This Mexican Cauliflower Fried Rice is packed with veggies, protein, and lots of flavor and spice! It’s topped with an easy guacamole and chipotle ranch sauce for a tasty, filling meal that’s Paleo, Whole30 compliant and keto friendly.
This is one of those simple, yet really delicious and satisfying recipes that makes me LOVE paleo and Whole30 cooking!
True story – I wasn’t always on board with cauliflower rice. I thought it was far too much of an effort to “rice” the cauliflower and I didn’t yet realize how tasty cauliflower fried rice could be!
My vision of cauli rice was a whole lot of mess with resulting boring mushy “rice” that tasted nothing like actual rice.
Much like I had to accept that zucchini noodles weren’t actual noodles, I needed to accept that cauli rice wasn’t rice, but could be seriously awesome anyway.
I also needed to accept that I was going to have to compromise with myself and be lazy – I bought the pre-“riced” cauliflower at the grocery store and didn’t look back. For all of you who ain’t got no time for the mess – get the pre-riced cauli! And, for those of you who like ricing your own – more power to you!
Anyway, cauli rice can definitely be awesome in its own right – it’s amazing sauteed/fried, and picks up all the flavors it mixes with like a dream. When I first decided to make this chicken and bacon fried rice, I was completely sold – cauliflower rice can actually be pretty darn awesome.
I knew I was due for another cauliflower fried rice recipe but I wanted to make the flavors really different than the last.
I decided to go the Mexican-inspired route since I’ve been on a big guacamole kick lately – it’s SO perfect to top off this cauli rice!
For the ground meat, I actually used a mixture of ground beef and ground chicken, just based on what was in my fridge. You can use any ground meat at all, but I highly recommend one that’s a little less lean since it adds better flavor in my opinion. That said, simply adding a bit more cooking fat if you use a leaner meat will work out just fine.
The add-ins are super simple – onions, peppers, garlic, spices, diced green chilis and jalapeno. The toppings make it over-the-top tasty!
I went with my chipotle ranch – which is probably my most-made mayo-based dip/sauce. It goes with nearly everything and it’s so perfect here!
The guac also takes it to the next level – you get healthy fats, flavor, texture – the whole deal. Also, if you’re planning to make this ahead of time, you can prepare everything in advance with the exception of the guacamole and be totally good to go with a toss in the skillet to reheat the fried rice.
I hope you’re ready for an easy and oh-so-yummy, filling and heathy meal – let’s get cooking!
Mexican Cauliflower Fried Rice {Paleo, Whole30, Keto}
Mexican Cauliflower Fried Rice {Paleo, Whole30, Keto}
This Mexican Cauliflower Rice is packed with veggies, protein, and lots of flavor and spice! It's topped with an easy guacamole and chipotle ranch sauce for a tasty, filling meal that's Paleo, Whole30 compliant and keto friendly.
Ingredients
- 12 oz riced cauliflower about 1 head, just shy of 4 cups
- 1 lb ground beef turkey, chicken, or pork
- 3 Tbsp cooking fat coconut oil, bacon fat, olive oil, ghee, divided
- 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- generous dash chipotle pepper adjust to your taste or omit
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 can chopped green chilis
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeds removed and minced
- Cilantro for garnish
- 1/2 cup homemade chipotle ranch dip
- 1 batch easy guac see below:
Easy Guac:
- 1 large ripe avocado or 2 small, mashed
- 2-3 Tbsp onion minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1-2 Tbsp jalapeno peppers minced
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
Instructions
-
Prepare the chipotle ranch, cover and chill until ready to serve.
-
Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp coconut oil.
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Add ground meat to skillet and sprinkle with salt and spices. Once browned, add onion, pepper and stir, cook about 45 seconds until softened.
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Add chopped green chilis, garlic, and jalapeno pepper and continue to cook another 45 seconds to heat through. Add cauli rice and stir to coat, then cover skillet for 30 seconds to soften cauliflower, remove from heat.
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Before serving, mash together all the guac ingredients in a bowl. To serve fried rice, top with extra cilantro, chipotle ranch and guac. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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Want More Whole30 and Keto Recipes? Try One Of These!
Chicken Bacon Fried Cauliflower Rice
One Skillet Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
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Your recipe for chicken/bacon fried rice sold me on cauliflower rice to!! I LOVED that version, so I’m excited for these new flavors 🙂
Looks delish. Definitely going to give this a try. How big is a serving size a cup or so?
Look so delicious!!! I want to eat all of this at the first moment when I see them.
Thank you for sharing these food.
Lynn Gross,
https://happywheels3d.com/
This was so good! Really great flavors and super easy to make!
I’ m not sure if this an error in the recipe or not, but you call for 3 tbsp of cooking fat but I only saw 1 tbsp used in the recipe.
