How to make cauliflower rice

What exactly is cauliflower rice?

Cauliflower rice recipes have become increasingly popular in recent years, and for good reason. They offer a simple way to add more vegetables to your diet, making your meals extra nutritious. Plus, the versatility of cauliflower means you’re able to enjoy it in all kinds of different dishes. From cauliflower fried rice to burritos, salads, and rice bowls, the options are almost endless. You can even use riced cauliflower to make a pizza base! But what exactly is it, and where did it come from?

As with many dishes, the specific origin of cauliflower rice recipes is up for debate. People have likely been eating the vegetable since the Middle Ages, so we can’t say for certain who first discovered how to rice cauliflower. However, the most widely accepted story is that chef Ben Ford (son of Harrison) invented the meal in 1998.(1) He called it cauliflower couscous and served it as part of a lamb dish.

As the name suggests, cauliflower rice is simply cauliflower that has been broken down into very small pieces. Visually, it resembles a grain much like rice or couscous, and you use it in a similar way.

Today, it is not unusual to find chilled and frozen cauliflower rice in the supermarket. (Quick side note: producers often call their product ‘riced cauliflower’ to appease the rice industry and avoid any possible confusion!) Here at Erbology, however, we think it’s rather more satisfying to whip up your own cauliflower rice recipes. But before we talk about how to make cauliflower rice, let’s look at some reasons you might want to. You’ll soon understand why it’s such a fabulous addition to your culinary repertoire!

The health benefits of cauliflower

The humble cauliflower is, of course, at the heart of all cauliflower rice recipes. It may not be the most exciting of foods, however that’s precisely why it works so well. The vegetable’s mild flavor pairs perfectly with almost any ingredient. Not to mention, it’s bursting with nutritional benefits.

For starters, cauliflower is rich in an antioxidant called sulforaphane. Antioxidants help to protect our cells against oxidative stress, and research has linked sulforaphane with a wealth of health benefits.(2) These include decreasing the risk of diabetes, plus reducing high blood pressure and keeping your arteries healthy. The latter two mean cauliflower rice recipes may aid in lessening the chance of developing heart disease.

Cauliflower is additionally a fantastic source of choline. This essential nutrient plays a multitude of key roles within the body. For instance, choline helps to support cell membranes, synthesise DNA, and prevent cholesterol from building up in the liver. It’s also vital for making acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in everything from muscle contraction to cognitive functions like memory.(3)

As if that weren’t enough, cauliflowers are high in more familiar nutrients like folate, vitamin K, and vitamin C too. Vitamin K supports blood clotting and bone health, while vitamin C is important for wound healing and iron absorption.

Moreover, cauliflower’s relatively high fiber content brings plenty of additional benefits to our wellbeing. Eating sufficient fiber promotes digestive health by nourishing the gut microbiome, plus reduces the risk of developing certain chronic diseases. So, as you can see, introducing cauliflower rice recipes into your diet may boost wellness in all sorts of ways!

Versatile and nutritious: how to make cauliflower rice

As well as being wholesome and delicious, cauliflower rice recipes are super easy to make. So without further ado, here’s how to do it.

Start by adding your cauliflower florets to a food processor and blending them until they’re minced. Technically, after this step, you already have cauliflower rice! However, on its own, riced cauliflower can be rather bland – so let’s dial up the flavor.

Add the sunflower oil to a pan and heat it up before tipping in the minced cauliflower. Sauté for about five to seven minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender. Now it’s time to season your fried cauliflower rice. Sprinkle in the sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and cumin powder, and give the dish a good mix. It’s at this point that you can switch up your cauliflower rice recipes by using different seasonings. As always, feel free to adjust the amounts you add to suit your personal taste preferences.

Take the pan off the heat and then pop in your barley grass powder. Stir your riced cauliflower until all the seasonings are evenly distributed. The barley grass should give the dish a gorgeous green hue!

Plate up your cauliflower rice, then garnish with finely chopped chives and a sprinkle of black sesame seeds. And with that, you’re ready to serve! You can enjoy this dish as it is, or use it in place of different grains as part of a larger meal. Another option is to bulk it out with extra ingredients to make it more filling. Roasted vegetables, tofu cubes, and nuts are all brilliant additions, so have fun creating your own unique cauliflower rice recipes!

Supreme seasonings

Because cauliflower is mild in flavor, seasonings are crucial for creating delicious cauliflower rice recipes. What’s more, they can also bring a little extra nutrition to your meals. Take the black pepper in this dish as an example. Thanks to an active compound called piperine, it may help to improve blood sugar management and lower inflammation.(4)

Similarly, evidence indicates that cumin offers a number of potential health benefits. The spice could enhance digestion, improve blood cholesterol levels, and promote weight loss.(5) It might additionally help with diabetes by improving blood glucose control and countering some of the condition’s effects.(6)

And then we have garlic powder. This potent plant may have antiviral properties, helping to boost the immune system.(7) Garlic is also good for cardiovascular health. Studies show that it could work to lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol, plus improve blood flow.(8) All of which can reduce the risk of conditions such as heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. This makes garlic a wonderful addition to your cauliflower rice recipes.

