If you recently picked up a bag of frozen cauliflower rice, but now you’re unsure what to do with it – or how to make cauliflower rice taste good, this easy garlic cauliflower rice recipe is perfect!
Whether you’re in a rush and need to know how to make cauliflower rice from frozen cauliflower, or you have time to thaw your cauliflower rice Costco score, keep reading to learn how to cook frozen cauliflower rice with this easy garlic butter recipe.
Don’t worry – if you have a fresh bag of Costco riced cauliflower, we’ll talk about that too. And if you chose another brand – you can still make a delicious keto cauliflower rice recipe π I just happen to be partial to Costco cauliflower rice since it’s organic, which is perfect for frozen riced cauliflower recipes.
Garlic Butter Cauliflower Rice Ingredients
If you already have a garlic herb butter you love, then this recipe only requires two ingredients: a bag of riced cauliflower and 4 tablespoons of garlic herb butter.
While I previously used Kerry Gold Garlic & Herb butter from Costco (bet you didn’t see that one coming), I learned to make the real thing at home. This has since become one of my favorite recipes for my low carb diet since garlic herb butter is a great way to add more healthy fat to so many keto side dishes.
Garlic Herb Butter
In the event you don’t have a pre-made garlic herb butter on hand, putting together a recipe from scratch is easy. All you need is a 1/2 cup of softened butter (1 stick) and your preferred herbs. While fresh herbs provide more flavor, you can get away with dried herbs in a pinch.
The herbs I use include minced garlic, black pepper, chives, and parsley. You can also use other fresh or dried herbs that fit your personal preference, like thyme, sage, or rosemary.
Cauliflower Rice
If you don’t mind a little extra prep work, you can rice your own head of cauliflower for this healthy side dish. In that case, a small cauliflower head is the right size since this equals around 9 ounces of fresh cauliflower rice. Large heads will provide a big batch of cauliflower rice, so grab one of those if you’re feeding a crowd.
The best way to make cauliflower from scratch is with the cheese-grater method. For this, you’ll need a a box grater and paper towels to soak up excess moisture. If you go this route, you’ll need extra time to meal prep your cauliflower rice recipes. The cook time will still be the same.
You can also use a food processor and cauliflower florets.
How to Make Cauliflower Rice with Garlic Butter
Garlic Herb Butter
If you don’t have garlic herb butter handy, then start by prepping the butter ahead of time since this needs time to set in the fridge.
To make the garlic herb butter, add softened butter into a mixing bowl. Add your chosen herbs on top. If you use salted butter, then there’s no need to add salt. If not, then add a little salt into the mix. (1/2 of a teaspoon is plenty).
Next, use a hand blender to combine the garlic herb butter ingredients. Mix on high until the butter is whipped. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for at least an hour. You’ll need half of the garlic herb butter for this recipe.
While fresh herbs provide a great flavor, dry herbs also work for this recipe. The conversion is to use 1 teaspoon of dried herbs for every tablespoon of fresh herbs.
Thawed Cauliflower Rice
If you’re working with thawed bag of cauliflower rice, this simple recipe takes less than 10 minutes total.
Start by pre-heating a frying pan over medium heat. Then add in the garlic herb butter into the hot pan.
Allow the garlic butter to melt until it’s golden brown. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
Once melted, pour the thawed riced cauliflower on top. Cook on medium-high heat until the rice is fully cooked. Stir on occasion while keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t get mushy. Your perfect cauliflower rice side dish should be ready to serve in less than 5 minutes.
How to make cauliflower rice from frozen cauliflower
While this version takes a few minutes longer, cooking cauliflower rice from frozen isn’t much different from when it’s thawed. The big difference is you may have to beat your cauliflower rice up a little.
Frozen bags of cauliflower rice can get clumpy. The best way to de-clump the rice is to slam the bag on the counter until the rice feels flat. For a more gentle method, you can also pound the rice with a meat mallet. (Only do this while still in freezer bags so the rice doesn’t fly everywhere).
Then follow the instructions above to cook thawed cauliflower rice. Since you’re cooking cauliflower rice from frozen, you may deal with a little extra water. If you notice too much water, drain from the skillet prior to serving.
