Coconut cauliflower rice is crispy cauliflower rice flavored with coconut and ginger. Try this 20-minute riced cauliflower recipe that is high on taste and low on carbs and see how good you feel. The aromatic spices and coconut flavor make you forget you’re actually eating a stir-fried vegetable!
About The Recipe
If you’re looking for recipes using riced vegetables, this cauliflower coconut rice is the best bet. Cooking with cauliflower rice is easier, quicker and healthier than white rice. With this easy recipe, you’ll learn how to make cauliflower rice (with or without a food processor) that actually TASTES GOOD.
The trick is to season it well with spices that make the cauliflower rice taste less “cauliflower-y” and more like rice. This recipe is a healthy take on the South Indian coconut rice. Curry powder is the additional ingredient here that does the trick.
Even if you hate cauliflower, this low-carb cauliflower rice is sure to surprise you. This is one of the delicious South Indian cauliflower recipes you may not want to miss.
This easy vegan, gluten-free coconut riced cauliflower recipe (with 136 CALORIES) is an excellent option if you want to save yourself a few hundred calories and also get your recommended daily serving of vegetables in a delicious way. It just takes 20 minutes to prep AND cook.
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Ingredients
- vegetables: a medium head cauliflower and boiled green peas
- virgin coconut oil
- seasoning: salt, pepper and curry powder (sambar powder).
- whole spices: mustard seeds, dry red chilies, ginger.
- nuts: roasted peanuts and cashews
- grated coconut.
Can’t find grated coconut? Fresh coconut chunks or dried flakes can be used: pulse a few times in the food processor until you get the grated consistency.
How to make coconut cauliflower rice
(You can find the exact measurements and instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this page.)
How to “rice” cauliflower
Roughly chop the cauliflower head into florets and run through the food processor until the cauliflower bits resemble grains of rice. If you don’t own a food processor, the cauliflower can also be grated using a box grater. Stir-fry the cauliflower rice in coconut oil with salt and pepper until cooked and there’s no moisture left in the coconut rice.
How to season cauliflower rice
Heat coconut oil and saute the nuts, peas, whole spices and curry powder for 5 minutes. Add the coconut, boiled green peas and cauliflower rice and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Serve hot!
Cucumber raitha
The raitha with CREAMY YOGURT brings everything together in the cauliflower rice and is a perfect ‘jewel in the crown’.
Add finely diced cucumber, grated carrots and minced coriander leaves to plain UNSWEETENED YOGURT and season with salt, pepper and CUMIN powder. A refreshing yummy side for anything from biriyani to cauliflower rice.
What to serve with coconut riced cauliflower
Serve this cauliflower coconut rice with creamy refreshing cucumber raita and a protein like minced chicken curry, easy chicken keema-filled eggs or baked hariyali chicken drumsticks and you get a yummy wholesome meal.
It tastes SO GOOD with tandoori chicken and chicken tikka, too.
If you love fresh coconut flavor, you can pair this cauliflower rice with Kerala chicken curry. It also pairs well with the spicy flavors of pepper chicken gravy.
You can also serve it as a side with these for a vegetarian dinner:
For a seafood dinner, try:
For a vegetarian or vegan meal, try these quick side dishes:
- microwave “fried” okra
- green mango chutney
- avocado chutney
- Indian chickpea salad
- lentil salad with turmeric.
Recipe tip
The secret to making the cauliflower rice taste delicious lies in seasoning it twice: with salt and pepper when you cook the riced cauliflower, then again with curry powder (which is actually a bunch of spices, roasted and ground).
Common questions
How long does cauliflower rice last in the fridge?
This coconut cauliflower rice doesn’t last long in the fridge, since fresh coconut will lose its flavor fast. It stays fresh for about 2 days. If you want to keep it beyond that, store in the freezer. It keeps well for about 1 month when frozen. Thaw overnight and reheat by stir-frying on high flame until heated through. You can also reheat in the microwave in a wide, open bowl.
How much cauliflower rice is in a head?
A medium-sized cauliflower that weighs about 500 grams/1.1 pounds yields approximately 4.5 cups of cauliflower rice.
