Spicy Cauliflower Rice
This Spicy Cauliflower Rice is flavored with fried onions and Sumac, for a tasty and interesting cauliflower rice side dish. Or see other options for ways to add flavor to cauliflower rice. And if you use frozen cauliflower rice this is quick and easy to get on the table.
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It’s been more than ten years since I first tried cauliflower rice, and since that time I’ve started liking it a lot more and also discovered frozen cauliflower rice! And recently when I made this Spicy Cauliflower Rice using frozen cauliflower rice, it was so good I knew I had to update the recipe on the blog with that suggestion!
The frozen cauliflower rice eliminates the step of chopping up the rice in the food processor, and cooks a bit more quickly as well. And cauliflower rice is so versatile for a low-carb side dish.
I’m a huge fan of green onions so Easy Cauliflower Rice with Garlic and Green Onion is probably the version I make most. But if you have some of the middle eastern spice called Sumac (affiliate link), I urge you to try this version with fried onions for flavor and a generous sprinkling of Sumac on the top.
Or see suggestions below for other seasonings you can use if you don’t have any Sumac! I’d love this as a side dish for most anything cooked on the grill.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(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.)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- onion
- frozen cauliflower rice
- salt and black pepper
- Sumac (affiliate link)
What is Sumac?
Sumac (affiliate link) is a dark red spice used in the middle east, and in the U.S. you might see it in a shaker jar in middle eastern restaurants! The dried Sumac berries are ground into the powder that’s used in cooking, and the flavor is tart and slightly lemony. I’ve been a fan of this from the first time I tried it!
What spices could you use for the Spicy Cauliflower Rice?
Sumac is a spice that has a good flavor without being cooked, so you need to pick something else like that to sprinkle on the rice in this dish. Here are some other options for a different variation of spicy cauliflower rice:
- Za’atar Spice Mix (affiliate link) is a middle eastern spice blend that contains Sumac, and that would be perfect to use here.
- Szeged Sweet Paprika (affiliate link) or Spanish Sweet Paprika (affiliate link) are both something I’d enjoy sprinkled on most anything.
- You could also use my beloved Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) to add flavor to this rice.
- People who enjoy the wildly popular Everything Bagel Seasoning (affiliate link) will love that sprinkled on this cauliflower rice dish.
- And the options are really endless; any savory spice blend you enjoy sprinkled on food can be used to sprinkle on this cauliflower rice cooked with onions.!
More Fun Ideas with Cauliflower Rice:
- Easy Cauliflower Rice with Garlic and Green Onion
- Cauliflower Rice with Basil, Parmesan, and Pine Nuts
- Roasted Cauliflower Rice Medley with Pine Nuts
- Greek Cauliflower Rice Bake
- Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp
Even more ideas for using Cauliflower Rice:
Check out Low-Carb Dinners Using Frozen Cauliflower Rice for lots more ideas using it.
Steps for making Spicy Cauliflower Rice:
(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.
- Chop onion into medium-sized pieces.
- Heat olive oil, then add onions, turn heat to medium and let them cook. Be sure to turn them a few times so they don’t burn. Cook until the onion is nicely brown.
- While onions cook, break the frozen cauliflower apart inside the bag. (Or if you prefer fresh cauliflower, follow steps in the recipe to make the fresh cauliflower into “rice”.)
- When onions are nicely browned add the cauliflower and more olive oil, season generously with salt and fresh ground black pepper, and turn heat to medium high.
- Let cauliflower cook, turning often, until liquid has cooked off, and it’s lightly browned and cooked to your liking.
- Sprinkle cauliflower generously with Sumac (affiliate link) or one of the other options listed above and serve hot.
- I didn’t think it reheated particularly well, so I’d only make enough for one meal. You can refrigerate the uncooked ingredients separately to make it again another day.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
This would be a great side dish for Greek Lamb Souvlaki, Very Greek Grilled Chicken, West African Chicken Stew, Beef and Sausage Italian Meatloaf, or Greek Pork Chops.
Spicy Cauliflower Rice
Spicy Cauliflower Rice is a delicious low-carb side dish with fried onions and the interesting middle eastern spice call Sumac, and using frozen cauliflower rice makes this extra easy.
Ingredients
- 3 T olive oil, divided
- 2 small onions, diced
- two 12 oz. pkg. frozen cauliflower rice (see notes)
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- generous amount of Sumac for seasoning (or see notes above for other options)
Instructions
- Chop onion into medium-sized pieces.
- Heat the olive oil, then add onions, turn heat to medium-high and let them cook until they're nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Be sure to turn onions a few times so they don't burn.
- While onions cook, break the frozen cauliflower apart inside the bag. (Or if you prefer fresh cauliflower, follow steps below the recipe to make the fresh cauliflower into "rice".)
- When onions are nicely browned add the cauliflower and the other tablespoon olive oil, season generously with salt and fresh ground black pepper, and turn heat to high.
- Let cauliflower cook, turning often, until liquid has cooked off, and it’s lightly browned and cooked to your liking, probably about 8-9 minutes.
- Sprinkle cauliflower generously with Sumac (affiliate link) and serve hot.
- I didn’t think it reheated particularly well, so I’d only make as much as I would eat at that meal.
Notes
To make this recipe with fresh cauliflower: Trim leaves and some of the stem from the cauliflower and cut into thick slices. Use a steel blade in the food processor. Add the sliced cauliflower and pulse until the texture resembles rice, or slightly bigger. (You may need to do that in two batches.)
I highly recommend the Sumac (affiliate link)used here to season the cooked cauliflower, but if you don't want to buy that use any of the other options mentioned in this post.
