Looking for a simple keto cauliflower rice recipe that fits perfectly into Taco Tuesday? Mexican cauliflower rice makes an easy keto side dish for your low carb Mexican food favorites.
Even better – you don’t have to save this easy Mexican cauliflower rice dish for Tuesdays π It’s an amazing recipe your whole family can enjoy any night of the week.
Keep reading to learn how to make your own cauliflower rice with a Mexican flair. Recipes like this make it easy to stick to a keto diet. Before we chat about how simple this keto side dish recipe is, I wanted to let you know this blog contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if you click through.
I also link to the same resources that helped me lose 100 pounds with a low-carb diet. Be sure to click through those links so this info can help you too!
Mexican Cauliflower Rice Ingredients
The main ingredients for this easy cauliflower rice recipe include a bag of frozen cauliflower rice, a small onion, fresh salsa, and diced green onions.
Spices for Mexican Cauliflower Rice
While the spices you choose may vary, the spices I include in this recipe are ground cumin, chili powder, oregano and salt. Cayenne pepper is optional if you love Mexican dishes with a little kick.
I also stir minced garlic into the oil as it heats up for a subtle hint of garlic. I’d probably add some black pepper to this recipe, but I’m sensitive to this spice. I tend to leave it out whenever possible.
If you’re in a hurry, you could skip the loose spices altogether and opt for a pre-made taco mix. If possible, use a homemade version you mixed up while food prepping for the week.
Too many of the taco seasonings you find at the grocery store are filled with undesirable ingredients, like highly processed vegetable oils. The health benefits you receive from a keto diet are limited if you continue to use shortcuts that contain these toxic ingredients.
If you still love buying your spice mixes in a packet, be sure to scour the label to make sure the ingredients are keto-friendly. While most brands sold in grocery stores are filled with junk, Siete taco seasoning is one of my favorite brands to use when I’m in a hurry and don’t have time to mix up taco seasoning from scratch.
Cooking Oil to Fry Keto Mexican Rice
Finally, you’ll need a few tablespoons of coconut oil to fry the cauliflower rice. Even if you don’t love coconut oil – use it anyway. It’s my favorite way to cook simple keto recipes since coconut oil comes with tons of health benefits. It’s also one of the few cooking oils that’s stable at high heats.
The good news is even if you don’t love the taste of coconut oil now, if you continue to use it in your keto recipes, eventually your palate will adjust. Of course, if you just can’t get past the coconutty taste this oil adds to keto side dishes, avocado oil is a good alternative. Olive oil isn’t a great alternative since it has a low smoke point.
Try Fresh Cauliflower Rice Instead
While I prefer to make this recipe the easy way, you could also opt for making your own fresh cauliflower rice from a large head of cauliflower. If you love making everything from scratch, keep reading to learn various ways to make a basic cauliflower rice.
One method to make riced cauliflower from scratch is to chop the raw cauliflower into large chunks and add them into a food processor. Another method is to use a large chef’s knife to mince cauliflower florets into small pieces. If you have a cheese grater, you could also grate large pieces to make plain cauliflower rice.
For further instructions on all of these methods, check out this article on four ways to make cauliflower rice. Using any of these methods will add a little prep time to this recipe. If fresh cauliflower is your idea of a delicious side dish, it’s worth all of the love you put into your low carb diet.
How to Make This Mexican Cauliflower Rice Keto Recipe
First thing is to dice and chop any vegetables you plan to add to this low carb cauliflower rice recipe. If you plan to prepare cauliflower rice from scratch, do that now. You should also dice a small sweet onion, as well as the green onions you’ll use to garnish the fried rice.
Then, melt the coconut oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. After the oil melts, stir in the minced garlic and diced sweet onions. Saute the onions and garlic in the coconut oil until the onions soften and the garlic is lightly browned. This should take 2-3 minutes.
Next stir in the riced cauliflower. Cook the cauliflower until it’s tender, but not mushy. This should take around 5 minutes. Stir the rice, onions and garlic on occasion as the rice cooks.
Once the cauliflower rice is cooked, sprinkle on all of the spices.
Then, stir well to combine.
The remove the Mexican cauliflower rice from the heat. Stir in the salsa. Mix again with a wooden spoon to combine the salsa into the rice mixture.
Plate the Mexican rice and garnish with green onions. Store leftovers in an airtight container. You can easily reheat leftovers on the stove to help maintain the recipe’s flavor and quality.
The Mexican Cauliflower Rice Wrap Up
This Mexi cauli-rice dish makes a great low carb side dish for keto-friendly tacos. In case you’re not familiar, you can follow your typical recipe for tacos and skip the high carb shells to make most taco recipes keto friendly. Add all of your favorite low carb, high fat toppings, including sour cream, guacamole, salsa and veggies.
This keto side dish also makes a great base for a Mexican cauliflower rice bowl. The best way I’ve found use for this recipe beyond serving with low carb tacos is to layer the rice underneath this crockpot shredded chicken breast recipe.
If you’re looking for even more cauliflower rice recipes keto approved – check out my favorite side dish coconut cauliflower rice. This is a great recipe you can use to replace any white rice recipe to help you stick to keto.
Cheesy cauliflower rice is a great low carb substitute for mac and cheese. If you’re not sensitive to dairy products like cream cheese, this is a delicious recipe your entire family will love.
Don’t forget to save this to your easy keto side dish Pinterest board. And … sharing is caring! Please share this recipe with your friends on social media.
Keep scrolling for the recipe card and nutritional information.
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Keto Mexican Cauliflower Rice Recipe
More Favorite Recipes with a Mexican Flair:
Layered Taco Salad
Garlic Butter Chicken Fajitas
Buffalo Ranch Taco Salad
PrintKeto Mexican Cauliflower Rice
A quick keto side dish with a Mexican flair.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: Serves 3 1x
- Category: Keto Side Dish
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: Keto / Low Carb
- Diet: Diabetic
Ingredients
- 10 oz bag riced cauliflower
- 3 tbsp fresh salsa
- Chopped green onions to garnish
- 2–3 tbsp coconut oil (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet once melted)
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil in a skillet over medium-high heat
- Once melted, stir in the diced onions and minced garlic. Cook until the onions soften and the garlic is lightly browned. This should take 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in riced cauliflower. Cook until tender, but not mushy. This takes approximately 5 minutes. Stir on occasion while the rice cooks.
- Once the rice is almost cooked, season with cumin, chili powder, salt, oregano and cayenne pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Remove from heat. Stir in the salsa.
- Garnish the Mexican cauliflower rice with diced green onions.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Recipe Serves 3
- Calories: 90.9
- Sugar: 4.7
- Sodium: 567.4
- Fat: 4.9
- Saturated Fat: 3.8
- Carbohydrates: 9
- Fiber: 3.8
- Protein: 3.2
Keywords: Keto Mexican Cauliflower Rice Recipe, Cauliflower Rice Recipes Keto, Keto Recipes with Cauliflower
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