I had cauliflower risotto on my mind for months now as I’m trying to incorporate more vegetables into our dinners in other ways besides salads and green smoothies. I had a vision of a cauliflower risotto without rice and with a lot of brown mushrooms (check out my collection of cauliflower rice recipes).
This cauliflower mushroom risotto is quick enough for a light weeknight dinner because riced cauliflower cooks 3 minutes vs. rice that takes 40 minutes. You do need a food processor to make “rice” from a cauliflower, or you can buy cauliflower rice at Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Costco etc. 1 bag of “rice” replaces a medium head of cauliflower.
MY LATEST RECIPESI would serve this low carb cauliflower risotto with almond crusted chicken. Mmmmmm.
How to Make Cauliflower Risotto
- In a food processor, add cauliflower in batches and process until “rice” forms. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
- Preheat large non-stick skillet on medium – high heat and add mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes or until a bit golden, stirring frequently and watching closely not to burn. Transfer to another medium bowl and set aside.
- Return skillet to medium heat and swirl oil to coat. Add onion and garlic, saute for 3 minutes or until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add cooked mushrooms, cauliflower “rice”, broth, salt, pepper and cheeses. Stir, cover and cook for about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.
Cauliflower Risotto
Super simple Cauliflower Risotto Recipe without rice, but with brown mushrooms, cauliflower rice and Parmesan cheese. Use store bought fresh or frozen cauliflower rice.
- Prep Time: 12 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 small (2 lbs) head of cauliflower, cut into large florets*
- 1.5 lbs brown mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp coconut or avocado oil
- 1 small onion, minced
- 1 small garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp himalayan pink salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup (1 oz) parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup (1 oz) mozzarella cheese, grated
- 3 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- In a food processor, add cauliflower in batches and process until “rice” forms. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
- Preheat large non-stick skillet on medium – high heat and add mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes or until a bit golden, stirring frequently and watching closely not to burn. Transfer to another medium bowl and set aside.
- Return skillet to medium heat and swirl oil to coat. Add onion and garlic, saute for 3 minutes or until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add cooked mushrooms, cauliflower “rice”, broth, salt, pepper and cheeses. Stir, cover and cook for about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot with chicken of choice (I like almond crusted chicken).
Store: Keep refrigerated in a glass airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
*Or use a bag of store bought cauliflower rice. If using frozen, add a few minutes to cooking time.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
I liked the base of this recipe but needed to modify it to make it dairy free. I subbed coconut milk for the broth. Also added 1/4 cup of white wine after adding the riced cauliflower and boiled it off. Added nutritional yeast to give it the cheesy flavor. Great recipe
★★★★★
This is delightful without the cheese for those of us who are lactose intolerant and so quick with ready to use riced cauliflower. Love!
★★★★★
I didn’t have high hopes for cauliflower risotto but this came out super good!
★★★★★
OMGosh Olena, this was amazing! I consider myself a seasoned cook at 65. I was googling rice cauliflower recipes and yours popped up. I love Risotto, but only made it once with fish, and it was delish! I try to stay away from most carbs as my family is ridden with type 2 diabetis. I decided to try your recipe tonight for dinner, and it wowed me. Of course we always tweak a recipe to our own taste buds, and I did do half white wine with half broth for the liquid. I also did cook it on low longer until our meat was cooked. This will be my new go to recipe for cauliflower from now on. Thank you!
You are welcome, Sandi!
Great fun! I added some dried wild mushrooms(chanterelles, porcini, etc) to the broth to intensify the flavor and was great. Veggie broth is good, but not as savory as the chicken. Great job!
This is a great recipe, i loved it. I added some chorizo and it was absolutely fab. The only thing is i had a bit of liquid left in the pan after 4 mins but nevertheless it still was delish.
Thank you for this beautiful recipe! I’m making it tonight, using a variety of shiitake and oyster mushrooms, and I’m excited. Thank you also for the inspiring clean eating blog. I’ve been increasingly committing to this lifestyle myself, and your philosophy on clean yet balanced eating and listening to your body and not judging it is exactly the place I’m at right now 🙂
Glad to hear Liz you are enjoying the blog. Good for you, life is too short to be unhealthy or torture yourself with a diet.
Yay for low carb risotto! Going to try this with frozen cauliflower rice and toasted almonds. Thanks for the recipe!
Hello, If using frozen cauliflower rice, would you just heat it up in skllet first to dethaw or what steps did you take with the frozen rice?
Just add a few minutes to cooking time.
Made this last night and loved it! I skipped the mozzarella and did half the parm, and it was still amazing! My mother, child and husband all loved it too (and my husband is typically veggie adverse). Keep up the yummy posts, and ignore all of the strange people who spend time nit-picking about such trivial things in your recipe instructions!
Glad you enjoyed it, Susan. I can’t believe how much attention this recipe is getting. Considering, I’m not vegan or vegetarian, I could care less. So true. I will officially ignore any comments about the cheese from now on LOL. Again, glad the youngest and the oldest liked this cauliflower risotto. Those are the hardest to please, sometimes older ones are even pickier than kids haha.
I followed the recipe exactly but it ended up watery. Any ideas?
Well, this is cauliflower and not rice, so it doesn’t absorb juices and sauce like original risotto. Sauce contains a lot of flavour. If you want less watery dish, add less chicken stock next time.:)
Made this tonight with some changes, because I can’t leave a recipe alone, lol. Substituted shallots for onions, and added precooked quinoa at the end. Also cut recipe in half since there are just two of us. Left overs are going in veggie stock for lunch tomorrow. Great recipe, was delicious. Thanks.
Um, yes. I noticed I am modifying even my own recipes which makes me laugh every time. So, I get it. Glad you liked.
Thank you for this – I really enjoyed it, a very risotto-y rice cheat.
Yep. You are welcome, Erin.
Very good!! Needed to cook longer to get right consistency. Will definitely make again
That could change with the type of pan and stove. I have had That cooks faster so maybe that’s why. Glad you liked.:)
This was a huge hit in my office holiday party. People could not believe that it was a healthy dish. It was so rich in flavor and the mushrooms gave it an extra zing on flavor. Great job! Thanks for sharing
Wow, Natalie. I would never think to take it to the office party. I’m so happy you did and it worked out for you! Honestly, I’m so hesitant to share many my recipes with big crowd gatherings because many people just don’t get it and their tastebuds are so clogged up by sodium and sugar. You are brave! My husband tells me what people eat in his office and I get goosebumps and they all laugh at him but deep inside are jealous, I’m sure LOL.