Inspired by 
And a recent visit to Chipotle reminded me how much I love rice bowls. Now I can eat rice until the cows come home. I love rice. But sometimes a girl needs a low-carb option.
Enter my glorious cauliflower rice!! All you need is a head of cauliflower and a food processor. It’s that easy. I even love eating it as 
I love the vibrant colors here. The only thing cooked here is the corn, which you can also grill which would be just lovely. I just cooked corn on the cob and cut the corn kernels from there.
I prepared the cauliflower rice pretty much the same way I make 
Top your Mexican Cauliflower Rice Bowl with avocados, some lettuce and some radishes . . you can even mix in some pico de gallo or some salsa if desired.
Mix and enjoy!
Mexican Cauliflower Rice Bowl
Ingredients
For the cauliflower cilantro lime rice:
- half a medium sized head of cauliflower chopped into chunks
- handful of fresh cilantro diced + more when serving
- juice from 1/2 lime
- kosher salt to taste
For the black beans:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 jalapeño chile stemmed, seeded and minced (optional)
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
For the corn mixture:
- 2 to 3 ears of corn cooked and cut from the cob
- 1 to mato finely diced
- 1/2 yellow tomato finely diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper finely diced
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper finely diced
- 2 scallions finely diced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Fresh toppings:
- fresh green leaf or romaine lettuce chopped
- radishes sliced thin
- 2 to 3 ripe avocados
- salsa if desired
- 1 lime sliced for wedges
Instructions
For the cauliflower cilantro lime rice:
- Using a food processor, place the cauliflower chunks inside and pulse until it becomes a cous-cous like texture. Remove from food processor and place into a large mixing bowl.
- Mix in the fresh cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice and season with salt. Mix and taste and adjust any ingredients as needed. Set aside.
For the black beans:
- Using a large skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil and onions and cook until softened, for about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the jalapeño (if using), garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, for about 30 seconds. Stir in the black beans and vegetable broth and cook until the liquid has nearly evaporated, for about 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.
For the corn mixture:
- Using a large mixing bowl, mix together the corn, diced tomatoes, diced bell peppers, scallions, cilantro and lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
To assemble your Mexican Cauliflower Rice Bowl:
- Serve in large bowls and divide evenly into 4 bowls: the cauliflower cilantro lime rice, black bean mixture and fresh corn mixture. Top with chopped lettuce, radishes, sliced avocados, salsa if desired and lime wedges. Mix and enjoy!
Black bean mixture from America’s Test Kitchen’s The Best Mexican Recipes cookbook, shared here with permission from ATK.
This is seriously such a great idea! I keep reading about cauliflower rice but I gotta try it! The texture looks so similar! And how are you enjoying that new book?
i love cauliflower too and used it several times before. this is such a great idea for a meal.
Oh this is such a great idea to make a cauliflower bowl, Alice! I absolutely love it! And those flavors sound just perfect. What a great meal!
My husband’s obsessed with Chipotle burrito bowls, but this option is about 50 times healthier. The lime is the best! And it looks so good. I’ve been meaning to try cauliflower rice for a while, and now I really am going to do it!
This Mexican cauliflower rice bowl is such a great idea, Alice! My husband is obsessed with Chipotle’s burrito bowls and I can’t wait to make him this healthier version! It looks so fresh and delicious!
My oh my! I love rice bowls, but this is such a creative twist. I would love to make this for supper soon.
I’ve been seeing a lot about cauliflower rice lately. Your version sounds pretty awesome. Love the mexican flavors!
Seriously, your awesome cauliflower recipe will transform me from rice eater to cauliflower eater! Love this healthy take on regular rice bowl. LOVE IT!!!
I definitely need some low-carb options these days! Love all those bright veggies and Mexican flavors!
thanks so much, Ashley!!!
I haven’t tried cauliflower rice yet, and I really need to! This recipe may have convinced me, I love anything Mexican, and this rice bowl looks amazing!
Stacey, you need to try it!!! cauli rice is fabulous!!! you might want to try a version that cooks or sautes the cauliflower rice first . . this recipe keeps it raw, which I love too.
love this rice bowl, I love anything and everything with cauliflower so this is right up my alley!
I raise my glass to you Alice – Heck yeah to a big bowl of veggies – I adore cauli-rice – and pairing it with cilantro and all these veggies would make this one heck of a lunch!
thank you, Shashi!!!
