Middle Eastern Cauliflower Rice Pilaf (low carb)

This Middle Eastern cauliflower rice pilaf is a delicious low carb dinner or lunch that takes little time to make but is full of flavor. Only 20 minutes to make and 3.1g net carbs per serving.

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I confess I didn’t know what to call this. When I was little my grandmother used to make a stuffing like this with rice instead of cauliflower. I don’t know what she called it but we always had it on holidays and she didn’t use it to stuff meat just served it as a side dish. Oh my gosh it was so good and I just remembered it over Thanksgiving. However I wanted to make a low carb version so here is my Middle Eastern cauliflower rice pilaf. The meat has hints of cinnamon that many Middle eastern dishes do and the crunchy pine nuts top everything off perfectly.

This turned out just as good as I thought it would. I ate it for lunch but you could just as easily eat it for dinner. Either way it would also be a nice dish to freeze for a low carb meal on the go.  Cauliflower rice is perfect for quick low carb dishes. Just lately I’ve made this festive sun dried tomato and spinach rice and this mushroom and brie cauliflower risotto. I grew up eating a lot of rice so cauliflower rice has been a life saver for me. 

Middle Eastern Cauliflower Rice Pilaf Recipe

You start by browning the ground meat with the spices and then add in the cauliflower rice. While that is cooking brown your pine nuts in a  dry pan. Make sure to keep an eye on these because they will burn very carefully. I should know I do it almost every time. Try not to skip the pine nuts by the way but you could substitute with slivered or sliced almonds. I usually buy mine at Costco or Trader Joes. And that is all there is to it. Start to finish it should only take about 20 minutes. 

I hope you give this cauliflower rice a chance. You will be so happy you did. The nutritional information for 1 serving is:

 326 cals / 23.9g fat / 5.6g carbs / 2.5g fiber / 23g protein = 3.1g net carbs

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Middle Eastern Cauliflower Rice Pilaf

This Middle Eastern cauliflower rice pilaf is a delicious low carb dinner or lunch that takes little time to make but is full of flavor. Only 20 minutes to make and 3.1g net carbs per serving.

Course Main Course

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 327 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 cups cauliflower rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup pine nuts

Instructions

1. Add oil to a large saute pan and heat to medium high. Add meat and sprinkle spices over top. 

2. Brown meat and then add the cauliflower rice. Mix well and cover for 5 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile add pine nuts to a dry pan and toast over medium heat. Make sure you watch so they don't burn.

4. Add cauliflower rice to a  serving bowl and top with toasted pine nuts.