty close approximation of those flavors, but with cauliflower.
  • Great way to use cauliflower: Cauliflower can be a bit bland and boring, and sometimes it's hard to find the right occasion to utilize it. We love grating it, which makes it much easier to cook and completely transforms the ingredient.
  • Meal prep friendly: You can prep a big batch of this cauliflower rice and use it all week!
  • Naturally gluten free, vegan and nut free, so it's perfect for just about any dietary needs.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this cauliflower "rice":

Overhead view of cilantro lime cauliflower rice ingredients, including cauliflower and green onion.

Ingredient Notes

  • Cauliflower: You can use fresh or frozen cauliflower. Just note that frozen cauliflower can carry a little bit more moisture than fresh cauliflower, so you may need to cut down a bit on the additional water we include in the recipe. Also note that frozen cauliflower will be a good deal more difficult to rice, so we'd advocate using fresh wherever possible. You can also purchase pre-riced cauliflower at most grocery stores to cut down on prep time!
  • Zest: We used lime zest and lime juice, and we promise zesting the lime is worth the effort. It adds a ton of fresh flavor!

How to Rice Cauliflower

When it comes to turning your cauliflower into "rice", you have a few options:

  • Buy it pre-riced and frozen. A lot of supermarkets will sell riced cauliflower in 16 oz bags, which makes this recipe even easier. If you're using frozen riced cauliflower, you'll likely need to use less water than we state in the recipe. You can also add it straight to the pan. There's no need to thaw it out.
  • Use a food processor: This is probably the easiest method. Just core your cauliflower and cut or break it into pieces, and then use the grating attachment on your food processor. If you don't have a grating attachment, you can pulse repeatedly until you achieve a rice-like texture.
  • Use a box grater: If you don't have / don't want to use a food processor, you can use a box or a hand grater. Use the side that you would use to shred cheese a.k.a. the side you already know.
Close up view of cauliflower rice texture.
The shreds won't be perfectly uniform, and that's okay. On average, they're about the size of short-grain rice.

Step-by-step Instructions

(1) Core cauliflower and break into pieces. Use the grating feature on your food processor to rice the cauliflower. If you don't have a food processor, use a box or hand grater. (Alternatively, use store-bought pre-riced cauliflower!)

Cauliflower in food processor before and after pulsing into rice.
A food processor is the quickest way to make cauliflower rice.

(2) Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and add oil. Add the green onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, then stir in the cauliflower with 2 tablespoons of water, lime juice, salt, pepper, and lime zest. 

Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add in cilantro and cook for additional 3-4 minutes, until cauliflower is tender. Serve warm or chilled.

On the left: green onions cooking in a pan. On the right: cauliflower added to the pan and cooking.
Cauliflower rice only takes about 15 minutes to cook!

Expert Tips and FAQs

  • Don't overcook it: The "rice" should still have a little bit of a bite when it's ready. In other words, it definitely shouldn't be mushy. The cauliflower only needs 10-15 minutes to soften, so don't leave it on for much longer.
  • Serving suggestions:
    • Serve with Cuban black beans
    • Use as a base for burrito bowls
    • Add to a breakfast burrito
    • Serve alongside scrambled tofu and Mexican-spiced potatoes for breakfast
    • Serve with Chipotle-copycat sofritas tofu (my favorite!)
    • Add to a taco salad
    • Use in lettuce wraps
    • Serve with fajitas
    • Enjoy as a side dish with your favorite grilled protein
    • ...the options are endless!
  • Serve hot or cold: Unlike regular rice, this cauliflower rice doesn't dry out and stick together when refrigerated, so it's perfect for a grab and go lunch. It's also delicious hot straight out of the pan!
  • Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
  • Freezer storage: Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months! Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before eating.
  • Add extra flavor with ingredients like minced jalapeño, minced garlic, vegetable stock, spices like cumin, coriander and chili powder, etc. This cilantro lime cauliflower rice is the perfect base for changing up however you'd like!
What does cauliflower rice really taste like?

Cauliflower rice has a pretty neutral taste, but of course does taste like cauliflower on its own. By adding in lime juice, lime zest, cilantro and other seasonings, the rice takes on those flavors. The texture should be similar to rice – soft, but still a bit of bite. It should not be totally mushy!

How do you make cauliflower not taste like cauliflower?

Seasonings are your best friend! The lime juice and zest in this recipe add freshness and acidity, which really boost the flavor. Fresh cilantro adds a ton of herby flavor, and don't skimp on the salt and pepper! Salt goes a long way in improving the flavor of plain cauliflower.

Close up view of cilantro lime cauliflower rice topped with avocado, pickled red onions, and black beans.
Use this cauliflower rice as the base for a burrito bowl with black beans!

More Easy Cauliflower Recipes

  • close up view of taco with vegan cauliflower quinoa taco meat and pickled onion.
    Vegan Cauliflower Taco Meat
  • overhead view of bowl of vegan cauliflower chili topped with avocado and red onion.
    Cauliflower Chili
  • overhead view of roasted cauliflower steak on a plate with mashed potatoes and green beans.
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Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or by subscribing to our newsletter.

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Close up of cilantro lime cauliflower rice in a pan.

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice


  • Author: Lexi
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This cilantro lime cauliflower rice is the easy and low carb side dish that you've been looking for. It makes an amazing base for burrito bowls, or a great side dish that you can use instead of rice. Best of all, it cooks more quickly than rice does, and it's way easier to get right!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 tbsp oil (olive, avocado, vegetable, etc)
  • ¾ cup thinly sliced green onion
  • 3 cups riced cauliflower (~1 medium head of cauliflower)
  • 2-3 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice (~1 lime)
  • 1 tablespoon lime zest (~zest from 1 lime)
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Core cauliflower and break into pieces. Use the grating feature on your food processor to rice the cauliflower. If you don't have a food processor, use a box or hand grater. (Alternatively, use store-bought pre-riced cauliflower!) 
  2. Preheat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and add oil. Add the green onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, then stir in the cauliflower with 2 tablespoons of water, lime juice, salt, pepper, and lime zest.
  3. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add in cilantro and cook for additional 3-4 minutes, until cauliflower is tender. Serve warm or chilled.

Notes

Cauliflower: You can use fresh or frozen cauliflower, but frozen cauliflower can carry a little bit more moisture than fresh cauliflower, so you may need to cut down a bit on the additional water. You can also purchase pre-riced cauliflower at most grocery stores to cut down on prep time!

Serve hot or cold: Unlike regular rice, this cauliflower rice doesn't dry out and stick together when refrigerated, so it's perfect for a grab and go lunch. It's also delicious hot straight out of the pan! 

Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

Freezer storage: Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months! Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before eating. 

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 87
  • Sugar: 2.3 g
  • Sodium: 337.1 mg
  • Fat: 7.3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 5.8 g
  • Fiber: 2.1 g
  • Protein: 1.8 g

Keywords: cilantro lime cauliflower rice

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