Pesto Broccoli Cauliflower Rice

For a quick, healthy and delicious side dish try this low carb pesto broccoli cauliflower rice. With just a few ingredients you can whip this keto veggie rice dish up in minutes. And you can dressing it with a few simple additional ingredients. Each serving has only 3.5g net carbs and 5 grams of protein.

You might also like this keto spinach cauliflower rice pilaf.

Seeing as we have a huge crop of basil growing in our garden this summer, I recently made a batch of homemade pesto and froze portions for use in the winter. The other day I was looking for a quick side dish and decided to make this keto pesto broccoli cauliflower rice to go with some pork chops we were having.

These two cruciferous vegetables make a great rice substitute and went perfectly with my frozen homemade pesto. With the leftovers I experimented with additional ingredients to jazz it up even more and I loved them so I have that option for you as well. 

So if you are looking for an easy, tasty and low carb summer dish you will love this pesto broccoli rice dish.

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

The simple ingredients I used were just fresh broccoli florets and cauliflower florets, butter, salt and some homemade basil pesto from this recipe. The pesto is made with fresh basil leaves, fresh garlic, parmesan cheese, walnuts and olive oil. You can also add some salt and black pepper and even some hot pepper flakes for heat. I’ve been putting that in everything these days.

• broccoli and cauliflower – I like to make my cauliflower and broccoli rice by hand. You really just pulse it in a food processor. However you can also use store bought rices. I’m not a big fan of frozen veggie rices as they tend to be very watery. If you use them make sure they have thawed and take out as much water as you can.
• pesto – I made my own pesto with basil from our garden. However you can try this other recipe for spinach pesto or even use store bought pesto. It’s easy to make but that will make this recipe even quicker.

Extras to add to the dish.

Below are a the additional ingredients I tried with this dish. You can use one or two or all in this recipe if you want. I used all of them and loved it. I had some homemade sun-dried tomatoes which we made from our garden, toasted sliced almonds, parmesan cheese and lemon zest.

I like these additions because:

• sun-dried tomatoes – These add sweetness and a bit of tanginess. You can also try sauteed cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes.
• sliced almonds – Sliced almonds are crunchy but not too chunky. Pine nuts would also be great but they are bit expensive and harder to find.
• parmesan cheese – Grated parmesan cheese adds a lot of flavor and some additional saltiness. Just a little goes a long way as far as this cheese is concerned.
• lemon zest – I like lemon zest because it adds a lot of brightness and lemon flavor without the sourness.

Other things you can add are proteins like Italian sausage, cooked chicken breast, shrimp, salmon, ground turkey, ham, bacon, etc. This would make it more of a meal instead of a side dish.

How to make pesto broccoli cauliflower rice.

Step 1: Start by making the riced cauliflower and broccoli. Simple had florets to a food processor and pulse until they look like grains of rice. That’t it. You could also try this in a blender or chop by hand or use a box grater but I find this method to be the best way.

Step 2: Once you have the rices made, spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat up to medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of water to the pan, mix and cover with a lid. Cook for a few minutes to soften the veggies so they have the texture of rice.

Step 3: Now add the butter and salt, mix well until it melts and combines. Then add the pesto sauce. Mix well and cook for another minute and you are done.

Below is what it looks like. I usually eat this as a side dish or lunch. Sometimes I add the extras and sometimes I add the proteins I mention above.

If you want to add some of the extras I mentioned above, just add them to the pan and cook for a few minutes to incorporate the flavors. You might want to toast the almond slices ahead of time but you don’t have to.

To do this, add to a dry nonstick pan and toast over medium heat until they start to turn golden brown. Take them off the heat and let cool on a paper towel. Add them to the pan at the end and mix in.

And here is what that looks like below. As I said above, you don’t have to add these but they add another layer of flavor.

Store leftovers in an airtight container. Just reheat leftovers in the microwave for a 30-60 seconds. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

This would go great with a meaty main dish like steaks, burgers or chicken. It would even be good with seafood like shrimp or a nice piece of grilled salmon or tuna fillet.

Well I hope you enjoy this simple but tasty low carb pesto broccoli cauliflower rice. Try it as a side dish or healthy lunch this summer. And let me know if you come up with some tasty additions to the recipe. I always love hearing how you make my recipes.

The nutritional facts for 1 serving (roughly 1 cup) and using the pesto recipe below is 227 calories / 21.9g fat / 6.8g carbs / 3.3g fiber / 5g protein = 3.5g net carbs