Finally, there are the black sesame seeds. Ok, technically these are more of a garnish than a seasoning, but they don’t just add color to the dish. These tiny nutritional powerhouses are rich in antioxidants, helping to defend us from the damage caused by free radicals. Furthermore, evidence suggests that tucking into sesame seeds could be useful for lowering blood pressure.(9)

Of course, these seasonings are only suggestions. We encourage you to create your own cauliflower rice recipes with different herbs and spices to suit the season and occasion. You can’t go wrong with a little culinary creativity!

Barley grass: taking cauliflower rice recipes to the next level

What sets this dish apart from other cauliflower rice recipes is the inclusion of barley grass. These vibrant green shoots are bursting with vitamins A, C, and K, plus minerals like iron, magnesium, and potassium.(10) Each has a vital role to play in ensuring we stay healthy. Barley grass also contains eight of the essential amino acids, which are the basic building blocks of protein.

In addition, barley grass powder is overflowing with plant compounds such as polyphenols and flavonoids. These possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, helping to keep oxidative stress and chronic inflammation at bay. This is important because experts have linked both to an increased risk of harmful health conditions like cancer and Alzheimer’s.

What’s more, oxidative stress can speed up the ageing process. Including antioxidant-rich barley grass in your cauliflower rice recipes could therefore be beneficial for skin health. The fact that the vitamin C it contains also stimulates the production of collagen enhances this. Collagen is a protein that improves skin elasticity and hydration, reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

Another organ that barley grass could be especially beneficial for is the heart. There are several reasons for this. First, minerals such as magnesium and potassium help to regulate blood pressure and prevent hypertension. Second, studies indicate that barley grass may decrease cholesterol and triglyceride levels, plus reduce the oxidation of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol.(11)

Interestingly, there’s a chance that barley grass might also contribute to improved mental health. Some of the amino acids it contains – such as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and tryptophan – help ease anxiety and promote sleep. Indeed, one study found that taking barley grass powder improves the quality of our sleep.(12) However, more research is necessary to confirm this.

Meet our organic barley grass powder

To enjoy the benefits discussed above, it’s important to use a quality barley grass powder in your cauliflower rice recipes. That’s exactly why we source ours directly from small organic farmers in Europe, who don’t use any chemicals when cultivating the plants. They pick the leaves while they’re still young and at their nutritional peak, then carefully clean and sort them. This ensures that only the very finest make it into the final product.

Next, our team meticulously dries the barley grass and mills it into a fine powder. We don’t add any bulking agents or filler ingredients, so what you receive is 100% pure organic barley grass powder. As such, you can rest assured that you’ll get the maximum potential health benefits from taking this potent plant. And yes, it means that beautiful green color is entirely natural!

Barley grass powder has a fairly mild, earthy flavor, with bitter undertones. Consequently, there are all sorts of other delicious ways to enjoy it in addition to cauliflower rice recipes. For example, you could add a teaspoon to a glass of water for a quick and easy burst of nutrition. Alternatively, mix some into your favorite juices and smoothies. It’s particularly effective at balancing out the sweetness of fruits like mango and pineapple.

Another option is stirring barley grass powder into yoghurt or a breakfast bowl for an extra-healthy start to your morning. Prefer to enjoy it later in the day? Try mixing the powder into a homemade salad dressing, or adding some to a bowl of soup. The one factor to bear in mind is that heating barley grass powder can mean you lose some nutrients. As such, raw recipes are ideal!

The versatility of cauliflower rice recipes

We’ve talked a lot about how versatile cauliflower rice recipes are. One reason for this is that the riced vegetable easily absorbs flavor from dressings and sauces. What’s more, you can eat it raw or quickly heat it up to make fried cauliflower rice. It only requires minimal cooking, especially if you don’t want it to get soft.

However, it’s worth noting that cauliflower rice is not as absorbent as actual rice. As such, you might not need to use as much sauce or dressing as you would in a rice dish. If you find that your cauliflower rice recipes are getting soggy, try roasting the grains on a wide, shallow tray. Alternatively, pat them gently with a piece of kitchen towel to remove any excess moisture.

There is almost no limit to the cauliflower rice recipes you can create once you have the technique down. Looking for some inspiration? You could try using riced cauliflower to make sushi rolls, tabbouleh, tofu rice bowls, or stuffed peppers. And it’s not only rice you’re able to substitute it for. Cauliflower rice also works perfectly in place of other grains like couscous and quinoa.

So have fun, experiment, and find your own favorite cauliflower rice recipes! You might never look at this unassuming vegetable in the same way again…