Hello, friends! It’s been way too long since I’ve posted a new recipe, but this Mexican Cauliflower Rice makes the wait worth it. It’s flavorful, full of nutritious veggies, and is super easy to throw together for a fun dinner! And I know it’s good, because my picky husband even likes it!
I’m pretty late jumping on the cauliflower rice train, mainly because I didn’t want to pull out my grater and make a huge mess in my kitchen. But now I’m seeing bagged cauliflower rice everywhere, so life just got much easier. I can usually find it near the bagged salad greens in the produce section.
A few weeks ago I threw this Mexican cauliflower rice dish together for a quick dinner at home using what I had on hand — leftover pico de gallo, half of a bell pepper, frozen corn, etc. The result was so good, I decided to perfect it for the blog. I hope you give this recipe a try, and maybe your family will love it as much as mine does!
I topped the Mexican cauliflower rice with chili-lime roasted chickpeas, but if you’re really in a hurry, you can just stir canned chickpeas or black beans in with the rice mixture for some added protein. I personally like the soft crunch of the roasted chickpeas, so try them at least once!
- Roasted Chickpeas:
- 1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and dried with a paper towel
- Juice of ½ lime
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- Salt & pepper
- Cauliflower Rice:
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped small
- ½ yellow onion, chopped small
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 3 cups riced cauliflower
- ¾ cup pico de gallo, with juices (I used the Whole Foods brand)
- ¾ cup frozen or canned corn
- Fresh lime juice
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Optional: fresh cilantro, sliced avocado or guacamole
- Preheat oven to 415 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Toss chickpeas with lime juice, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Spread chickpeas out on the baking sheet so they aren't touching, and roast about 15 mins, stirring once after about 10 mins. Remove them from the oven when the skins are golden, but the insides of the beans are still slightly soft.
- While the chickpeas are roasting, warm a medium pot over medium heat with ¼-inch water. Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic, stir, and cook until soft, about 5 mins.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, paprika, and riced cauliflower. Allow the cauliflower to cook at least 5 mins, adding more water to the pot of it starts to get dry.
- Finally, add the pico and corn, stirring to heat, and season with lime juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro, if desired.
- To serve, spoon rice mixture into a bowl and top it with the roasted chickpeas and sliced avocado.
If you can't find bags of cauliflower rice, it's pretty easy to make your own. Just grate a head of cauliflower over a large bowl until you have 3 cups!
Roasted chickpeas and riced cauliflower don't reheat very well, so this dish is really best the day you make it.
This Mexican cauliflower rice would be great with my Oil-free Tortilla Chips!
And my Vegan Queso!
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