Cauli rice is the best! This bowl looks amazing… I’ve been feeling Mexican all the time recently 🙂
Medha, I know right?! I’ve been eating Mexican-ish food all week!!! we love it!
I am a chipotle burrito bowl girl all the way! Loving this healthier option : )
Yeeesssss. RICE. Why doesn’t any eat rice anymore? Remember how survivor contestants were only given rice to eat? I’m like, “Ya. Ok. I could handle that.” Ha. But I’m completely on board with cauliflower, too. Nature’s candy! Pass me a bowl of this.
haha, I LOVE rice . . but if I ate regular white rice all the time, I would be 200 lbs. 😛 gotta love a low-carb option 🙂
This is lunch or dinner at it’s finest! Nice and light, but plenty satisfying! Pinned.
Thank you, Marcie!!!
Alice, I was nearly fooled for a minute. On first glance I thought I’d be reading about true rice; not cauliflower as the rice. Beautiful dish, the avocado and radish are nice touches!
Heyyaa.. i love cauliflower too and used it several times before. this is such a great idea for a meal.Seriously, your awesome cauliflower recipe will transform me from rice eater to cauliflower eater.. I’ve been feeling Mexican all the time recently 🙂 🙂
I´m in awe! Cauliflower rice! I´ve got to try this! Definitely a lower carb option because like you, I love my rice 🙂
What an interesting use of cauliflower. Love the concept and the meatless meal option.
Cauliflower rice makes my world go ROUND! Would you believe though that I’ve never had it in a rice bowl?! I absolutely love all the mexican-style goodness you packed into this bowl! Totally need this to be my dinner tonight. 😉
What a fun and healthy twist on this delicious classic! I think I could eat Chipotle rice bowls every single day and not get tired of them. But that’s a lot of rice. Next time, it’s cauliflower rice! 🙂
Love cauliflower rice and this bowl looks amazing! Need to make this bowl, so easy! Pinned!
What?! This is genius, Alice!
Perfectly delicious, gorgeous and healthy!! Love that cauliflower rice!!
Wow this is so fresh!! Love that it’s packed with flavors and low carb 🙂
I think I just found lunch! Loving this healthy and colorful bowl, Alice! 🙂
Definitely hear you on eating rice until the cows come home…Damn, I can’t believe how much I used to put away as a kid! Love the use of cauliflower and the Mexican twist sounds delicious!
I LOVEEE these bowls. Chipotle is my favorite but they need to add in your cauliflower rice to their menu! 😉
Pinning!
This is a fantastic recipe!!!
It looks divine! I’ve been meaning to make cauliflower rice for months, but when it comes down to it, I’d have to make regular rice for Bill. I’m just going to have to bite the bullet as your rice bowls look marvelous!!!
Am the only person on planet who hasn’t tried cauli rice but dammit! Now I want some 😉
I have seen that cookbook EVERYWHERE so obviously I need it!! And this BOWL…totally love a good tex-mex bowl and even better that it’s totally healthy and low carb!
Joanne, I’m giving away a copy of the ATK Best Mexican Food recipes tomorrow!!!
Cauliflower rice is my new (guilt-free) dinner “grain”. I love the use of it in this rice bowl. And with black beans and avocado? So healthy!!!
I need to do this with cauliflower more often. Such a great substitute for rice and with the Mexican flavors I bet it’s awesome!
“Now I can eat rice until the cows come home. I love rice.” Literally laughed out loud. I LOVE RICE. Growing up being Puerto Rican and Cuban – white rice has been a staple in every single meal. I’ve been wanting to give cauliflower rice a try. I may just have to go for it and try a Mexican Rice Bowl out with it!
So is the cauliflower “rice” essentially raw? I don’t see you heating it up anywhere… Love the whole bowl concept!
Hi Kelly, yes it is .. I explained in the post that I left it raw. . it’s similar to a raw cauliflower pesto that I love and make. The only thing cooked here is the corn, which you can also grill . . you can saute the cauliflower if preferred .. but yes, I left it raw. thank you, Kelly!
You’ve totally inspired me with this bowl. If I can get to the store before 11:30, we’ll have this gorgeous dish for lunch today. Sharing it as my Recipe of the Day on my Facebook page, Cooking with Whole Grains & Real Whole Foods, pinning, etc. Thanks so much!
What can I use instead of line juice?
Hi Laura, the lime juice is kind of key to this recipe, especially for the cauliflower cilantro lime rice. . you could try lemon juice or another citrus juice but for best results, get your hands on some limes!