Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole
Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole won’t win any beauty contests, but this is amazing for an easy low-carb dinner! And if you haven’t tried a casserole with cauliflower rice, I think you’re going to be surprised how comforting it is!
Pin Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole to try it later!
Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole is a favorite recipe I’m reminding you about this week for Friday Favorites! If you’re a regular reader, you’ve probably noticed how I’m a fan of low-carb casseroles! I love the way you can make a casserole on the weekend and it guarantees leftovers for a few days.
This recipe was inspired by a Brown Rice Casserole that’s back in the archives of the blog. I love that old version too, and I used to make it regularly when I followed the South Beach Diet and ate brown rice more often. But now most of my readers would prefer a version with cauliflower rice, and the original recipe was so easy to make lower in carbs!
I used frozen cauliflower rice to make this extra easy to get on the table, and added some mushrooms to the original recipe, which was a nice bonus. And after I tested this recipe with Kara and had some leftover in the fridge, I noticed how much I enjoyed it every time I pulled one out.
When I talked to Kara later about how much she liked her share of the leftovers, we both agreed it might have been even better when it was reheated, FTW! I didn’t manage to freeze any, but I’m sure this would freeze well. And I hope you try the Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole soon; this is absolutely a winner!
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)
- frozen cauliflower rice
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- Italian Sausage, turkey or pork
- mushrooms
- onion
- green pepper
- Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link)
- ground fennel (affiliate link)
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- grated Mozzarella cheese
- green onions to garnish (optional)
What sausage did we use for the Califlower Rice Sausage Casserole?
I would love this recipe with turkey Italian sausage. But lately that has been hard to find, and mild or spicy pork Italian sausage will also be delicious.
What kind of mushrooms did we use?
We used brown Cremini mushrooms for this recipe, but if you prefer white mushrooms they will also be fine.
How low in carbs is this casserole with cauliflower rice and sausage?
This tasty casserole has only 5.3 net carbs and 29 grams of protein!
How to Make Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C and spray dish with nonstick spray.
- Take cauliflower rice out of the freezer and let it start to thaw.
- Chop mushrooms, onion, and green bell pepper and slice green onions.
- Heat oil and cook sausage over medium-high heat until it’s nicely browned.
- Remove sausage, add more oil, add chopped mushrooms, and cook until mushrooms have released their liquid and liquid has evaporated. Remove mushrooms.
- Heat another 2 tsp. oil; then add onions and green pepper and cook until they are starting to brown. Add spices and cook 2 minutes more.
- Add cauliflower rice to the pan and heat for few minutes. Season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
- Add cooked sausage and mushrooms and gently combine with other ingredients.
- Then add 1 cup grated mozzarella and stir to distribute the cheese.
- Put mixture into the casserole dish and sprinkle the other cup of cheese over the top.
- Bake about 25 minutes, or until the top is starting to lightly brown.
- Serve this casserole with cauliflower rice and sausage hot, garnished with diagonally-sliced green onions if desired.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole would be delicious for a low-carb meal with one of these side dishes:
- Kalyn’s Favorite Baby Arugula Salad
- Ottolenghi’s Perfect Lettuce Salad
- Spring Mix Salad
- Caesar Salad with Kale, Romaine, and Shaved Parmesan
- Kalyn’s Keto Coleslaw Recipe
Want more low-carb dinner ideas with Italian Sausage?
Check out Low-Carb and Keto Italian Sausage Recipes for more tasty dinners with Italian Sausage.
Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole
Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole was inspired by an Easy Brown Rice Casserole with Italian Sausage and Bell Pepper that's back in the archives of the blog.
Ingredients
- 1 10 oz pkg. frozen cauliflower rice (see notes)
- 5 tsp. olive oil, divided
- one 19.5 oz. pkg. uncooked Italian Sausage (see notes)
- 1 lb. mushrooms, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 tsp. Italian Herb Blend
- 1/2 tsp. ground fennel (see notes)
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
- 3 green onions to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C and spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray. (I used a dish that was 8" x 11" but any size close to that will work.)
