Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Cilantro lime cauliflower rice is the best, simplest, and most delicious paleo and low carb substitute for traditional rice. Made with 4 ingredients and ready in roughly 10 minutes, with pops of fresh cilantro, zesty lime, and rich coconut cream. It’s the ultimate side for your favorite Mexican-inspired dishes!

🍚 What Makes This Recipe So Good

• Cauliflower rice is pretty universally accepted nowadays, so I’m sure you don’t need me to wax poetic about how magical this veggie-turned-low-carb-rice-alternative is. Cilantro lime cauliflower rice takes everything you love about the original, and adds flavor and creaminess that puts it over the top.
• It’s super quick, super easy, and only needs 4 ingredients. Seriously. In 5-10 minutes you’ll have the perfect side dish for an array of Mexican, TexMex, and Latin dishes. I like to serve my cilantro lime cauli rice with Mexican chicken or cheesy salsa chicken, vegan enchiladas, shrimp fajitas, or even as part of a nutritious taco salad or the base for a burrito bowl.
• To keep things really easy, I like to use frozen cauliflower rice. Literally all I have to do is pop it in the microwave to steam it, then mix in the rest of the ingredients. I love it so much I typically keep bags of cauliflower rice in my freezer for any last-minute “oh no what will we have with this” moments. If you prefer using fresh cauliflower that is totally an option – I’ve outlined the steps below!

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

• When it comes to the cilantro, lime juice, coconut cream, and salt, add less than the recipe calls for to start. That way, you can taste as you go and add more of a particular ingredient as you see fit. You’ll get your perfectly balanced cilantro lime cauliflower rice that way! Remember, you can always add more of an ingredient, but you can’t take it back out if you add too much.
• It’s a totally optional step, but feel free to drain the excess liquid from the bowl before serving your cauli rice. Draining the leftover lime juice and coconut cream will keep the cauliflower rice fluffy and light. If you leave the liquids in, you’ll have a wetter, slightly creamier bowl of rice.
• If you’re one of the 4-14% of the U.S. population who thinks cilantro tastes like soap, don’t worry. You can swap it out with another fresh herb, like chives or parsley or even Thai basil. Of course, it wouldn’t be cilantro lime cauliflower rice without the cilantro, but you get the idea.