Tips on cooking riced cauliflower - does anyone use it to bulk up actual rice?

MelodyandBarbells
MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there. I'm making a baked rice recipe, and I'm hoping to use a bit less rice by adding (frozen) riced cauliflower to it. Does anyone have experience actually cooking raw rice and frozen riced cauliflower together? Any tips?

Replies

  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    I would cook both separately and then combine them after if at all possible. Otherwise I use riced cauliflour as a direct replacement for rice.
  • VlpW
    VlpW Posts: 53 Member
    I do use it to bulk up meals, but heat it separately. I find that if you cook it too much (like you would making baked rice), it becomes too strongly flavored and "cabbage-y" tasting. That might be okay for some recipes though. .. :)
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    Crikey. I was gonna add it to the last eight minutes of a forty minute bake but accidentally added it at the start. I tried scooping out the cauliflower from the top of the rice, but raw rice grains kept coming with it. Geeeezzzzz!!!! I hate ruining my food and then having to choke it down anyway for two weeks :/. I'll report back how it turned out.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    Okay. It was alright I guess. I saved 530 calories on a dish that takes me two weeks to consume lol. There's also i'd say a significant amount of oil in the recipe, so I'll either have to make adjustments there or leave it as is
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,961 Member
    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    Okay. It was alright I guess. I saved 530 calories on a dish that takes me two weeks to consume lol. There's also i'd say a significant amount of oil in the recipe, so I'll either have to make adjustments there or leave it as is

    Does that mean 10 meals (or more), and the entire recipe is only 530 calories lower from using cauliflower for part of the rice? So 53 calories or less saved per serving? Everybody has to make their own decisions about what changes are worth it (and I'm not advocating tossing this batch, as I hate to waste edible food), but for me, saving 53 calories wouldn't be worth it if it meant I didn't enjoy the finished product.

    At least it didn't ruin it. I think the advice for cooking the cauliflower and rice separate assumed the rice was being cooked before it went into the baking dish or casserole. I wouldn't try to add the raw cauliflower to a casserole after it was mostly cooked.
  • broseidonkingofbrocean
    broseidonkingofbrocean Posts: 180 Member
    I didn't even think of this so thanks for the idea! like someone else said tho i would cook both seperate and add together.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    It barely needs cooking, as I think you've found. I haven't used frozen but I use a lot of fresh. I whiz it in my food processor or if I'm feeling lazy just rough chop it down. I mix it with rice and veg sautees and it really bulks things out - either throw it in last and just get it hot, or make sure to use very little liquid and cook on highest heat possible without ruining the other ingredients.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
    I mix it with rice when I'm serving something over rice, it bulks it out nicely. I've not tried cooking it with rice in something. As you discovered, I expect it would mush.

    I have however used roughly chopped cauli half and half with pasta in a pasta bake, when the pasta has been pre-cooked. By mixing the raw cauli in with the cooked pasta before baking, it came out the perfect texture.
  • MiamiSeoul
    MiamiSeoul Posts: 1,809 Member
    I use it as a direct replacement for rice & find that you only need 1/4 of the water & half of the cook time.
  • AigreDoux
    AigreDoux Posts: 594 Member
    I use the frozen kind (green giant, birds eye, or trader joe's brand). The first two steam in bag in the microwave which is super convenient. I mix with some regular cooked rice (need to cook this anyway for kids and husband) and with sauce (stir fry, etc.) it is not bad. The texture is pretty close.

    I've never used it in a recipe.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Unlike most, it seems, I cook frozen riced cauliflower with no water at all. I want to keep it a bit al dente - I like rice that way, too. Tender, but with some firmness.

    I've used it to stretch rice and on its own. I use it to stretch rice when the rest of the meal isn't strongly flavored. Hides the cauliflower taste better.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    Wow wow! I feel like I could try one tip each from each of these posts and have ideas for the rest of the year!

    There was a lot of agreement on mixing in the cooked cauli after the fact. Would it absorb the flavors and spices that way?
  • l911jnt
    l911jnt Posts: 164 Member
    Ive tried to substitute it for rice ( I am a big fan of substitution) but for the life of me, I just dont like it as rice. I love cauliflower .... It just tastes like cauliflower instead of rice to me and doesnt go with what I put it with. Ive only used a green giant frozen brand tho... maybe I need to try a different brand.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    Wow wow! I feel like I could try one tip each from each of these posts and have ideas for the rest of the year!

    There was a lot of agreement on mixing in the cooked cauli after the fact. Would it absorb the flavors and spices that way?

    I haven't found that it does, but if your dish has any sauce/juices it'll coat the cauliflower and flavor it that way. I'd suggest adding the spices to the cauliflower as well, but I'm afraid it cooks so fast that the flavors wouldn't develop and it might be a waste of time.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    Two meals now and I've pretty much been unable to taste the cauliflower. The dish is very heavily spiced, though. Also, the rice itself had always turned out mushy at first. I just leave it open for a couple hours, water evaporates and it becomes drier / harder.

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