I know I’m a bit late to the party, but I’d like to talk about cauliflower rice today. For those of you who haven’t heard, cauliflower rice is simply grated/processed raw cauliflower that (somewhat) resembles traditional rice. It can be substituted for regular rice (or other grains) in some recipes whenever a lighter, grain-free option is desired. I first tried making cauliflower rice last year, but it didn’t turn out very well. I processed it with the S-blade in my food processor and I ended up with a watery, over-processed mess. Not very appetizing. I gave up on the idea until recently when I decided to come up with a no-cook, raw tabbouleh recipe. Rather than using traditional bulgur or a pseudo-grain like quinoa (as in my Quinoa Tabbouleh With a Twist recipe), I thought, why not see what happens with cauliflower rice? As it turns out, a quick Google search informs me that I’m certainly not the only one to try out this idea!
This time, I used a regular box grater to grate the cauliflower, but a grater blade attachment on a food processor would work much faster. Grating by hand was messy (the pieces shoot everywhere) and a bit time-consuming, but it did yield a grate outcome (see what I did there?). My theory is that grating the cauliflower (rather than processing it with an s-blade) reduces the chance that you’ll end up releasing too much water in the cauliflower. When using raw cauliflower rice in a salad like this, the less watery the better. So, moral of the story – use a box grater or the grater attachment on your food processor for best results. {Note to self: find grater attachment blade!}
Despite its short-comings in the aroma department (P U), cauliflower is an important vegetable to include in our diets. Cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, watercress, and mustard greens) are said to be detoxifying because they provide support for the immune, inflammatory, hormonal, detoxification, and antioxidant systems in the body. They also contain powerful anti-cancer compounds unique to this class of vegetables. One more reason to dig in!
After grating a large head of cauliflower I was left with about 5-7 cups making it the perfect volume-boosting veggie to add to this salad. I also added a pint of sliced grape tomatoes, as well as a generous amount of flavour-packed parsley and cilantro, celery, green onions, and hemp seeds for some protein power and healthy fats. The end result is a salad bursting with fresh flavour and crunch!
For the dressing, I used a very simple mixture of red wine vinegar, flax seed oil, and a touch of salt and sweetener. This tangy and lightly sweet dressing is flavourful enough to stand up to the earthy raw cauliflower. I love to use flax seed oil in salad dressings due to its high omega-3 fatty acid content, but if you don’t have flax seed oil, feel free to use extra virgin olive oil.
Just mix it all up and you have a quick and easy raw tabbouleh that would rival any traditional tabbouleh. I didn’t have high expectations for this recipe, but it totally blew me away. You’ll have to trust me on this one. I enjoy my Detox Salad recipe a lot, but this one is my new go-to, without a doubt.
My favourite way to enjoy this is served with Buckwheat Crackers and hummus. It makes a great snack or light summery lunch when you don’t want to turn on the oven. The leftovers will keep for a couple days and it tastes even better after sitting for a few hours so the flavours can develop. Just be sure to toss it well before serving.
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Detox Tabbouleh
Yield
4 servings
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
A raw, no-cook detox tabbouleh, bursting with flavour! You won't see tabbouleh the same way again. My favourite way to enjoy this is served with Buckwheat Crackers and hummus. It makes a great snack or light summery lunch when you don’t want to turn on the oven. The leftovers will keep for a couple days and it tastes even better after sitting for a few hours so the flavours can develop. Just be sure to toss it well before serving.
Inspired by: Detox Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 large cauliflower, leaves removed
- 1 pint (1.5 cups) grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 1.5 cups fresh parsley, minced
- 1 & 1/4 cups finely chopped celery
- 3/4 cup cilantro, minced
- 2-4 green onions, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup or more)
- 2 tablespoons hulled hemp seeds
For the dressing
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons flax seed oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Directions
- If using a food processor, use the grater blade attachment. Drop cauliflower florets into the machine to grate. If using a box grater, quarter the cauliflower and grate each piece until just the stem is left. Scoop into a large bowl. Discard leftover stem pieces.
- Stir the rest of the vegetables (tomatoes, parsley, celery, cilantro, and green onion) into the bowl.
- Whisk together the dressing in a small glass or jar. Pour onto salad and toss to combine, adjusting salt to taste if desired. You can serve it immediately or place it in the fridge for a few hours so the flavours can develop a bit more. Just before serving, sprinkle with hemp seeds for added protein.
Tip:
Salad will keep in a container for a couple days (possibly longer) in the fridge.
