This quick, short, easy-peasy recipe for Toasted Sesame Cauliflower Rice is a game-changer when it comes to cooking a healthier stir-fry or really for any time you need a rice-like side dish without a lot of fuss. There are just 3 ingredients, besides salt and pepper, which makes this flavorful veggie dish even more appealing!
If you’ve checked out some of the other recipes here on Fresh Food Bites, it won’t come as a surprise that I LOVE cauliflower. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, cauliflower is one of the most versatile vegetables I’ve cooked with. If you want more cauliflower ideas, try this Confetti Cauliflower Rice, these Cheesy Cauliflower Bites, or this simple Roasted Cauliflower, which is one of my favorite side dishes. But let’s get back to the Toasted Sesame Cauliflower Rice…
Cauliflower tastes great with almost any protein you pair it with for a healthy meal. By swapping in a vegetable (in this case, cauliflower) for rice, I am adding another vegetable serving to the full meal. Any time I can add a second or third vegetable serving makes the whole meal more healthful and means more nutrients to keep our bodies running in tip top shape.
Plus, cauliflower is a vegetable both my kids love, which means I end up making it often. Even though I try as hard as I can to get my kids to eat a wide variety of vegetables, it doesn’t always happen (yes, even kids of a dietitian don’t always eat their veggies!), so regularly making a vegetable they eat and like is important since they will eat a much larger portion than when I serve a vegetable they don’t care for as much.
As a heads up, I will soon be posting a grilled shrimp stir-fry recipe (yum!), and I love to serve this Toasted Sesame Cauliflower Rice with that meal. If you don’t to miss that recipe (or any other recipes I post), take a minute to subscribe to my blog. You’ll find a subscriber box on the right side or bottom of each page. It’s quick, easy, and free.
How-To Photos:
Start with fresh cauliflower and cut the head into florets – they don’t have to be perfectly sized!
Pulse the florets in a food processor until it is finely chopped and resembles rice.
Give it a quick steam on the stove top.
4 to 5 minutes of steaming is all it takes to get tender.
Toss with a few flavorful ingredients and you’re done!
- 4 cups cauliflower florets
- ½ cup thinly sliced green onion tops
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Place cauliflower florets in a food processor. Cover and pulse until very finely chopped (cauliflower should resemble rice). Place steamer basket over about 1-inch of water in a large deep skillet (water should not come through the holes in the steamer basket). Bring water to boiling. Add cauliflower to steamer basket. Cover; steam for 4 to 5 minutes or until just tender.
- Carefully remove steamer basket with cauliflower from the skillet. Transfer steamed cauliflower to a serving bowl. Add green onion tops, sesame seeds, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine.
- If desired, kick up the heat a notch by adding 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper when you add the salt and pepper.
- 3 cups (4, ¾-cup servings)
- 41 cals, 3 g pro, 6 g carb, 1 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 g sat fat, 3 g fiber, 325 mg sodium
