This golden turmeric cauliflower rice is a flavor-packed side dish that cooks up in less than 5 minutes. Seasoned with turmeric, ginger, onion powder, and garlic for extra flavor, this recipe is low carb, paleo, and vegan.
There are so many flavor combinations and opinions to take basic cauliflower rice to the next level. From cilantro lime, to coconut, Mexican, and this golden turmeric cauliflower rice! Find all the options in our 7 cauliflower rice recipes post.
This turmeric cauliflower rice is made with lots of anti-inflammatory spices that are so flavorful and healthy! You can enjoy it as a side dish with many recipes, and it works great for meal prep as it stores really well.
Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
- is low carb, vegan, gluten-free and paleo
- works great in meal prep recipes and keeps for up to 4 days after cooking
- can be cooked up in under 5 minutes if you pre-rice your cauliflower
What Is Cauliflower Rice?
While not an exact replica of real rice, cauliflower rice is an amazing rice alternative to serve with stir-fries, curries, and more! Because cauliflower is lower in carbs (5 g carbs per 1 cup of cauliflower rice), it is a popular choice amongst keto and low carb dieters, but also works for those avoiding grains and following the paleo diet.
It's also a great way to squeeze some extra veggies into your diet, which is why we personally love it!
Ingredient Notes
- Cauliflower - this recipe was tested with homemade cauliflower rice. Store-bought cauliflower rice can vary in size and you may need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- ginger - if you'd prefer to use fresh ginger, swap the powdered for 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- garlic- you may swap the garlic powder for 2-3 cloves freshly minced garlic
Step by Step Directions
Prepare Cauliflower
Wash cauliflower and pat dry. Remove outer leaves; break down the head of cauliflower into uniform pieces (1-2 inch florets). Include stems!
Process
Working in 2-3 batches, place florets into a 7 cup food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse 10-15 times until cauliflower is in small rice-sized pieces. Remove any full florets that may remain.
Cook
Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add riced cauliflower, turmeric, ground ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt to the pan.
Cook for around 3-5 minutes, until cauliflower is slightly soft but not mushy.
Serve
Serve this turmeric cauliflower rice with fresh parsley!
Denise's Tips for success
- use a food processor- a food processor is the best way to get evenly-sized cauliflower rice; in a pinch you can use a box grater.
- uniform pieces- cut florets into uniform pieces before processing as this helps them process into evenly-sized cauliflower rice
- work in batches- do not overfill the food processor as this can cause pieces to get stuck and not riced properly
- do not overcook- 3-5 minutes is a guideline but depending on the size of your riced cauliflower, you may want to add or subtract time. Cook until it is *just* softened, and slightly al dente
FAQ
Absolutely! This recipe keeps great in the fridge for up to 4 days and we love using it in meal prep recipes or reheating for dinner. We also love pre-ricing our cauliflower, which makes this recipe so simple to throw together at dinner time. See the storage section for more info on storing raw or cooked cauliflower rice.
One head of cauliflower makes 5-10 cups of rice. Since cauliflower heads vary greatly in size, this can vary. If you end up with extra, don't forget that you can store it in the fridge or freezer (directions are below).
We tested this option, and while it did make the cauliflower rice more fluffy and similar to regular rice, it was not worth the effort. But, you can try it if you would like! To do this method, wring out the cauliflower rice using cheesecloth before cooking to press out some of the liquid. For more nitty-gritty details and video tutorials for making and storing cauliflower rice, see how to make cauliflower rice!
No, that is not necessary. The first time the cauliflower cooks is when you saute it in the pan! It cooks up quite quickly.
Storage + Reheating
Fridge
- Raw - store raw/ uncooked cauliflower rice in an air tight container the fridge for 7-10 days in an air tight container. Note- it doesn't smell great but still tastes great.
- Cooked - store cooked cauliflower rice in an air tight container the fridge for up to 4 days in an air tight container.
Freezer
- Raw - store raw cauliflower rice in the freezer for up to 3 months in a reusable silicone bag or plastic freezer bag.
- Cooked - cool completely, then portion out into a reusable silicone bag, plastic freezer bag, or meal prep container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat
- Stovetop - reheat in a frying pan for a few minutes until warmed through.
- Microwave - does not work as well as it leaves the cauliflower rice wet and soggy. We recommend undercooking the cauliflower if you intend to reheat in the microwave.
- Cook from frozen - even if the rice freezes in a big clump, it cooks up really well from frozen! Place a pan on low heat with the cauliflower rice. Use a lid to cover until you can break the rice apart. Then, cook with the lid off until warmed through and liquids evaporated.
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Golden Turmeric Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or unrefined coconut oil
- 4 cups riced cauliflower note 1
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger note 2
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder note 3
- ½ teaspoon salt
Optional garnish
- fresh parsley
Instructions
- Prepare cauliflower - wash cauliflower and pat dry. Remove outer leaves; break down the head of cauliflower into uniform pieces (1-2 inch florets). Include stems!
- Process - Working in 2-3 batches, place florets into a 7 cup food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse 10-15 times until cauliflower is in small rice-sized pieces. Remove any full florets that may remain.
- Cook - Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add riced cauliflower, turmeric, ground ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt to the pan. Cook for around 3-5 minutes, until cauliflower is slightly soft but not mushy.
- Serve - with fresh parsley (optional).
Tips:
- one head of cauliflower produces 5-10 cups of riced cauliflower; you can rice it 7-10 days ahead to make cooking it up simple
- swap for 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- swap for 2-3 cloves fresh minced garlic
- Raw - store raw/ uncooked cauliflower rice in the fridge for 7-10 days in an air-tight container.
- Cooked - store cooked cauliflower rice in the fridge for up to 4 days in an air-tight container.
- Raw - store raw cauliflower rice in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Cooked - cool completely, then portion out into a reusable silicone bag, plastic freezer bag, or meal prep container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Stovetop - reheat in a frying pan for a few minutes until warmed through.
- Microwave - does not work as well as it leaves the cauliflower rice wet and soggy.
- Cook from frozen - even if the rice freezes in a big clump, it cooks up really well from frozen! Place a pan on low heat with the cauliflower rice. Use a lid to cover until you can break the rice apart. Then, cook with the lid off until warmed through.
Nutrition Information
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Maryam Yousaf says
Hi, I just made this today and it turned out delicious, minus the calories!
Denise Bustard says
Ha ha! Darn calories!
Brandy says
My whole family enjoyed this! I accidentally added cumin but it’s because I wasn’t paying attention and I thought I grabbed the turmeric. We will make this again for sure!
Denise says
So happy you all enjoyed, Brandy! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review, and that's great for us to know it works with cumin as well 🙂