paleo cauliflower dirty rice gluten-free grain-free recipe

Using anitoxidant rich low-carb cauliflower, this dirty rice recipe makes one heck of a savory Paleo side dish.

For those avoiding starchy high carb foods such as white rice, cauliflower rice is a wonderful alternative that is highly nutritious.

When I posted my recipe for Cauliflower Rice a year ago, I received numerous requests for various flavored varieties of that dish. So when I opened one of my new favorite books, Paleo Comfort Foods and saw that they had a recipe for Dirty Rice, I knew I’d have to make my own version.

Do you like your rice dirty? According to Wikipedia, “Dirty rice is a traditional Cajun dish made from white rice cooked with small pieces of chicken liver or giblets, which give it a dark (“dirty”) color and a mild but distinctive flavor.” I turned my Dirty Rice into a vegetarian Paleo side dish, by leaving out the giblets, which while quite nutritious are not my favorite thing. My rice gets its dirty color from an abundance of antioxidant rich spices.

Even my children like Cajun dirty rice. In fact, we had this for dinner last Friday with the boys and 4 of their friends. I served my Dirty Rice with the Turkey Loaf recipe from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, and when all was said and done, not a drop of either remained.

Paleo Dirty Rice

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup white onion, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 cup green pepper, diced
  • 1 cup red pepper, diced
  • 1 bunch scallions, chopped
  • 3 cups cauliflower, riced with your food processor or box grated
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock (thanks Mary)
  1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet
  2. Add garlic, onion, celery, peppers and scallions; saute until soft
  3. Stir in riced cauliflower, adding thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper, chili and cumin
  4. Add in the chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
  5. Allow to simmer over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes or so or until liquid is cooked down

Serves 4-6

What are the health benefits of cauliflower? First, cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable. That is a good thing because cruciferous veggies help with the detoxification of the body. Cauliflower is also full of antioxdiants and anti-inflammatory compounds. Finally, cauliflower is full of vitamin C, vitmain K, Omega 3′s and good fiber. Over here? We just can’t get enough cauliflower.

Here are my other rice recipes that use cauliflower as their base:

What type/flavor of cauliflower rice recipe would you like to see here next?


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