Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowl Recipe

Whether you are on a low carb journey or simply love working in more veggies, cauliflower rice is becoming a hot commodity and is popping up in all types of dishes. It is easy to make, can be enjoyed raw or cooked, is loaded with nutrients and fiber, and it tastes delicious. Its neutral flavor complements a wide range of ingredients making it such a versatile vegetable.

Wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe for cauliflower rice burrito bowl and says, "I've always loved going to Chipotle and picking up a burrito bowl, but they are easy to make at home and work perfect for a family dinner. You can assemble the bowls and serve or set up a station with various toppings and have everyone build their own bowl. It is always a success!" Read on to learn how to make your own burrito bowl at home and a cauliflower rice recipe that you can use for multiple recipes.

To make this recipe, start in the produce aisle and pick up cauliflower, a yellow onion, a red onion, garlic, a red pepper, a green pepper, a yellow pepper, and a tomato. "In this recipe, we are ricing the cauliflower ourselves, but if you want to save that step, you can buy a bag of pre-made cauliflower rice," Hahn shares.

Then head to the dry goods area and grab lime juice, red salsa, tahini, sriracha, black beans, and corn. "If you plan to use fresh limes for the juice, you'll need about 3 limes, and you can use frozen corn for this recipe instead of canned," Hahn explains. Check your condiment and spice cabinet for oil, cumin, salt, chili powder, and garlic powder.

Using the grating blade on a food processor, process the cauliflower into cauliflower rice.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large frying pan over medium heat.

Add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes.

Add the cauliflower rice, cover the pan and reduce heat to medium-low, and steam rice for 5 minutes.

Put the cooked cauliflower rice in a bowl and add the cumin, ½ teaspoon of salt, chili powder, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, and salsa.

Add the remaining oil to a frying pan and bring the heat to medium-high.

Add the sliced red onion, red, green, and yellow peppers. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently until soft.

In a small bowl, combine the tahini, 4 tablespoons of water, Sriracha, garlic powder, remaining lime juice, and remaining salt.

Slice the avocado.

Assemble the bowls by adding the cauliflower rice, black beans, peppers mixture, corn, tomatoes, and avocado.

Drizzle on the sauce or serve on the side. The cauliflower rice burrito bowls are ready to serve. Top with cilantro, jalapeño, and lime wedges if desired.

In this recipe we are using a food processor with the grating blade to rice the cauliflower. This method provides a consistent batch of cauliflower rice where all the "rice" is the same size. If you don't have the grating blade attachment, you can use the "S" chopping blade as well with a couple of precautions. Be careful not to over process or the cauliflower rice will quickly turn into crumbs. The other issue with the "S" blade is it typically will leave full florets that don't get broken down, so you'll need to remove those or remove the bulk of the rice that has processed and do a second round of florets that need to be riced.

The other way to rice cauliflower is to use a standard box grater. Use the coarse side of the box grater to grate cauliflower into rice-sized pieces. This method is simple and doesn't require any special equipment. You do need to be careful when your fingers get close to the sharp blades and wearing cut resistant safety gloves is recommended. The last option is to simply buy the cauliflower rice premade. "If you choose to buy cauliflower rice premade, I suggest buying fresh as the frozen varieties end up too watery when they thaw out," Hahn remarks.

Customizing cauliflower rice burrito bowls allows you to tailor the dish to your taste preferences and dietary needs. To start, you can leave the cauliflower rice plain or season it differently. Lime juice, salt, and minced cilantro will add good flavor and is a simplified way to make the rice. We're using black beans as our protein source here, but you can switch that up by using grilled chicken, beef, shrimp, tofu, pinto beans, or a combination for a mix of flavors and textures.

You can also switch out the vegetables used in the burrito bowl. You can use any variation of pepper and also add in some hot peppers like Serrano or jalapeño. Poblano or Anaheim peppers offer a nice earthy flavor with a mild spice level. You can also add zucchini or roasted sweet potato to the mix.

For added crispness, use shredded lettuce or a mix of greens as the base in addition to cauliflower rice. Or add a variety of fresh herbs like chives, cilantro, and parsley to add some fresh flavor.