This Mexican Cauliflower Rice Recipe is a delicious twist on traditional Mexican Rice. With all the flavors of your favorite Mexican Side Dish, plus enhanced nutrition and lower carbs! Taco Tuesday just got a whole lot tastier..this baked cauliflower rice is sure to become a family favorite.
This post has been updated from the original posted June 19, 2019.
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This Easy Mexican Cauliflower Rice Recipe is made in the oven on a sheet pan for quick clean up. Riced cauliflower with all the taste of traditional Mexican rice, but less carbs! If you’re looking for the perfect healthy side dish to go with all your favorite Mexican dishes, you’re going to love this tasty rice alternative.
It’s no secret I love Mexican recipes. Guacamole is my love language. It’s a staple in this house the way a LBD is in many closets. I feel like this easy Mexican Cauliflower Rice Recipe has a bit of that reputation too…tasty and goes with everything.
Other Healthy Sides for Tacos that I consider MUST HAVES: Fresh Salsa, Vegan Sour Cream, Pineapple Mango Salsa, Vegan Ground Beef, chipotle dressing, and tomatillo salsa.
Why you’ll love this Mexican Cauliflower Rice
- It’s colorful and delicious, beautiful and healthy.
- Meal-prep friendly.
- Quick and easy….with one pan and minimal clean up.
- Hands on time is minimal, freeing you up to do other things (like make guacamole).
- No standing at the stove stirring, so nothing burns and everything cooks evenly.
- Kids love it.
- Plant based protein and fiber for a satisfying side dish or main meal.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cauliflower: Use your food processor or box grater to turn cauliflower florets into small pieces with the texture of rice. Or, you can find already riced cauliflower in the produce section of most grocery stores or buy frozen cauliflower rice in the freezer section.
- Bell Peppers: They add vitamin C and bright color to this great side dish.
- Tomato: When fresh tomatoes are in season, use them! During the winter, you can use canned tomatoes.
- Onion: Sweet onions like vidalia are great in this recipe. You can also use red onion, white onions, yellow onion, scallions, leeks or even shallots.
- Black beans: a great source of plant based protein and fiber. You could substitute pinto beans or kidney beans.
- Corn: Use frozen corn or fresh corn cut right off the cob. Canned corn isn’t a great substitute.
- Jalapeno: Remove the seeds and membranes for bold flavor without the heat. If you’re looking for more spice, use habanero, serrano, anaheim or fresno chili peppers. Pickled jalapenos in the jar are another great choice.
- Cilantro: I adore fresh cilantro, but if it tastes like soap to you, substitute with fresh oregano or parsley.
- Garlic: Yum…and did you know garlic is anti-inflammatory and helps boost the immune system?
- Lime: lime juice and lime zest add a zippy flavor.
- Spices: Earthy cumin, pungent chili powder and a bit of sea salt…or use some of my no salt taco seasoning for bold flavor without any added sodium.
How to make Cauliflower Rice in the oven:
- You’ll need riced cauliflower. Use frozen cauli-rice, straight from the freezer, or save money and rice the cauliflower yourself. Rough chop the cauliflower into large chunks. Use your food processor and pulse until cauliflower pieces are small with a rice-like texture. Do this in batches if needed. You could also use the side of a box grater to grate the cauliflower into a large bowl…it will look like regular rice.
- It’s easiest to mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and then spread it onto a large rimmed baking sheet to bake. I put the frozen corn and frozen riced cauliflower in the bowl first, then add the diced onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and jalapenos to the bowl.
- Zest the garlic and the lime directly over the bowl. Then juice the lime over everything, sprinkle on the spices, drizzle with olive oil and mix well.
- Transfer to a baking tray and bake in a preheated 425 oven for 30 minutes. Baked cauliflower rice can be served warm or at room temperature.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Use a can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh during the winter months when fresh tomatoes are tasteless.
- Add frozen cauli-rice and frozen corn straight from the Mexican Cauliflower Rice is baked in the oven for an easy healthy side dish for tacos, and makes a great low-carb sub for Mexican Rice.0…no need to defrost first.
- Add an extra squeeze of lime or additional jalapenos to jazz things up.
- Drizzle on some avocado-lime dressing and call it a burrito bowl.
- Cook time is 30 minutes. Add an extra 10 for a crispy, more like fried rice texture.
MEAL PREP AND STORAGE
- SERVE: warm or at room temperature. Serve as a healthy Mexican side dish or a plant-based main meal.
- PREP AHEAD: Definitely! This Mexican cauliflower rice is perfect for meal prep. Gently reheat for 15 minutes at 325 or reheat in a hot cast iron skillet until heated through.
- STORE: in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days.
- FREEZE: Leftovers can be frozen for 3 months in a freezer safe container. Bring to room temperature and then reheat as directed above.
More healthy cauliflower recipes
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📖 Recipe
Mexican Cauliflower Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups riced cauliflower
- 1 bell pepper any color, diced.
- 1 large tomato chopped approx. 1 ½ cups, substitute 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 sweet onion small dice
- 1 15-oz can black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 3 jalapeno peppers membranes and seeds removed, small dice.