How to make cauliflower rice crispy?
Cauliflower releases moisture when salt is added. You need to ensure that all of the moisture evaporates while the cauliflower gets cooked without getting soggy. This can be done by stir-frying at medium-high heat all the way from start to finish, while cooking and again while seasoning with the spices. This way you get perfectly cooked “grains”.
Love cauliflower? You might like the roasted tandoori cauliflower wings and masala chicken cauliflower rice.
Looking for creamy cauliflower soups? You may not want to miss the spicy cauliflower soup without cream or easy leek potato cauliflower soup.
More side dishes
Easy Toasted Coconut Cauliflower Rice Recipe
Ingredients
for cauliflower rice stir fry
- 1 cauliflower medium head
- 1/4 cup green peas boiled
- 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 dry red chilies halved
- curry leaves a few
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced
- roasted peanuts a few
- roasted cashews a few
- 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1/2 cup grated coconut fresh or toasted (see notes)
- salt and pepper to taste
for cucumber raita
- 1 cup plain unsweetened yogurt – 1 cup
- 1/2 cucumber finely diced
- 1/2 carrot grated
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- sea salt or Himalayan black salt
- coriander leaves a few for garnish
STEP BY STEP IMAGES
Scroll back to find detailed recipe photos!
Instructions
Prepare the cauliflower rice
- Wash and chop the cauliflower head into big chunks. Place the chunks in a food processor and pulse a few times until you get ‘grains’ that resemble rice.
- Heat 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil in a skillet or wok, add the ‘cauliflower rice’ with a dash of salt and pepper. Stir-fry for 5 to 10 minutes until the moisture evaporates. Transfer to a bowl.
Season the cauliflower rice
- Heat the rest of the coconut oil in the same skillet and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard starts spluttering, add chilies, curry leaves, ginger, peas, cashews, peanuts and curry powder. Stir fry for 5 minutes.
- Add desiccated coconut and cauliflower rice. Stir for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Serve with cucumber raita and tandoori chicken.
Cucumber raita
- Mix all ingredients and serve with the fried cauliflower rice.
Video
Notes
- If you don’t have a food processor, grate the cauliflower using a grater.
- The key to getting the right consistency lies in stir-frying the cauliflower on medium-high heat until all the moisture evaporates and you get crisp “grains” of cauliflower that are cooked, yet firm.
- You can use store-bought toasted coconut instead of fresh desiccated ones. In that case, add the coconut at the end of cooking, just before turning off the flame. If you have dried coconut flakes, run them through the food processor and use.
- The nuts used in this recipe are already roasted. If you’re using raw peanuts and cashews, ensure that they are roasted well before adding the cauliflower.
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Interesting facts about cauliflower
- Cauliflower is an excellent source of dietary fibers, vitamins C, K and vitamins of the B group and minerals such as manganese, potassium, and magnesium. Cauliflower has low caloric value and can be used as a substitute for rice and potato.
- Cauliflower develops large and coarse leaves that are green in color. They grow in the form of a rosette.
- Leaves surround stalk and ensure the development of white head. Without leaves, a bunch of inedible yellow flowers would appear.
- The color of the head depends on the variety. The most common type of cauliflower is white, but it can be also purchased in green, purple, orange, brown and yellow color.
- The green variety is known as broccoflower because it looks like broccoli.
- One type of green cauliflower develops spiky instead of round curds. This variety of cauliflower is known as Romanesco broccoli.
- Cauliflower belongs to the group of cruciferous vegetables. They are named that way because they have flowers that consist of four petals that grow in the shape of the Greek cross.
- Cauliflower develops from seeds and tissue transplants.
- Cauliflowers can be eaten raw, cooked or pickled.
- Prolonged cooking destroys the majority of vitamins and it is associated with bad, sulfur-like smell of cauliflower. Cooking 30 or more minutes decreases health benefits of cauliflower by 75%.
- Medical studies revealed that substances isolated from cauliflower can prevent the development of certain types of cancer.
- China is the greatest manufacturer of cauliflowers in the world.
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