The BEST Coconut Cauliflower Rice

When it comes to cauliflower rice recipes, this is the one you’d want to bookmark! Diced cauliflower is pan-fried with aromatics like onions and garlic, and finished with coconut cream for the most delicious and unexpected result. This cauli rice dish is great as a side and suitable for a low-carb, keto, Whole30, paleo, vegan diet, or if you just want to add more veggies into your diet. 

About Coconut Cauliflower Rice

While this dish might not look as beautiful as a rainbow buddha bowl or a colourful salad, the flavour and texture are so nice that you’ll be making it over and over again. Plus, cauliflower is nutritious, full of fibre and low in carbs and calories, making it a very healthy side dish.

I first made this coconut cauliflower rice by accident.

I was making my prawn, broccoli and cashew stir-fry and wanted a low-carb side dish instead of regular rice. I thought I’d just my regular onion, garlic and cauliflower rice combo but I had a few tablespoons of leftover coconut cream that needed to be used up.

I threw it in a pan and fried it up until it was absorbed into the cauliflower pieces, then slightly caramelised and toasted. When I tasted it, I was blown away by the flavour. It actually wasn’t as coconutty as I expected. It had that toasted, nutty, slightly sweet flavour and the cauliflower rice took on a whole new meaning for me!

How To Make Coconut Cauliflower Rice

You will find the full list of ingredients, instructions and nutritional breakdown in the recipe card below. Let’s go over the ingredients you need to make coconut cauliflower rice and the steps.

Cauliflower – I used half a head of cauliflower for this recipe, which yields about 3-4 servings as a side dish. I usually find that 1/4 of cauliflower is about right per person but this was a very large head of cauliflower. To make cauliflower rice kernels, you can either finely chop the vegetable with a knife (this can take a little bit of effort but is easy) or you can use a food processor to speed things up. I often use this gadget for making cauliflower rice as it requires no power and is very compact. 

Coconut cream – you can either purchase actual coconut cream or use full-fat coconut milk and simply scoop out the thickened part of the milk at the top (make sure not to shake the can before opening).

Aromatics – I am using onions and garlic as the two aromatics but you could also add some ginger or chilli; lemongrass could be a fun addition and you can add some turmeric spice to give it a gorgeous yellow colour. 

STEP 1. Finely dice the onion, garlic and cauliflower.  On medium heat, saute the onion in olive oil or coconut oil for a few minutes until translucent. I will often start sauteeing the onion, while I chop the cauliflower to save time. 

STEP 2. Add the cauliflower and garlic, season with salt and pepper and turn the heat up to medium-high. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times.

STEP 3. Then, add the coconut cream (or thickened milk) and stir through. Cook for additional 1-2 minutes, bring the heat up at this stage. Coconut cream will melt into the cauliflower and create a bit of liquid in the pan. You want to cook it off so it evaporates/absorbs into the vegetable and ‘toasts’ a little bit. Once it feels like most of it has been absorbed, turn off the heat. Garnish with some chives or spring onions (scallions) or coriander (cilantro). 

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