This Green Cauliflower Rice Salad is light, healthy and full of summer vegetables. Cauliflower rice if full of nutrients, fiber and low in carbs. Delicious and refreshing!
This Green Cauliflower Rice Salad is my attempt to remake a delicious salad I had at Chopt the other day: The Greenmarket Grain Bowl. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised at how good a cauliflower rice salad could be.
Cauliflower rice is super healthy. It’s full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It even contains a sulfur compound which has been shown to kill cancer cells and slow tumor growth. Did you know that eating just 100 calories worth of cruciferous vegetables fulfills 40% of your daily fiber requirement? Woo hoo!
I will admit that I never loved cauliflower but since this rice is taking over the world I had to try it. Chopping the raw cauliflower into small pieces makes it much more palatable. It takes on a different texture and has a very mild flavor. In fact, it really does taste lot like rice so it’s the perfect blank slate for so many low carb meals.
If you are so inclined, you can chop up fresh cauliflower. Just cut it into small pieces and pulse it in your food processor until it resembles rice or quinoa. Because I’m all about quick and easy here, I bought mine in the freezer section of Trader Joes. Love a good shortcut. Having made it both ways, I think the frozen one is even better than fresh. It’s not bitter like fresh cauliflower can be.
Since the cauliflower rice is frozen, it’s best to put it in the fridge overnight before using or zap it in the microwave until warmed up a bit, 30 seconds or so.
If you haven’t tried cauliflower rice, it’s time to give it a spin. Head to your local Trader Joe’s but be quick because it’s flying off the shelves!
Green Cauliflower Rice Salad
Ingredients
- 1 12 oz package of cauliflower rice from Trader Joe's organic, frozen
- 1 cup sugar snap peas chopped small
- 1 English cucumber diced small
- 3 radishes sliced thin
- 1 cup red cabbage chopped small
- 2 cups lettuce I used romaine, chopped small
- Dressing:
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1 lime juiced
- 1/4 cup grapeseed or olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Thaw frozen cauliflower rice overnight or in the microwave.
- Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss.
- Put all dressing ingredients into a blender and mix well.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Dress salad right before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The dressing recipe is adapted from The Garden Grazer.
Mary Ann @ thebeachhousekitchen
July 25, 2016 at 11:01 AMSuch a pretty salad Karen! Love the colors and it sounds wonderfully healthy! I can’t wait to try this one. Have a wonderful week!
Karen Kelly
July 25, 2016 at 12:04 PMThanks Mary Ann! Hope you love it!
Megan - The Emotional Baker
July 25, 2016 at 11:34 AMWow! This salad looks perfect! I’ve only made cauli rice once before. I’m super excited to try it again in this fresh, delicious medley 🙂
Karen Kelly
July 25, 2016 at 12:04 PMThanks Megan! Hope you like it!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
July 25, 2016 at 7:04 PMOMG, I am a cauliflower addict, in all forms, so this salad is right up my alley! I’ve always made cauliflower rice myself with my food processor, but I’m totally going to have to check out those super convenient packages… you know for when I’m feeling lazy (which is always). Ha! Cheers, girlie!
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
July 27, 2016 at 2:04 PMLove how healthy this salad is and the dressing sounds delicious!
Cathy
July 27, 2016 at 3:11 PMI love cauliflower in all forms and this salad looks so fresh and bright. A great way to enjoy cauliflower in the summer. Pinned!
Green Valley Kitchen
August 10, 2016 at 3:26 PMI just started using cauliflower rice too. Trader Joe sells it all chopped up – so convenient. I was adding it to stir fries and smoothies – but never thought of adding it to a salad – so great idea, Karen. Looking forward to trying this salad!
Lorena
August 10, 2016 at 10:35 PMuhhhh, this sounds amazing!! I never thought of making “salad” with cauliflower rice! So smart! Unfortunately, we don’t have Trader Joe’s in Canada 🙁 I’ll have to grate my own to get this delicious bowl together but it’ll be worth it!