- Take the cauliflower rice out of the freezer and let it thaw while you start the recipe.
- Chop mushrooms, onion, and green bell pepper and slice green onions.
- Heat 2 tsp. oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook sausage over medium-high heat until it's nicely browned. We use a potato masher (affiliate link) to break the meat apart as it cooks.
- Remove sausage to a bowl, add another teaspoon of oil, add chopped mushrooms, and cook until mushrooms have released their liquid and all liquid has evaporated. Transfer mushrooms to the bowl with the sausage.
- Heat another 2 tsp. oil in the frying pan; then add onions and green pepper and cook until they are barely starting to brown. (You need this much oil for the cauliflower rice, which will be added next.)
- Add spices and cook 2 minutes more.
- Add cauliflower rice to the pan with onions and peppers and heat for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste.
- Add the cooked sausage and mushrooms to the pan and gently combine with other ingredients. Then add 1 cup grated mozzarella and stir to distribute the cheese in the mixture.
- Put the mixture into the casserole dish and sprinkle the other cup of cheese over the top.
- Bake about 25 minutes, or until the top is starting to lightly brown.
- Serve hot, garnished with diagonally-sliced green onions if desired.
Notes
A ten-ounce package of frozen cauliflower rice is 2 1/2 cups; if you're taking the cauliflower rice from a larger package I might increase to 3 cups, or even slightly more.
I used my favorite spicy turkey Italian Sausage, but use pork sausage if you prefer more fat. Ground Fennel (affiliate link) is optional, but highly recommended!
Use full-fat or reduced-fat Mozzarella, whichever you prefer.
Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole was inspired by an Easy Brown Rice Casserole with Italian Sausage and Bell Pepper that's back in the archives of the blog.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 506Total Fat 38gSaturated Fat 15gUnsaturated Fat 23.1gCholesterol 82mgSodium 1032mgCarbohydrates 8.5gFiber 3.2gSugar 5.9gProtein 29g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole would be great for low-carb or Keto plans diet plans, made with full-fat mozzarella. You can also use pork Italian Sausage for Keto if you prefer, but I would reduce the amount of oil when cooking the sausage. If you want to make this work for the original South Beach Diet, be sure to use turkey Italian Sausage and low-fat mozzarella, and maybe reduce the amount of cheese.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Casseroles for more recipes likes this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole was first posted in 2020 and was adapted from an earlier casserole recipe that used brown rice. It was last updated with more information in 2025.
19 Comments on “Cauliflower Rice Sausage Casserole”
This was a delicious meal, only change I did was add zucchini as the garden is going crazy with them. Thanks for sharing, a make again dish for sure !
So glad you enjoyed it, and I absolutely LOVE the idea of adding some zucchini.
Just came out of the oven – this is one tasty dish! Loved it!
I’m so glad you like it! No pressure, but if you are ever inclined to leave a star rating, those are so helpful with Google.
Absolutely delicious!! The combination of ingredients tasted so good together. This will be added to my other favorite Kalyn’s Kitchen recipes.
Thanks Laurie. So glad you loved it!
I’m not finding the amount of green onions I am supposed to slice.
The green onions are just optional as a garnish, I would use about 3 green onions. I will add that info, thanks!
We really enjoyed this! Thanks a lot.
Thanks Anna, so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Green onions???? How much? That is not listed with ingredients.
The green onions are just an optional garnish so use as much or as little as you prefer. I wouldn’t use more than 1-2 green onions, but you might like more.
That looks delicious! I love the addition of mushrooms to the dish!
The mushrooms are great in this.
Can I use fresh fennel?
Yes, I think some chopped fresh fennel would be delicious in this. I would cook it with the onion and green pepper.
For people who prefer ground beef, I think that would work just fine.
What exactly is a Herb Blend?
Italian Herb Blend is the name of a blend of herbs used in Italian cooking. Sometimes it’s just called Italian Seasoning. I buy in bulk so I don’t have a label with ingredients, but you could google it to find out.