The Best Baked Cauliflower Rice!

Finally… the secret fool-proof method to delicious cauliflower rice! Sure, it’s nice and fast on the stove top, and you may or may not have tried microwaving it… but before learning the secret (baking it) I had always been a little disappointed with cauliflower rice at home. Let’s change all that – and right in time for the holidays too!

Somewhat recently I was on a work trip and was absolutely delighted to realize that:

1. The plant where we were working and doing nerd stuff had a really good cafeteria
2. They would occasionally make incredibly tasty cauliflower rice

Finally, I just had to flat out ask – what’s the deal?!? This is the best cauliflower rice I’ve ever had and you’re here making it for a ton of people and it’s not mushy or watery. What is the secret?

BAKING. The secret to amazing cauliflower rice is baking it.

So, with that knowledge and consulting more than a few pages on the internet, I’ve come up with a handful of tips and tricks for making sure cauliflower rice is just about nearly as good as it is up there. The recipe below is very simple, but once you make it, I’m sure you’ll come up with all kinds of favorite flavor variations. The possibilities are endless. Do note that for “extra credit” the fresh parsley and cilantro were grown in the “indoor garden corner” here in my home office with Click and Grow! Here’s a detailed article about why I love these cool little systems so much.

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Simple Baked Cauliflower Rice

This is just a starting point for baked cauliflower rice, once you've tried it, start inventing your own flavor variations. Also, tips for making sure it doesn't get mushy!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Keyword: Brassica Vegetables, cauliflower, low carb, lowcarb

Servings: 2

Equipment

• 1 Baking Sheet

Ingredients

• 1 lb Riced Cauliflower Rice it yourself, or do what I did and grab a bag of it ready to go in the produce section of Whole Foods. Even if you don't buy it there, look at how small its chopped before trying it at home
• 1 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice your choice - match it to whatever you're serving it with
• salt mineral or sea salt
• fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp olive, avocado, or coconut oil or use a spray - less is better actually!
• 3 tbsp Finely chopped herbs I used a mix of parsley and cilantro

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• If ricing the cauliflower yourself, be sure to wash and then carefully dry the cauliflower - an ongoing theme here is less moisture. Use a food processor to pulse it to the right small shape.... OR
• Open the bag of perfectly riced and dry riced cauliflower ready to go. We don't judge here!
• Put the riced cauliflower in a large bowl and add the lemon or lime juice, salt, pepper.
• Add a little oil to the baking sheet - and don't even think about putting down parchment - get right on that metal. While I love cooking with baking parchment for easy clean up, in this situation it will encourage steaming to occur thus making for mushy, watery disappointing cauliflower rice. Same goes for adding too much oil. Less is more in this case.
• Spread the well mixed cauliflower rice mixture in a thin layer on the baking sheet, making sure to keep it in as close to a single layer as possible.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, then carefully stir and bake for another 5-7 minutes - depending on how crunchy you like it.
• Finally, put it back into that hopefully washed (AND DRIED) bowl and toss with the mixed minced herbs before serving.

Notes

I'm serious. Don't use parchment for this!

If you like fresh herbs on hand, be sure to check out this new combo starter kit from Click and Grow- the Herbs Go With Everything Kit! Don’t miss the Holiday Sale – 25% off with code GiryaGirl25 at checkout!