If some of the garlic butter leaks out with the water, top your serving of rice with a little butter. If you followed the garlic herb butter recipe above, you’ll have extra butter to use throughout the week.
Cauliflower Rice Recipes FAQ:
Where to buy cauliflower rice?
I mean, are you even paying attention? π Costco frozen cauliflower rice is perfect since they offer organic cauliflower rice at a great price. Of course, you can also buy frozen cauliflower rice from your local grocery store for all of your keto cauliflower rice recipes.
What is cauliflower rice?
I guess we should have started with that one, eh? Cauliflower rice is a low-carb alternative to traditional rice. While touted as healthy, both white rice and brown rice are very high in carbs. Keto riced cauliflower recipes contain fewer calories, and are one of my favorite ways to keep carbs low (AKA, keep my waistline low).
Is cauliflower rice keto?
Cauliflower rice makes a great keto side dish. When you add healthy fats, as this recipe calls for, that makes this versatile vegetable an even better option.
How many carbs in cauliflower rice?
While overall cauliflower rice nutrition varies depending on the recipe, a plain cup of cauliflower rice contains 4 grams of carbs. That total includes 2.7 grams of fiber per cup, which amounts to only 1.3 net carbs per cup.
The Garlic Cauliflower Rice Wrap Up
Cauliflower rice is the perfect rice substitute to include in a healthy dinner, whether you’re in search of a new low carb side dish, or you’re just looking for a great alternative to regular rice.
If you’re looking for even more easy cauliflower rice recipes, my favorite is coconut cauliflower rice. Of course, cilantro lime cauliflower rice and Mexican cauliflower rice are no slouches when it comes to flavorful keto side dishes either.
Don’t forget to save this garlic cauliflower rice recipe to Pinterest. Share the healthy fat love on social media too.
Keep scrolling for the recipe card and riced cauliflower nutrition info.
Make Keto Easy
One of my favorite things about keto is all of the delicious recipes you get to eat while still losing weight.
Whether you’re brand new to keto, or you’re looking to take your results to the next level, check out the Keto Quick Start Course. This is the same course that’s helped hundreds of women finally lose weight with a keto diet – even after every other diet failed.
Frozen Cauliflower Rice – Garlic Cauliflower Rice Recipe
More Keto Cauliflower Rice Recipes:
Cheesy Cauliflower Rice
Loaded Bacon Egg Cauliflower Rice Bowl
Cheesy Buffalo Ranch Chicken and Cauliflower Rice
PrintGarlic Butter Cauliflower Rice
An easy keto riced cauliflower recipe you can make from frozen or fresh. Grab a bag of Costco riced cauliflower and whip up this simple recipe in under 10 minutes.
- Prep Time: 0 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Category: Keto / Low Carb Side Dishes
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Keto / Low Carb
- Diet: Diabetic
Ingredients
- 1 bag riced cauliflower (fresh or frozen)
- 4 tbsp garlic herb butter (see post for complete recipe)
Instructions
- Melt 4 tbsp of garlic herb butter in a frying pan.
- Once the butter is golden brown, add the cauliflower.
- Cook until cauliflower rice is tender, but not mushy. This should take approximately 5 minutes if cauliflower rice is thawed. Add a few more minutes for frozen cauliflower rice.
Notes
- If cooking cauliflower rice from frozen, you may need to drain excess water while cooking.
- Pound the frozen cauliflower rice on the counter or hit with a meat mallet to loosen frozen cauliflower up.
- This riced cauliflower recipe provides a light garlic flavor. For even more garlic flavor, add a teaspoon of minced garlic into the butter as it melts.
- Serve with your favorite keto main dish, or add some leftover chicken for a delicious cauliflower rice bowl.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Recipe serves 3
- Calories: 130.1
- Sugar: .7
- Sodium: 238.3
- Fat: 13.3
- Saturated Fat: 9.3
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 1.2
- Fiber: .7
- Protein: .7
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
Keywords: Organic cauliflower rice, Costco cauliflower rice recipe, keto cauliflower rice, garlic cauliflower recipe
Quick and easy keto cauliflower rice recipe, especially when you start with frozen cauliflower rice from Costco.
★★★★★