Nutrition Information
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Before signing off today, I wanted to mention the tragedy in Lac-Megantic, Quebec last week. My heart goes out to everyone impacted by this horrific explosion. Thinking of you all….xo
Thanks for the tip about grating it because I’ve been wanting to try it and no doubt would’ve just chucked in the processor with an S blade! Now…where is that darn grater blade? :-)
I just made your detox salad for the first time a few weeks ago (with a few adjustments since I didn’t quite have everything on hand) and it was delightful! I can’t wait to try the detox tabbouleh especially since I recently found out I have a gluten intolerance. Hope you are having a good weekend!
Sounds lovely Ange! I love tabbouleh. Like you, I’ve found that the S blad does make a bit of a watery mess. My trick is to only half-fill the processor jug so that there’s plenty of room for the cauliflower to move upwards, then pulse it rather than putting it on constant speed. Still not perfect, but unfortunately I don’t have a grater blade on my food processor – I didn’t even know they existed and now I want one! :)
love that tip Ange! Thanks for passing it along. :)
This looks FABULOUS!!! DELISH!! Hope you are liking your new digs!
oh this looks SO GOOD!
yield a grate outcome <– love that :)
And I love this salad! It's been years since I've made raw cauli rice. I used a box grater and I do remember having issues with it flying all over the countertop! lol But it was worth it. I love cauli and actually prefer it raw to cooked, and when it's small and grated like this, it's just the best texture!
And that sweetish but tangy dressing with red wine vinegar, mmmm, so good I bet!
Your gorgeous photos make cauliflower rice look great! This Tabbouleh would have gone perfectly with our Mediterranean Feast tonight!
Woo hoo for cruciferous vegetables! :)
I think it’s almost impossible to think of something to make and find that it hasn’t already been done after doing a Google search. If we let that hold us back, we’d never make anything!
I never thought of using a grater for cauliflower rice so thanks for the tip! And I love the way this sounds with hummus on a cracker, so light and healthy. Perfect for this time of year!
Hi Angela,
I won’t lie – you’re making me feel pretty famous right now! I made this almost exact dish in May for a vegan raw potluck! It was based on my quinoa tabouli recipe, and featured tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, green onions, and parsley. The dressing was also more lime-juice based, only because I was unsure if vinegar was “raw” enough (Silly question, but they were picky!) It was a hit – so much so I didn’t even get any!
I am obsessed with cauliflower, and cannot wait for it to appear at the farmers markets. So since I didn’t get my cauliflower tabouli, I made some for myself, but this time what I called a “Spanish rice” version. I kept the same veg, changed up the parsley for cilantro, added some garlic scrapes, and made a dressing of lime juice, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. My Spanish rice was also a hit! :)
I always get so excited when things I make appear in blogs I respect after I’m inspired to create them. I’m glad cauliflower tabouli is a hit at your house too!
its looks so Yummy…definitely gonna try it…thanks for the post…
making today!!!
cant wait…
I eat a lot of broccoli and Brussels sprouts, but for some reason I don’t buy cauliflower that often. But this is making me want to pick some up now!
I’ve never heard of cauliflower rice but I’m quite intrigued… Thanks for sharing! I’m soooo going to make this.
I eat salads every day at this time of year and tabbouleh is one of my favorites! I love roasted cauliflower and will eat it raw too, I’ve yet to try it as “rice” though, I will have to check if my food processor has a grate blade. I hate cutting cauliflower because of the mess it makes.
looks delicious as always, angela!
Where do you get the buckwheat crackers? They look delish!
from a grocery store called Organic Garage. I should try making them though b/c the ingredients are simply buckwheat and salt! Should be easy to make in the dehydrator I’d think.
I love this idea and will definitely be trying it. I have made pizza crust from cauliflower and done mac n’cheese with cauliflower as the mac. I love this idea. I’m a huge tabbouleh fan and often experiment with different grain variations with it, but have never thought to do this. Now, I will!
love this idea! i’m late to the party, too, because my food processor is ancient and has no grater attachment. i guess i will just use my box grater as well!
Cauliflower really is so versatile! I haven’t tried it to make rice yet but I’m so intrigued after seeing the beautiful results. Thanks!
Tabouli is my very favorite food! And I love love love the idea of using cauliflower instead of the bulgur wheat!!! I have to take issue with your dressing though. It should have lemon juice instead of vinegar, no sweetener (since the lemon juice is sweeter than vinegar) and a clove of fresh pressed garlic (soak the pressed garlic in the lemon juice for 5 minutes before making the dressing and you will “cook” the pungency away for a more mild garlic yumminess!) It would also be my personal opinion that celery has no place in this recipe.
This isn’t supposed to be authentic by any means, but yes traditional tabbouleh is also fantastic in its own right. :) Great tips!