This Cauliflower Rice Recipe is a delicious vegan/vegetarian main dish for dinner. Even better, it’s the perfect weeknight meal as it’s done in only 20 minutes.
If you read Primavera Kitchen often, you know that I’m all about one-pan/skillet recipes. I have lots of these types of recipes on my blog, and the most popular recipes are Rice with Mushroom and Asparagus, Asparagus Sweet Potato Chicken Skillet, and Ground Beef Zucchini Sweet Potato Skillet. Why do I love skillet recipes? Well, the answer is so simple: it’s easy and quick to make, and clean up is a breeze. For a busy mom like me, these three points are very important when I’m cooking.
I also like the fact that you can always sneak some vegetables into these skillet recipes. Don’t you agree? I love adding some asparagus, sweet potato, broccoli, green beans, and, of course, cauliflower. This one is great because it’s so versatile and goes well with everything. Cauliflower rice is my thing at the moment.
At my local grocery store, I can now find cauliflower rice that’s ready to cook. It’s so convenient and cuts my time in half when I’m cooking with cauliflower. However, I know that it’s not very easy to find cauliflower rice everywhere. So, on the instructions below, I explained how to make your own cauliflower rice. And if you love cauliflower like me, I have lots of cauliflower recipes here, like this Cauliflower Rice made with zucchini.
- Lots of mushrooms and fresh spinach are the key to making the best cauliflower rice. I just think this combo works really well and adds more flavor to your dish.
- You’ll also need onions, celery, and garlic.
- And of course, cauliflower, which will turn into a “rice-like texture,” and will be the base for this recipe.
This Cauliflower Rice Recipe is made with all these simple ingredients that the whole family will enjoy, and more importantly, these are all great veggies for your body.
- Prepare your cauliflower rice and vegetables. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, add olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Then add in the garlic for 30 more seconds.
- Add the mushroom and sauté until it’s cooked through. You can buy the mushrooms pre-sliced or slice your own. Baby bellas are a great mushroom to use.
- Add the raw cauliflower rice, the vegetable broth, and soy sauce. Allow the cauliflower rice to absorb the vegetable broth. Cook until it is soft, but not mushy.
- Add spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley before serving. Enjoy!
I have to say that this Cauliflower Rice Recipe is delicious on its own. So if you are a vegetarian or vegan, this is the perfect dinner recipe for you. But if you don’t follow a vegetarian or vegan diet/lifestyle, you can pair this dish with some delicious salmon, chicken, or even boiled eggs. Below I listed my favourite seafood and chicken to go with this recipe:
- Garlic Butter Salmon in Foil: You only need 20-25 minutes to make this delicious salmon recipe. It’s an ultra-easy dinner to make during your busy weeknights.
- Garlic Butter Rainbow Trout in Foil: This recipe is ultra-easy to make, and it only requires 4 ingredients.
- Roasted Lemon Chicken Legs: This is full of flavors of garlic, lemon, and herbs, and it is perfect for a quick and delicious meal.
- Rosemary Lemon Roasted Chicken Breasts: Fresh rosemary, lemon juice, and garlic are three simple yet flavorful ingredients that create this beautiful chicken recipe.
I also can’t forget to mention this recipe is paleo, Whole30, and low-carb! Mm… It’s so good! Hope you enjoy this Mushroom Cauliflower Rice Skillet and give it a try.
If you are on Whole30 or if you follow gluten-free and paleo diets, you should use coconut aminos to make this recipe since soy sauce contains gluten and it’s not allowed on Whole30. I highly recommend this one from Coconut Secret because it’s gluten-free, organic, and has 70% less sodium than soy sauce. It’s also vegan and non-GMO. They’re affordable, delicious, and last a lot. You can get yours on Amazon easily here or at any natural/organic store.
To keep this riced cauliflower recipe from being soggy, simply cook it less. The longer the cauliflower is cooked in the skillet, the softer it becomes. If you’re worried about the cauliflower being too soggy, you can always cook it up in advance, set it aside, and then add it to the recipe at the end.
