This Cajun Cauliflower Rice is a paleo, Whole30 and keto take on dirty rice. It uses riced cauliflower, andouille sausage, pepper, onion and creole and Cajun seasonings to make an easy one pot skillet meal.
New Orleans was actually one of the places I wanted to move to for 3 months after culinary school. I ended up jetting off to Hawaii instead.
During a cross country road trip to our new home in Charleston SC, we made a stop in New Orleans and had the BEST time experiencing the culture and the food.
This is my take on "dirty" rice or Cajun rice and beans with a Whole30, paleo and keto twist.
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💗 Why You'll Love This Recipe
Cauliflower rice is high in fiber and low in carbs making it a great addition to low carb and keto diets.
Healthy AND flavorful -this is a weeknight meal the whole family will love.
This dish is veggie-PACKED and made with all gluten-free and dairy-free ingredients -perfect for paleo and Whole30 diets too!
Quick and easy. This one-pan meal takes less than 30 minutes.
🧄 Ingredients You'll Need
Avocado Oil - is great for high heat cooking like sauteing.
Green Bell Pepper (diced) - is an excellent source of Vitamin C. It adds a pop of contrasting color to this dish.
Yellow Onion (diced) - offers texture and delicious savory flavor.
Garlic - makes everything better.
Andouille Sausage (sliced) - is a smoked pork sausage that originated in France and then was brought over to Louisiana. It is made with Cajun and creole seasonings, so it definitely has a kick.
Frozen Riced Cauliflower - taste the same as fresh and stays firm when cooked from frozen.
Cajun or Creole Seasoning - The blends are very similar. Creole tends to have a mild, less spicy flavor than Cajun.
Salt & Pepper (to taste) - highlights the warm and spicy flavors of the whole dish.
Parsley - optional garnish.
🌶What Spices are in Creole and Cajun Seasoning?
Although the flavor profile and heat levels differ, most creole and Cajun seasoning blends contain:
Salt Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Oregano
Thyme
White Pepper
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper
📖 How to Make Cajun Cauliflower Rice
1️⃣ Prepare skillet. Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
2️⃣ Cook vegetables. Add pepper, onion and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften and become fragrant.
3️⃣ Add sausage. Add sausage to the skillet and cook for another 5 minutes or until sausage begins to brown.
4️⃣ Add rice. Add frozen riced cauliflower and Cajun or Creole seasoning to the skillet. Stir to combine, lower the heat to medium and continue cooking until rice is warmed through but not overcooked (mushy).
5️⃣ Serve. Serve hot and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Enjoy.
🧊Using Frozen Riced Cauliflower
Cauliflower rice has been replacing traditional rice in a lot of recipes over the last few years for two main reasons. One, it's versatile and soaks up whatever flavors are added to it, and two - it's popular on keto, low carb and Whole30 resets.
I use frozen cauliflower rice in all of my recipes because it's a huge time-saver. Making your own cauliflower rice costs less, but beware -making it yourself is a messy task and fresh riced cauliflower goes bad quick!
When using frozen riced cauliflower, make sure you warm it through or sauté in a pan to release any excess moisture. This helps make a healthy dish so much quicker.
My favorite brand of frozen cauliflower rice is by Green Giant. You can find it in the frozen section of your grocery store and even in bulk at stores like Costco.
Green Giant also makes other frozen riced vegetables like riced broccoli and my personal favorite - a mix of riced sweet potato and cauliflower.
Trader Joe's and Birdseye also make frozen riced cauliflower.
🍎Paleo & Whole30 Cajun Cauliflower Rice
"Dirty" rice or Cajun rice is normally made with regular white rice. To keeps things paleo and Whole30 compliant make sure you:
❄️ Use frozen cauliflower rice. You can use raw cauliflower rice, but it takes longer to cook.
💲Buy Whole30 compliant andouille sausage. You should have no problem finding a compliant brand at Whole Foods.
🌶️ Use a compliant creole or Cajun seasoning blend. I love this one.
🔁 Storing & Reheating
How to Store Leftover Cauliflower Rice: Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Reheating: Leftovers can simply be reheated in the microwave for a few minutes or heated through over the stove.
More Whole30 Dinners You'll Love
Eggplant Lasagna
One Pot Healthy Jambalaya
Sheet Pan Low Country Boil
Sheet Pan Teriyaki Salmon
Ginger Lime Sheet Pan Chicken
❔FAQ
1 cup of cauliflower rice has 4 grams of carbohydrates while white rice has 45 grams.
1 cup of cauliflower rice has 47 calories while white rice has 206.
1 cup of cauliflower rice has 3 grams of protein while white rice has 4.3.
1 cup of cauliflower rice has 2 grams of fat while white rice has 1.
The flavor profiles are similar. Creole coooking uses tomatoes, known as city food. Cajun Cooking relies more on spices coming from peppers, known more as country food.
This style of rice gets a lot of it's flavor from the protein and vegetables used in it. For this reason and the red color of creole and Cajun seasoning, what was once plain white rice now looks "dirty."
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Cajun Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 1 Green Bell Pepper diced
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion diced
- 2 tsp Garlic minced
- 12 oz Andouille Sausage sliced
- 4 cups Frozen Riced Cauliflower
- 2 tbsp [Cajun or Creole Seasoning]
- 1 tbsp Avocado Oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp avocado oil in large skillet or pot over medium high heat.
- Add pepper, onion and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
- Add in sliced sausage and saute for another 5 minutes or until sausage begins to brown
- Add in frozen riced cauliflower and Cajun or Creole seasoning
- Stir to combine, turn down the heat to medium and cook until the cauliflower rice is warmed through but not mushy
- Serve hot and garnish with fresh chopped parsley
I don’t really like bell pepper. Would a can of diced
Tomatoes work just as well? Thanks!
I'd maybe use raw diced tomato or drain the can of diced tomatoes first and it should be fine 🙂
This recipe was so easy and absolutely delicious! My only note would be to add the Cajun seasoning “to taste” because 2 tablespoons was too spicy for me!
This looks so good! What a great lunch meal prep idea!
Thanks, Suzanne!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Hi Vanessa! It usually keeps up to 5 days unless I freeze it.
Made this tonight and it was very good. I would make one minor change for ME and that would be to use salt free Cajun seasoning. Definitely keeping this in the recipe box. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Isabel!
Yummy recipe! I eyeballed the amount of the seasonings and didn't have any sausage on hand but it's delicious! I made a Cajun chicken recipe to go with it and chopped it up and threw it in! Will definitely be making it again
Thats great to hear! Thank you!
This looks so good! It is so nice to have a versatile side on hand for the weekdays!
Very good! And super versatile.