MEXICAN CAULIFLOWER RICE is a staple in our house! This ‘rice’ is seasoned to taste similar to the rice you’d get from your favorite Mexican joint, but it’s made with cauliflower so it’s low carb and healthy. It’s perfect as a side for tacos or to use in your next burrito bowl.
You’ve probably caught on by now that I have a bit of a thing for Mexican food.
We eat tacos on the regular in my house, either in lettuce wraps, with a chaffle as the shell, or in a low carb tortilla.
I often make my cilantro lime cauliflower rice or my keto Mexican street corn salad to go alongside our Mexican favorites, but lately we’ve all been feeling this more traditional Mexican cauliflower rice.
It reminds us of the rice you’d get from a Mexican restaurant, but without all the heavy carbs!
How to:
You’ll start this recipe by cooking some onions and jalapeno in a bit of oil.
We use just half of a jalapeno in our house – enough to give the rice some flavor but not enough to make it overly spicy. Feel free to adjust the jalapeno to suit your family’s tastes.
Stir in a bit of garlic, tomato paste, and cumin and cook that for another minute or so. This mixture is so flavorful!
Dump in your cauliflower rice and continue cooking.
Cauliflower Rice: I normally purchase already chopped cauliflower rice in the produce section at Walmart. I believe it’s called cauliflower crumbles. You could also chop your own with a sharp knife until it resembles rice or you can toss some cauliflower florets in a food processor and process it until minced.
Frozen Cauliflower Rice: I have not made this with frozen cauliflower, because my family prefers the texture of fresh. However, I believe that frozen cauliflower rice would work fine. Just add the frozen rice directly to the skillet and cook the same way you would the fresh cauliflower. Just know that frozen vegetables tend to be more mushy than fresh vegetables.
The cauliflower rice will cook through in about 5 minutes and be ready to eat.
Don’t forget to sprinkle on a bit of cilantro before serving.
This makes a fabulous keto burrito bowl featuring my Mexican shredded beef, pico, guacamole, and a little cheese.
Serving suggestions:
This makes a great side dish for any Mexican meal.
We enjoy this cauliflower rice alongside my Mexican meatballs, crockpot chicken fajitas, and cilantro lime shrimp.
This recipe is also a great side for baked salsa chicken or guacamole chicken.
Mexican Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 1 pound cauliflower rice see notes
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- ½ onion diced
- ½ jalapeno minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- When oil is hot, add the onion and jalapeno and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the cauliflower rice, cumin, and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until cauliflower is as soft as you’d like.
- Stir in the cilantro just before serving.
Jo Lytte says
I loved your cauliflower Mexican rice so much. I actually used frozen. Had a friend eating with us that night and she said to me-I thought you do not eat rice. Had to explain it was cauliflower. Will be making f again and again. Thank you so much for sharing-you emailed it to me.
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad you and your friend enjoyed the recipe! Thanks, Jo!
Andrea says
I don’t know if you fixed the recipe online or not, but I have had no trouble on my iPad seeing the amounts of the ingredients in the recipe card. I have made this recipe a few times and we all love it. Thanks! I’m going to make it again tonight to have with eggs and chorizo. Yum!
Karly Campbell says
Hi Andrea! There was nothing wrong with the recipe…when people install ad blockers it doesn’t show some links. Some of the ingredients are linked out to the products I used and they couldn’t see that because their ad blocker was hiding the link. 🙂
Either way, so glad you enjoy the recipe!
DeAnna says
Hi, What are the amounts for the oil, cumin and tomato paste? It isn’t showing up on my screen.
There isn’t a lighter link, the ingredients just aren’t there. Thanks
Karly Campbell says
Hi DeAnna! This happens when you have an ad blocker installed on your browser. The amounts are all there – if you try again from another browser or with the ad blocker disabled, you’ll be able to see the full recipe. 🙂
Deb says
Please include what the one serving size is, 1 cup, 1/2 cup? Thanks.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Deb! We didn’t measure by volume – just divide equally into 4 portions.
Cathy M. says
Excellent, Karly! Thank you very much!
Scott Anderson says
This looks amazing. I have made so many of your recipes. Keep them coming.
Karly Campbell says
Thanks, Scott!
Maureen McGrath says
I can’t see the amounts for 3 of the items either – there is no text for the tomato paste, cumin or oil.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Maureen! This is so strange…I’ve tested it from 3 different devices and it shows up fine for me. The text is a different color, since it’s a link, but it still shows up. I really want to get to the bottom of this…would you do me a favor and try to highlight the text with your cursor? I’m curious to know if the font is just too light for your screen or if the text is actually not displaying at all. If you highlight the ingredients list, it should either show a blank line there or it would show the ingredients. Appreciate your help!
Teresa Matney says
I think been eating tri-tip and I think it would be wonderful with this one
Kathy says
No amounts listed for oil, cumin, or tomato paste either in body of this article, its recipe, or in the printable recipe. But all are mentioned in the recipe instructions. What are the amounts, please? Maybe it’s my computer? This sounds very good.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Kathy! The amounts are all there in the recipe card. They’re links to the specific product I used, so the text color is a bit different than that of the rest of the ingredients, but they’re all in there.