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Looking for a fast, cheap, and easy Whole30 vegetable side dish or vegetable-forward one-pan meal? Then look no further, ’cause Whole30 cauliflower rice recipes are riding to the rescue!

A collage of Whole30 Cauliflower Rice recipes by Nom Nom Paleo.

Cauliflower is one of the stars of the produce aisle because it can morph into so many different low carbohydrate substitutes:  mashed potatoes, pizza crust, tortillas—you name it. But personally, my favorite way to use cauliflower is as a rice doppelgänger. I grew up eating white rice, and making fried cauliflower “rice”with leftover fridge scraps reminds me of some of the upcycled meals my thrifty mom used to whip up.

A large cast iron skillet filled with riced cauliflower.

When this blog was birthed in 2010, cauliflower rice was something we had to make ourselves. These days, however, it’s a cinch to find riced cauliflower in the produce aisle and in the freezer section of your local supermarket. (You can still totally rice your own cauliflower in a food processor, but wouldn’t you rather pay for the convenience of not cleaning the mess?) In fact, I almost always have several bags of riced cauliflower in my freezer. It’s cheaper than the fresh stuff, and I can break it out whenever I need a boost of emergency vegetables.

Pro tip: Don’t thaw the frozen riced cauliflower before cooking it. Instead, just dump it straight from the freezer into a hot pan with some cooking fat. I’ve found that frozen cauliflower rice will actually get extremely mushy and watery if it’s thawed before cooking. Plus, cooking frozen cauliflower rice straight from the freezer only adds about a minute or so to the total cooking time.

A person pouring a plate of riced cauliflower into a large stainless steel skillet.

Cooked properly, cauliflower can take on the flavor and spices of whatever you add to it, making it the perfect rice substitute in your dishes. Sometimes, cauliflower can have a strong flavor, but when seasoned properly, most folks (even picky kids!) can’t tell the difference.

Two photos showing how to fry Kimchi Fried Cauliflower Rice in a large cast iron skillet.

Convinced? Then try some of my favorite Whole30 Cauliflower Rice Recipes:

Simple Cauliflower Rice: This method is a basic and tasty way to quickly make a delicious plain “rice” for your favorite stir-fries, like Spicy Asparagus and Pork Stir-Fry.

An overhead shot of two bowls of simple cauliflower fried rice with a pair of silver chopsticks on top of one of the bowls.

Mexi-Cauli Rice: You can make homemade Whole30 burrito bowls with this “rice” as the base! Top it with Instant Pot Carnitas or Instant Pot Salsa Chicken and don’t forget the guacamole!

An overhead shot of a bowl of Mexi-Cauli rice topped with a cilantro sprig and lime wedges.

Asian Cauliflower Fried Rice: One of my favorite ways to cook cauliflower rice because it reminds me of dishes I grew up eating! This dish is great as a one-pot meal, but if you want to add more tasty protein, serve it with my Wonton Meatballs!

A side view of Asian Cauliflower Fried Rice in a blue and white bowl with a pair of wooden chopsticks on the side.

Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice: I’m a big fan of Korean food and kimchi and this fried cauliflower “rice” hits the spot! Feel free to change up the protein with whatever you have on hand—it tastes really yummy with shrimp, too!

An overhead shot of a bowl of Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice topped with toasted seaweed slices and scallions.

Want more cauliflower rice variations? Crack open our first cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo: Food For Humans and flip to page 157 for Pineapple Coconut Cauliflower Rice. And if you want something more exotic, grab our latest cookbook, Ready or Not!, to find our Persian Cauliflower Rice (page 264) and Cumin Cilantro Lime Rice (page 81)!

A shot of Coconut Pineapple "Rice" and Persian Cauliflower Rice

Want more inspiration from past January Whole30s? Check out my Day 3 posts from 2018 and 2017!

2018 Whole30 Day 3: Ground Beef Chili

2017 Whole30 Day 3: Ollie’s Cracklin’ Chicken


A note to my Nomsters: This is one of a series of daily blog posts I’m writing in the month of January 2019 to help those doing a Whole30 to kick off the New Year. Not sure what the Whole30 is, or want info on how to get started? Read my Whole30 prep post—and then come back to Nom Nom Paleo every single day for recipes to inspire, delight, and sustain you on your Whole30!


Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!

About Michelle Tam

Hello! My name is Michelle Tam, and I love to eat. I think about food all the time. It borders on obsession. I’ve always loved the sights and smells of the kitchen. My mother was (and is) an excellent cook, and as a kid, I was her little shadow as she prepared supper each night. From her, I gained a deep, abiding love for magically transforming pantry items into mouth-watering family meals.

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