Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice
This cauliflower rice recipe features fresh Mediterranean flavors, including toasted almonds, lemon and parsley. It's the perfect light side dish! It's low carb, vegan and gluten free, too.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 9, 2024
To be honest, I was skeptical of cauliflower rice. How could blitzed raw cauliflower, warmed in a skillet, taste anywhere near as satisfying as fluffy, steaming rice? It can’t. The inevitable truth is that cauliflower rice needs some help from other flavors to send me back for seconds.
This is cauliflower rice kicked up several notches by some of my favorite Mediterranean ingredients. Fresh parsley, lemon, garlic, toasted almonds and red pepper flakes make this cauliflower rice an irresistible side dish. It tastes like rice pilaf crossed with tabbouleh, if you will. It is delicious.
I first made this cauliflower rice as a side dish for some leftovers, but it turned into dinner when I couldn’t stop going back for more. To be certain that the recipe was blog-worthy, I made the rice again for my skeptical taste testers.
Their response? “You know, this is really good. Like, really good. Why is this so good?” That’s when I threw my fists in the air and started making slow victory laps around the kitchen island.
You could make this low-carb cauliflower rice to round out a light meal, or to lighten up an otherwise heavy dinner. It will go well with any recipe that is loosely Mediterranean in flavor, especially with dishes that contain lemon and fresh herbs. Serve this recipe when a green salad won’t cut it!
Watch How to Make This Cauliflower Rice
How to Make Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice
You’ll find the simple recipe below, but here’s the gist:
- If using fresh cauliflower, turn it into rice in a food processor or with a cheese grater. Again, full details are below.
- Toast the almonds in a skillet until they’re lightly golden and fragrant. Transfer them to a bowl, then return the warm skillet to the heat.
- Warm the olive oil and cook the garlic briefly. We just want to take the edge off the garlic, not let it change colors. It will continue cooking with the rice.
- Add the cauliflower rice. Stir only every minute or so until it’s warmed through and takes on a bit of color on the edges.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the toasted almonds, fresh parsley and lemon juice. Stir it together, and enjoy.
More Light and Fresh Side Dishes to Enjoy
Here are a few more of my favorites:
- Orange Orzo Salad with Almonds, Feta and Olives,
- Perfect Roasted Asparagus
- The Best Quinoa Salad
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Tabbouleh Salad
As always, please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments section. If you’re a cauliflower rice connoisseur, please share your tips with me, too!
Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice
This cauliflower rice recipe features fresh Mediterranean flavors, including toasted almonds, lemon and parsley. It’s the perfect light side dish! It’s low carb, vegan and gluten free, too. Recipe yields 4 modest side servings.
Ingredients
- 1 medium-to-large head cauliflower or 16 ounces store-bought cauliflower rice
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (omit if sensitive to spice)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- If you’re working with a head of cauliflower, cut it into medium chunks (see photo) and discard the core. Working in batches, pulse the chunks in a food processor with the S-blade until they’re broken into tiny pieces, just bigger than couscous. (See recipe notes if you don’t have a food processor.)
- Wrap the cauliflower rice in a clean tea towel or paper towels, twist, and squeeze as much water as possible from the rice—you might be surprised by how much water you can wring out.
- Toast the almonds in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently (careful, or they’ll burn), until they’re fragrant and starting to turn golden on the edges, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the toasted almonds to a bowl to cool.
- Return the skillet to the heat and add the olive oil and garlic. Cook while stirring until the garlic is fragrant, about 10 to 20 seconds. Add the cauliflower rice, red pepper flakes and salt, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring just every minute or so, until the cauliflower rice is hot and turning golden in places, about 6 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the toasted almonds, parsley and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm.
Notes
Make it nut free: Substitute raw sunflower seeds for the almonds.
If you don’t have a food processor: Slice the cauliflower into even quarters and grate the cauliflower on the medium holes of a cheese grater. Grate one quarter at a time until you’re done.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I really love the taste of this cauliflower rice.
