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Healthy Keto Spanish Rice Recipe

Who doesn’t love sitting at the table and having a big plate of Spanish rice for lunch in front of them? It’s honestly something that warms the heart right away.

If you follow a strict diet, you may not be able to eat rice and miss this food, but this is a problem of the past, now you can enjoy keto Spanish rice.

This is a keto-friendly version of a beloved dish from southern Spain, and you can enjoy it even if you don’t follow the keto diet, as it is just as delicious as the original.

Keto Spanish rice in a white bowl on a kitchen cloth. Healthy Keto Spanish Rice Recipe

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Background of the Dish

a bowl of keto Spanish rice with cauliflower next to it.

Keto cauliflower rice recipes have become popular in the last decade as the number of people following the keto diet has increased dramatically.

Keto Spanish rice is acclaimed by all home cooks in Spain, as it is a way in which they can continue to enjoy their favorite dish and be able to keep up with their diet.

You may be wondering why there isn’t a keto Spanish rice and beans recipe, or other types of classic Spanish rice, and that’s because the main ingredients are not keto-friendly.

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cauliflower rice in a pot on a wooden table. On top it's written Tasty keto Spanish rice recipe.

Things You’ll Need for Keto Spanish Rice

To make this keto Spanish rice you will need cauliflower, bell peppers, tomato, and seasonings as the main ingredients.

The ideal way of making this keto Spanish rice recipe is to have a blender or food processor to prepare it, but if you don’t have any of them then you can use a grater.

fresh cauliflower, peppers, tomatoes on a wooden table for the keto Spanish rice.

Ingredients

  • 1 cauliflower head
  • 2 green bell peppers
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 Roma tomatoes
  • 1 3/4 cups (410ml) beef or chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 4 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

How to Make Keto Spanish Rice – Step by Step Guide

cauliflower being grated for the keto spanish rice
  1. To start making the best cauliflower rice is pretty simple, you just have to wash the cauliflower, and remove the stem and leaves. Cut it into pieces.
  1. After that, put the cauliflower in a blender or food processor just until it is about the size of rice. If you don’t have those machines, you can use a grater and pass the cauliflower through the medium-sized holes (you should cut the cauliflower into a couple of large pieces to make it safer to grate). Set aside in the fridge.
  1. For the next step on the keto cauliflower, take the bell peppers, wash them, and cut them. Peel and mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a pan at medium heat.
  1. Then cook the bell peppers and garlic for 5 minutes in the pan. Add the cauliflower rice and the seasonings and stir from time to time (you can add more or fewer seasonings, it is completely up to you). Cook for 10 minutes.
  1. In the meantime, grab the tomatoes and blend them with the broth in a blender or food processor. Since this is keto rice, you can use chicken or beef broth.
  1. After that, add the tomato sauce to the rice and vegetables and mix everything. Cook for 15 minutes until most of the liquid evaporates. Now the Spanish cauliflower rice is ready and you can serve it warm.

Substitution of Ingredients

keto Spanish rice in a bowl.

For this cauliflower Spanish rice, there are hundreds of changes you can make to the ingredients, although you should always be careful and make sure they are allowed in your diet.

Cauliflower is one of the best keto substitutes for rice, but it is not the only one. You can add other types of vegetables as well.

If you want to make keto Spanish rice you can use wild rice, shirataki rice (hard to find but it is amazing), or quinoa.

As for the seasoning, the ones listed here are keto-friendly, and we recommend using a lot so that the cauliflower is full of flavor. However, you can use more or less seasoning if you like.

You can also get inspired and follow other cauliflower rice ideas by transforming classics like Spanish chorizo rice, Spanish rice and beans with pork (minus the beans), or Spanish rice soup into keto versions with the rice in this recipe.

The Spanish saffron rice is another great recipe if you want to keep it clean when it comes to dieting.

We have other keto recipes that you can try like the keto mackerel recipe or the keto gazpacho that are so delicious you won’t belive they are keto.

Tips on Serving Keto Spanish Rice

keto spanish rice on a white plate, with 2 sausages and tomatoes and cucumbers.

You can serve your keto Spanish rice with your favorite type of sausage and add a few more fresh tomatoes and cucumbers for some extra textures.

If you want this to continue being a healthy cauliflower rice recipe, you can serve it with a small number of peanuts for a crunchy texture or a tablespoon of bacon or shredded cheese (check with your nutritionist for the right amount for your diet).

You can serve this rice with some Spanish side dishes that are or can be made keto, like an egg fried in olive oil, or zucchini with garlic.

Finally, this Spanish cauliflower can be served hot or cold (hot is perfect) for lunch or dinner and can be the main dish or side dish of protein.

Try the fried cauliflower recipe from Spain if you want a quick and delicious vegetarian snack.

How to Store Keto Spanish Rice

How to Store Keto Spanish Rice. Ingredients such as nuts, apple, salad in a fridge.

This is the best cauliflower rice recipe, although some parts of the storing process can be a bit tricky, so read carefully.

If you want to freeze the keto Spanish rice, you can only do it before cooking it, because cooked cauliflower goes bad in the freezer.

You can prepare the keto Spanish rice and put it while raw in a covered container and freeze it for up to 40 days. 

This can help you if you think that the cauliflower is about to go bad (by freezing it you save time and prevent it from happening).

Apart from that, you can keep the rice already cooked and prepared for up to 4 days in your fridge, also in a covered container.

Recipe Card: Keto Spanish Rice

Yield: 4

Keto Spanish Rice Recipe

Keto Spanish rice in a white bowl on a kitchen cloth.

Who doesn't love sitting at the table and having a big plate of Spanish rice in front of them? It's honestly something that warms the heart right away.

If you follow a strict diet, you may not be able to eat rice and miss this food, but this is a problem of the past, now you can enjoy keto Spanish rice.

This is a keto-friendly version of a beloved dish from southern Spain, and you can enjoy it even if you don't follow the keto diet, as it is just as delicious as the original.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cauliflower head
  • 2 green bell peppers
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 Roma tomatoes
  • 1 3/4 cups (410ml) beef or chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 4 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. Wash the cauliflower, and remove the stem and leaves. Cut it into pieces.
  2. Put the cauliflower in a blender or food processor just until it is about the size of rice. If you don't have those machines, you can use a grater and pass the cauliflower through the medium-sized holes (you should cut the cauliflower into a couple of large pieces to make it safer to grate). Set aside in the fridge.
  3. Take the bell peppers, wash them, and cut them. Peel and mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a pan at medium heat.
  4. Cook the bell peppers and garlic for 5 minutes in the pan. Add the cauliflower rice and the seasonings and stir from time to time. Cook for 10 minutes.
  5. In the meantime, grab the tomatoes and blend them with the broth in a blender or food processor.
  6. Add the tomato sauce to the rice and vegetables and mix everything. Cook for 15 minutes until most of the liquid evaporates. Now the keto rice is ready and you can serve it warm.

Notes

Keep in mind that with the ingredients listed here, this is healthy Spanish rice even if you use white rice instead of cauliflower, but cauliflower is used to make it keto.

For this keto cauliflower rice to be 100% keto you must use beef or chicken broth. Storebought vegetable broth contains a high level of carbohydrates, so it is usually not keto-friendly.

It is important to add a lot of cauliflower rice seasoning (the listed ones or your favorite ones) as otherwise, you may have a bland dish.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 199Total Fat 15.3gSaturated Fat 2.2gCholesterol 0mgSodium 940mgCarbohydrates 14.2gFiber 4.1gSugar 8.1gProtein 5.1g

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