Hi! I might have forgotten to mention when to add the additional Tbsps. Regardless happy you enjoyed it!
When do you add the additional 2 Tablespoons? (Haven’t made it yet!)
What is the recipe for the chipotle ranch?
I made this last night… delish. It will be in my go to rotation. It’s a good one.
Thrilled you enjoyed it!
Well This fried rice paleo is very tasty .. I love to share this recipe with my friends
It looks very tasty for Paleo. I think I’m going to try and see if it tastes like it looks.
This was one of the best dishes I have ever made and it was so simple. So yummy 🙂
great recipe! I made it to take for lunch for a few days and it reheated well. Do not even miss rice!
That’s amazing! So happy you’re enjoying it 🙂
What is your recipe for chipotle ranch/mayo sauce?
This was fantastic! I used ground turkey and layered it with lettuce, black beans, this cauliflower rice, guacamole. Will definitely make this again. Would be good in a wrap as well
HI! So delish! But wondering how big the serving size actually is? It just says 6 servings. Trying to add it to my database and already ate some so I can’t measure out. Thanks!!
I typically don’t measure the servings in cups but rather estimate a mainly realistic number of servings for the batch.
This recipe is easy and quick, especially if you use frozen cauliflower. Highly recommend for meal prep as it’s delicious the next day!
This is easy to make and very tasty!!! I have made this numerous times and always turns out great!!!
I love this dish, it is very delicious and attractive.
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2nd time making this and love it just as much! I did leave out the onions this time since my husband is not a fan but it is sooo good! I use a little more chipotle mayo than recommended but that stuff is just sooo good!
How much is a serving?
Wow looks so delicious. With this recipe I’m gonna make this dish. Hope my family will love it.
This recipe is fantastic! I have made it numerous times and have even served it to guests and it is always well received. It tastes every bit as good, the next day, as a leftover too. I prep everything ahead of time so it comes together very quickly and easily. Thank you for another flavorful and easy dinner recipe!
What’s the serving size
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Love this recipe!! So yummy!! Do you add the other tablespoons of oil after the meat is browned? Or when you add the onions and peppers? Thank you!
I love Mexican food. Your cooking looks fabulous and delicious. Thank you.
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https://www.paleorunningmomma.com
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Wow looks so delicious. Gonna try this recipe for sure.
This is really good
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This is really good but had to spice it up a bit. I didn’t remove the seeds from the jalapeno and added scheracha. I like a lot of spice but if you like mild spice make as is. Will definitely make again.
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This is an awesome recipe!! Thank you!
Definitely going to make this! Just wondering if the nutrition facts include the guac? 🙂
I just love fried rice to have for my lunch. Thanks for this recipe. Have never tried this fried rice with cauliflower, so gonna cook it for my tomorrow lunch for sure.
I just made this recipe for the first time! It’s beyond 5 stars! I’m on keto diet, so I do have to ration it out but I literally had to stop myself from eating it right out of the pot. Thank you so much! I’ll be making this again many times in the future!
supurb recipe!! i love spicy food and this recipe make easy and quick for us.
Thanks for sharing this recipe i enjoy too eating fried rice
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This was a hit with our family. We used left over fajita meat and also added some shrimp. Thank you for sharing.
It’s different but it looks very nice, I’ll try it, thanks.
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I made this today and it was absolutely delicious and the kids even like it! Thanks!
Love hearing that!
I made this for dinner tonight (Day 13 of September Whole30) and it’s absolutely delicious. Will make over and over, regardless of whether I’m doing Whole30 or not! If I could give it 6 stars, I would!
I make this just about weekly and haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I bring it with me on the go and eat it cold and it’s such a great protein and veggie packed lunch. Sometimes I don’t have green chiles, sometimes I don’t have an onion…it’s always so good though. I use ground chicken (used ground turkey once too), double up all spices except the cumin and chili powder, and add cayenne and red pepper flakes. When I eat it I put crispy jalapeños on top, not paleo but so good! I try to eat 80/20 so that’s my 20 😂 Thank you for such an awesome recipe, Michele!!
Love a hearty and filling meal and this rice is PERFECT! You know the way to my bloggin heart 🙂
I REALLY love this recipe! It has everything you need for the Mexican flavor profile, without the dairy or carbs found in most dishes. My only suggestion is the taco seasoning itself is fairly bland, I found a great whole30 blend that kicks it up a notch https://therealfoodrds.com/homemade-taco-seasoning-whole30
Otherwise, the chipotle mayo sauce is delicious, the smokey paprika adds such a wonderful depth. Great job on this recipe, I love your website 🙂
Loooks really tasty, it’s definitely worst to try to cook this amazing looking Mexican food )