If I had some saffron, I would have added it, for I think it would add yet another layer of flavor that I love together with cauliflower. The almonds bring a delightful crunch and fresh parsley from the garden is perfection. I added a bit more olive oil because it looked a little dry in the pan to me and, let’d face it, olive oil is always a welcome addition! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thank you for your comment and review, Suzanne! I like the idea of adding some saffron. I might need to try that!
Hello, this looks delicious, could it be made the day before, or is it best made at the time? Thanks!
It is really best served immediately, but you could make ahead if needed and warm on the stovetop or serve cold.
Are you saying that this has 15 grams of fat PER SERVING? Where is this large amount of fat coming from? Thank you.
The nutritional information is only an estimate. There are healthy fats in some of the ingredients like the olive oil and almonds. Hope this helps some!
This was really good, the almonds gave it crunch and I also added some chopped green onions after cooking.
Thanks for sharing and for your review, Colleen!
I cut my cauliflower into pieces, stem and all, then wash well. Leaving it pretty wet I cook in the microwave till tender then mash with a fork to desired consistency, add a bit of butter and salt to use instead of potato. A very good substitute for diabetics who have to watch their carb intake. Definitely like the sound of yours and will roast in the oven next time Thanks Mal Australia.
Thanks for sharing, Marilyn!
This is the best cauliflower rice I have made! Definitely loved the toasted almonds in this, they lent the nutty taste I like in brown rice, plus that great crunch. This will be my go-to recipe for healthier special meals. We served this with a green and black olive chicken dish from Williams Sonoma. The whole meal was so delish!
Great to hear, Michelle! Thanks so much for sharing.
This is so so so good. Best cauliflower rice recipe I’ve tried (and I tried a lot). Thank you!
I’m glad this one was the best! Thanks, Julia.
Wow. Stumbled across this recipe, while trying to find a way to spice up cauliflower rice for the low carb diet my wife and I are on. I couldn’t bear to put some wonderful scallops in a cream and spinach sauce on plain cauliflower rice. (I hope it’s not offensive that we put scallops on your wonderful vegetarian rice dish . . . if so then I won’t mention the bacon that was in the cream sauce as well :-) )
This recipe was exceptional yet easy to prepare, exceeding our expectations. Thank you for sharing your gift with the world!
Thank you for sharing!
Used pignoli instead of almonds and sumac instead of lemon… yummy and light!
Thanks for sharing, M! I’m glad you liked it.
This was FANTASTIC! I love all your excellent tips on your recipes as it gives me a heads up! I had bought frozen cauliflower rice from Trader Joe’s and was just waiting for a good recipe when I came across your blog. Out of the freezer, I tossed it in a separate non-stick skillet first and let all the moisture evaporate and then followed your recipe. Thank you
Great to hear, Zoreh!
Thank you for the Mediterranean Cauliflower Rice recipe, my family and I thoroughly enjoyed it … although, I did tweek it somewhat as I found following the recipe lead to a very dry, undercooked dish (at least to my taste). I added finely chopped red and orange peppers and while cooking I very slowly added about 2/3 cup of vegetable stock, which helped to cook the cauliflower and to keep it moist. Thanks again for sharing the recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m glad it worked or you with your tweaks, Deb. Thanks for the feedback.
Hi Kate. I just wanted to let you know that Costco’s frozen cauli rice works great with this recipe. I defrosted it first and then squeezed the moisture out. Best ever. I honestly think squeezing the water out makes all the difference. My husband loved it.
Thanks for another great recipe.
That’s is great to hear, Anne! Thanks so much for your comment and review.
Love it. It’s now my go-to recipe for my hubby. Did add egg and frozen peas.
Thank you for sharing, Kris!
Loved the mediterranean cauliflower rice. Might even add kalamata olive pieces next time.
I do love kalamata olives!
hi Kate, thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
From México, city
You’re welcome, Miquel!