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro coarsely chopped.
- 2 cloves garlic pressed
- 1 lime zested and juiced
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425
- If using a head of cauliflower, break into florets, then place in food processor and pulse into smaller pieces that resemble grains of rice. Alternately you can find fresh cauliflower rice bagged in the produce section of most super markets or in the freezer section.
- Prep fresh ingredients: dice bell pepper, roughly chop tomato, dice onion, carefully de-seed jalapenos and cut into small dice, roughly chop cilantro.
- Add riced cauliflower, red pepper, tomato, onion, jalapenos, black beans, and corn into large bowl. (OK to add frozen cauliflower rice and frozen corn to bowl directly from freezer).
- Peel garlic and zest or press over bowl. Zest and juice lime over bowl.
- Sprinkle on spices and drizzle with olive oil. Mix until well blended.
- Spread evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes, until the “rice” dries out and the veggies soften.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with lime wedges, sprinkle with additional cilantro and jalapeno slices.
- Leftover Mexican Cauliflower Rice can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days. Gently reheat in a 325 oven for 15 minutes, until heated through. It will also taste great cold, and is a wonderful addition to a taco salad.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Gloria
This looks delicious. The perfect side to so many sides. What a fun take-along recipe for pot luck too. This would be a crowd pleaser.
Sandra Shaffer
I’m a cauliflower lover, so this one is right up my alley! Great meal prep idea for lunches for the week. Nice and filling with those black beans!
Leah
I love how light and flavorful this recipe sounds. I cannot wait to try it out, because it sounds like a great and easy mix. What a great dish, and my kiddos will love it.
Tina
I have very fond memories of taking classes with my daughter when she was younger. We did mosaic tiles mostly and had loads of fun, plus it was a great time for her to decompress and I could keep tabs on what’s going on in her life. Love the idea of throwing a taco party after, way to go Mom!
Jenni LeBaron
I love Mexican rice so I’m glad to see a lower-carb version made with cauliflower. I think roasting it in the oven is brilliant because it crisps everything up just a little the way I like it. This is brilliant for taco night!
Marisa F. Stewart
Well, I have not been on the cauliflower bandwagon but your recipe here is so gorgeous, I’m getting some at Trader Joe. The flavors you have going in the one dish are mouthwatering. And I love the idea it’s just one pan. I’m pinning right now!
Sean@Diversivore
Awesome combination of flavours, and I love how gorgeous and colourful the final dish is. And hey, I love the fact that you’re making your own dishes to use too! I’ve always had a suspicion that it was harder than it looks, but I’ve never gotten to try it myself. Definitely going to have to keep this one in mind the next time I’m looking for a good, low-carb vegan side (which is often enough, all things considered!). Cheers!
Carmy
I love the cauliflower rice for this! I usually have it with rice but I think I’ll sub in cauliflower next time. It would definitely be a nice change since like you said, it fills you up without filling you out!
Debra Klein
I bet you won’t even miss the rice!
Debra Klein
Right….things are never as simple as they seem…..but this recipe is actually fairly simple to make.
Debra Klein
Thank you….and good for you for buying the cauliflower rice for the freezer….you’ll be ready when the mood strikes.
Debra Klein
Exactly….the perfect base for tacos or burritos…..we have it on repeat over here.
Debra Klein
Thanks so much…..totally agree with all the good reasons to do an activity like this together with your kids!
Debra Klein
Yes! Totally kid friendly…adjust the spices and the veggies to suit the tastes of your family.
Debra Klein
So much yes to all of the above!
Debra Klein
Absolutely a crowd pleaser….totally devoured everyplace I bring it.
Dana
This is such a great spin on cauliflower rice! I’ve only ever had it plain, and though good, it gets old fast. I’ve always been pretty uninspired by it, to be honest. So I really appreciate all the flavor here.
Wendy
Every recipe I’ve tried has been a hit! I mean EVERY.
Debra Klein
Thanks Wendy. It was wonderful to have you and Paul as guests at our table last night…and serve you this delicious cauli-rice.
Debra Klein
Oh, Dana….this is just the beginning. There is so much to do with Cauli-rice….mediterranean flavors, veggie add ins, the sky is the limit!
Trish Bozeman
YES Love this! It kind of reminds me a healthier take on nachos with that roasted sheet pan action going on. It sounds amazing, a must try!
Debra Klein
I often serve this with a healthy grain-free cracker….and, of course, it’s good enough on it’s own to eat with a spoon!
Stephanie
Great flavor. Made this “rice” to stuff poblano peppers. Simple to put together and it makes a bunch.
Karen
I make cauliflower rice all the time and this is by far the best one I make. My family loves it!
Debra Klein
Thanks…and I love how easy it is too.
Lucy Mathieu
Can i use frozen cauliflower rice and if so should i microwave or just let it thaw ?
Debra Klein
You can use cauli-rice straight from the freezer. It will thaw as it cooks. The only exception would be if your cauli-rice has any freezer burn or clumps of ice on it. In that case I would rinse and pat dry before mixing with the other ingredients.