Also, don’t cover the pan when you’re cooking the rice to avoid steaming it. When you steam the cauliflower, it makes the cauliflower mushy, and it can even be watery. Stir-frying over medium-high heat is best.
It is! While it’s super convenient to purchase pre-made frozen cauliflower, ricing it yourself at home isn’t too difficult and costs a fraction of store-bought.
All you have to do is wash and thoroughly dry your head of cauliflower, cut the cauliflower into florets (you can also chop it if you prefer), and then add them to the food processor and pulse them until they’re of rice consistency. You might need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your food processor.
If you don’t have a food processor, not to worry, you can grate the cauliflower head through a cheese grater (also known as a box grater) or use a knife and finely cut up the cauliflower. It should be the size of traditional rice grains.
When your cauliflower is totally chopped, you can press any excess moisture from the rice by placing the cauliflower rice on a large paper towel or cheesecloth and squeezing any water or excess moisture from it. It’s an extra step, but if you have time, please do it.
Cauliflower rice doesn’t have a strong taste to it. It is comparable to cabbage, but cauliflower will take on the taste of whatever you season it with. That’s why it’s so great to cook with cauliflower. You can add lots of fresh herbs and spices to add more flavor to your dish, and it can also be a base for stir-fries and any other dish you would make with regular rice.
Meal Prep Tips
- Make sure to store all your portions into an airtight container. I use glass containers has they don’t hold onto any smells and are easier to clean.
- Be sure to keep the meals refrigerated until you’re ready to eat.
- This meal prep will last for up to 4 days when properly stored.
- I do not recommend you try and freeze this recipe. The texture of the mushrooms especially will not be ideal when thawed. However, since this skillet recipe only takes 20 minutes to make, you can easily and quickly whip this up whenever you’d like!
- Cauliflower Rice: It is an easy Whole30, low-carb, and one-pan dinner that it’s flavored with homemade pesto and has lots of Italian sausages. It’s ready in less than 20 minutes. You can replace the sauce with sweet potato to make it vegan.
- Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Rice: Super-easy and versatile side dish that goes with almost everything. It’s roasted for about 20 minutes, and it’s super flavorful with lots of olive oil, garlic, and herbs.
- Easy Cauliflower Fried Rice: One of my favorite low-carb fried rice versions. It’s ready in no time, and it’s loaded with veggies.
- Cauliflower Rice Recipe: Another one-pot meal that you can make in less than 30 minutes.
Cauliflower Rice with Mushrooms
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 stick celery sliced
- ½ cup onion chopped
- 1 big garlic clove minced
- 3 cups mushrooms sliced
- 14 oz. cauliflower rice (see instructions below on how to make the cauliflower rice)
- 1/3 cup organic vegetable broth
- Soy sauce to taste For Whole30 or gluten free diets, use Coconut Aminos. it's a soy sauce alternative.
- 2 cups spinach
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor for about 25-30 seconds until it’s a rice-like consistency. Set aside.
- In a large skillet add olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook until tender about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add mushroom and sauté until it’s cooked through.
- Add the cauliflower rice, the vegetable broth, and soy sauce. Allow the cauliflower rice to absorb the vegetable broth. Cook until it is soft, but not mushy.
- Add spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I am in the process of making this. What size onion? I assume medium since you didn’t specify.
Small = ¼ cup, medium ½ cup, large 1 cup
Medium is great.
Love this recipe! I used frozen chopped kale instead of spinach, and added it before the cauliflower. Worked out great.
That’s awesome. Happy you liked this recipe!
Made this tonight! It was amazing! Just cut everything up, threw it in the pan added the seasonings and broth and *chefs kiss* delicious .. also if you don’t have a food processor it’s simple to chop up the heads of the cauliflower to be pretty small then Use your hands to break it down even more!
That’s fantastic! 😊 I’m thrilled you enjoyed it, and great tip for those without a food processor. Happy cooking! 🍲👩🍳
Such yummy recipes
Thank you 😉