Hello,
I made this and it came out great! I skipped the lemon and parsley though. My mother loved it and said she wanted it cooked tomorrow also.
A friend of mine who previously made cauliflower rice said hers did not come out well. But she did not squeeze the water out and said it was mushy. So thanks for including that water removal in the recipe, I don’t think it would have been good without that step.
You’re welcome! I’m glad the tips were helpful.
LOVE this. Made it the first time with store bought cauliflower rice and it was perfect. I am currently making it with cauliflower that I riced in my food processor. Never again will I rice it myself lol
You were right, HUGE mess.
It is a mess, but this recipe tastes so good! Thanks for your review, Misty.
OMG this was exactly what I needed! I tried a different cauliflower rice recipe last week and was devastated with how awful it tasted and smelled. I had to cut out all grains from my diet and was really banking on making cauliflower rice work and THANK YOU SO MUCH for saving me! Your recipes seriously never disappoint and this is no exception. Absolutely delicious and it went perfectly with a Greek Skillet meal from Budget Bytes. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m really glad this fit just what you needed, Jess.
This was my first experience with riced cauliflower and this recipe is a keeper! I did add some chopped tomatoes and cucumber at the end with the lemon and since I didn’t have fresh parsley I added fresh basil. Yum! Thanks!!!
Loved this but made it a bit more Mediterranean with the addition of zucchini, spinach, tomatoes, carrots and Italian seasonings.
Thanks for sharing!
Very, very good! Unexpectedly good! I never did this before and I was kinda skeptical too, but it’s quite awesome, the texture, the taste. Very subtle and nice. Thank you
You’re welcome, Lulia!
I would like to say, thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us. It was a hit! The almonds gave it the perfect texture. The parsley gave it the perfect pop of color. This will definitely be our new replacement for rice.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! The almonds are really nice, I agree.
This recipe is delicious!! I omitted the red pepper flakes and added ab out 1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese. Full of flavor and texture – a wonderful, heart-healthy side dish.
Thanks for sharing, Vivian!
Just made this to go with a tagine. Found it quick, straightforward and very tasty too.
My husband liked it as he’s not a huge fan of cous cous so I’ll definitely be cooking it again.
Thanks
Hi Kate
Thanks for this recipe, it was delicious. I wanted it to be a main so added peas and capsicum to increase the veg content. I loved the contrasting crunch of the almonds and the tang of the citrus. Will add this to my ‘favourites’ list.
Thanks again from Sue in Australia
I have to admit I was sceptial about cauliflower rice but this was really delicious, we all loved it. Lovely just on its own
Made this tonight to go with a stew. Very good and very customizable as well. Thanks for posting
Thank you for this lovely looking version of cauli rice. I always make cauli rice by frying an onion with some garlic, which I add my cauli rice to. I find it gives it more flavour. Of course, you have a whole lot of other ingredients, which will anyway add to the flavour. I look forward to trying it, but may just add the fried onion and garlic anyway.
Thank you for sharing, Beth!
I did the exact same thing instead I used butter cilantro half a onion and chicken bouillon to give it a little more flavor
Thank you for your feedback, Christopher!
Hi there! I made this great recipe! I kinda tweeted it a bit. I toasted the almonds in butter, then as ur directions I held them aside. Then used the same pan with the riced cauliflower with butter and almond flavor and used just one pan. Yummy!
Thank you for sharing, Lisa!
Fabulous recipe. Made this as is with a 12 Oz bag of frozen cauliflower rice . Only difference was I cooked it a little higher to compensate for the “frozen” . Excellent as is . I would say with the 12 Oz this gave me two side portions .
Thanks for sharing how frozen worked for you, Justine!
I loved trying this recipe as my first time using “riced cauliflower”
I didn’t have many almonds, so I used half almonds and half pumpkin seeds and it turned out delicious.
Great texture and flavour! Thanks for the inspiration!
I do love pumpkin seeds. Thank you for sharing, Jillian.