This recipe created by Kalyn, inspired by several rice recipes in cookbooks and on food blogs.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 99Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 0mgSodium 208mgCarbohydrates 8gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 3g
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:
Of course Spicy Cauliflower Rice is a perfect choice for any low-carb or Keto diet plan, although you might want to use less onion if you’re being really strict on carbs. It would also be approved for all phases of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Cauliflower Recipes to find more recipes like 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
This recipe was posted in 2010. It was updated in 2021 with more information about cauliflower rice and other suggested spices to use to flavor the dish and was updated again with more information in 2023.
34 Comments on “Spicy Cauliflower Rice”
YUM! This looks amazing and like something my family and I will love. Thank you.
So glad you like it!
That time was perfect for me. But if your cauliflower was more finely chopped or if your stove is hotter at medium heat that would affect the cooking time. Sorry you had that result. I hope you mashed it and ate it as cauliflower mash!
I use bean sprouts as a "rice" substitute. Especially when cooking Asian food…its actually better than rice i find. LOVE it!
Oh, Kalyn, you thought you were late to the "cauliflower rice" party in 2010, and yet I'm trying to sneak in THREE more years later! Just discovered this excellent way of preparing cauliflower and am now looking for more ways of preparing it..
Bookmarking this sumac version!
Chad, glad you liked it.
I've made this for the past two nights as part of my low-carb diet (along with doing P90x). The first night I burned the onions (oops). The other batch turned out perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
This sounds really interesting. I have to try it.
Made this last night and already passed the recipe on to friends. SO delicious!! Thanks for posting!
You are welcome, so glad you liked it! Sumac is a middle eastern spice, kind of lemony flavored. I like it a lot, but there are many spices that might taste great sprinkled on this.
So happy to hear people are liking this recipe (and the blog) but "I think it's making my life better" might be the best thing I've heard for a long time! Thank You!
I LOVE this recipe. and I love your blog. I've made this several times now and I think it's awesome. Thank you for making this blog. It's a really high quality blog. I love the pictures. And I think it's making my life better. So thanks.
I happen to be a big cauliflower fan so I'm sure I'll enjoy this! I must be late to the party cuz I've never heard of this either, thanks for posting it!
well lucky for me, i love cauliflower!
I love roasting my cauliflower so I can imagine this dish to be very yummy!
Thank you for the "rice" recipe! I have a real weakness for rice/pasta but I happen to LOVE cauliflower! Will try this right away!
Oh my. We would love this, Kalyn. I saw it on Tastespotting and just had to check it out. I'm late to the party too – what a great idea!
I love the idea of cauliflower with fried onions and sumac! But I might be lazy and just steam coarsdly chopped cauliflower and toss it in the caramelized onions and then sprinkle the dish with sumac. (I adore sumac and have only relatively recently discovered how wonderful it is.)
Yum! Looks and sounds delicious! Saving this recipe, thank you!
Daily Chef, glad you liked it, and I think under curry or stew is the perfect way to eat this, as long as you have flavors that blend with cauliflower.
Joanne, thanks. Fun to hear from a non-dieter who likes this too.
Anon, no one has called me sugar for a long time now! Definitely you're going to survive (and thrive!)
Diane, I like it a lot, but you do have to be sure you like cauliflower, and if you're serving it under something it has to blend with the flavor of cauliflower.
Maria, not sure if this will fly for someone who doesn't like cauliflower, let me know.
Christine Sumac tastes a bit like lemon with a slight bitter undertaste, very good!
I'm a cauliflower lover – mashed, pureed, steamed, roasted – I love it all. This is a great recipe that I'm sure I'll use often. I've never tried sumac but if you like it, I think I would too. 🙂
Love this recipe. Josh doesn't like cauliflower but maybe I can trick him with this dish:)
I'm with the others that mashed cauliflower never appealed to. I am however very intrigued by this recipe. I can't eat rice so this could be just the substitute I've been looking for. I usually use quinoa but this could rock my world. Just came home with a new head of cauliflower and will be making this on Monday!
This sounds so delicious.
Sugar,I think you're going to help me survive this diet.
Wow. This was delicious. I don't follow the south-beach diet, which allowed me some liberty with the curry I had the rice with…and it was amazing! thanks!
Karina, thank you! I definitely liked it; perfect to serve with curry.
Nicole, glad you like the sound of it.
Ricki, sounds interesting.
Year on the Grill, not too bad with the food processor, but by hand I think it would be a messy job.
Dara, I really like it chunky like in this photo. I agree, cauliflower is good with so many flavors.
PJ glad you like it, and such a great way to use Sumac.
Hippie Family, good timing, huh?
Ross, glad it was a hit.
Amy, thanks for sharing that. So nice to know that the food is appealing even to people who aren't dieting.
This one's a hit in my household. Wife thought it was couscous at first. Thanks, Kalyn!
I just heard about this! I can't wait to try it and the recipe was almost hand delivered!!
cauliflower rice is such a great idea! you have cooked it to perfection so it still retains a very fluffy texture like real rice. I love sumac on pretty much everything, great recipe, thanks for sharing!
I have come to appreciate the flavor of cauliflower over the last several years. In particular, I like how easily it pairs with so many herbs, cheeses, and other vegetables. I'm very intrigued by the texture of this dish and am looking forward to trying it.
I have had them, and they do take quite a bit of work, But they sure are worth it when lots of goodies are tossed in… like these
Sounds wonderful. I love new ways to use cauliflower! I didn't like mashed cauliflower, either, until I pureed it with roasted parsnip and some white beans (yum). Have you tried the raw cauliflower "fried rice"? Also quite delicious!
Love this idea! I'm a big fan of cauliflower and I only recently tried it pureed (and loved it). I'm gonna give this a try next! 🙂
The idea of mashed cauliflower never appealed to me either until I saw your pureed cauliflower with garlic, Parmesan and goat cheese. I bet this recipe is a winner, too. Sounds fabulous.