Made 2 large servings. Not enough seasoning to mask the earthy cauliflower taste so I added 1tsp each of smoked paprika, paprika, cumin and chilli powder and more lemon juice. I also added raisins to my portion which added a nice sweet flavour and texture contrast to the ‘rice’ but obviously wouldn’t recommend this for those on strict low carb diet.
Thank you for sharing your variation, Jenny! I appreciate the review.
Hi Kate, I came across your blog looking for cauliflower rice recipes that are gluten free and Weight Watchers friendly. This was amazing. I loved the flavor combinations and my husband thought it was regular rice – win for healthier eating! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Welcome to the blog, Lisa! I’m glad you loved this one. Thanks so much for you review.
I made a cauliflower rice but adapted to a much simpler form and only used Tabasco and soy sauce as flavourings and cooked it in a wok. It worked quite well but next time I need to up the flavourings. Thank you for all the info.
Stephen
PS No rating as I did not use your recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Stephen! Sounds interesting.
My first time making cauluflower rice I made this for dinner tonight tonight and we loved it. The toasted almonds added a flavourful crunch. I also threw a large handful of spinach at the same time as the nuts. I will definately be making again.
I’m glad you made it and loved it, Susan! Thanks for sharing.
Really enjoyed the recipe! does anyone know if this freezes well? I meal prep a lot.
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think this one will freeze well. I believe you will get a mushy result.
Yum, was delish!
I’m glad you loved it, NJ!
I think I personally prefer the roasted version, but this is a great one too! I used sunflower oil due to food sensitivity and added some lemon juice and zest as suggested by others. Great side dish and so very versatile!
Thank you for sharing, Barb!
Thank you so much for the recipie! I love to add the almonds too as it makes it a more complete meal with the protein. It was so very good, that I ate the whole skillet full for dinner, and left none for later, but no regrets, lol!
You’re welcome, Elizabeth!
This is amazing! I bumped the heat with extra crushed red pepper and added more garlic. I’ll be masking this again and again.
I love to hear that, Debi!
My 15 month old, who has been very anti vegetable lately, gobbled this up. We will be making this again and again. Love it.
Great to hear, Sarah! I hear they go in lots of phases. Good luck!
YUM!! Perfect!
Thank you, Denise!
We made this tonight and it turned out so good! We just used a frozen bag of riced cauliflower instead of fresh.
I’m happy it turned out so well, Leah!
I think this is my new favorite cauli-rice! Yum! Had it as a side for Keto Parmesan Encrusted White Fish. Is this possibly Keto friendly???
Hi Barb! I’m happy you love this. I’m not well versed on different diet requirements, sorry!
I didn’t have almonds, but used softened diced bell peppers instead. Tasted great! Better be easy on the crushed red pepper if you have sissies in your clan like I do
Thank you for sharing, Amy!
I make cauliflower dishes im always looking for new ways to spice it up i have to loose weight due to health reasons so i love tofind new dishes and quick but healthy also i work so this dish is great thank you
I hope you like it, Rose!
This was excellent! Just as you said, I could have made a meal of this side dish.
Thank you for sharing, Carrie!
GREAT! This is my go-to rice replacement – the parsley makes it/cuts any bitterness in the cauliflower. I made it as above the first time. Then I personalized it, and substituted sun-dried tomato flakes and chopped up sun-dried tomatoes and added about a 1/4 cup of sliced olives. Delish! I have added in other veggies – notably asparagus; served it with chicken breasts, and have twice added pre-cooked ground turkey (cooked with rosemary) for other versions. Always yummy.
I like how you changed it up! I might need to try that. Thank you for your review, Patricia!
Do you have the nutrition information on this? Calories, fat, etc? I’m most interested in the fat. Looking forward to trying it. I’ve had cauliflower rice with a vegan ‘cheese’ recipe made with butternut squash and cashews. Very good, like cheesy cauliflower.
Hi Beth! The nutritional information is below the notes of the recipe. You just need to click to expand and ensure you allow cookies in your browser. I hope this helps!