Vegan Pineapple Cashew Cauliflower Rice

Healthy cauliflower transforms into rice and pairs with crunchy cashews, sweet pineapple, and spices in this delicious, vegan pineapple cashew cauliflower rice.

Ready in under 30 minutes and made with simple, everyday ingredients, this recipe is perfect for weeknight dinners, a healthy side dish, or made ahead as part of your weekly food prep.

You’ll love making this dish as a side or even paired with your favorite protein to make it a hearty meal. Make a double batch for healthy meal prep! This dish is sweet, spicy, nutritious and delicious. Everything you’d want in a meal, all rolled into one.

Features

• Dietary Needs: Vegan, gluten-free, can be oil-free, can be nut-free.
• Nutrition Features: High-fibre, low-carb, low-fat, low in calories yet filling and satisfying.
• Versatile: Customize by adding your choice of protein or additional veggies.
• Quick and Easy: This healthy dish takes just 20 minutes from start to finish!
• Stores Well: Great for meal prep!

Ingredient Notes

A complete list of ingredients with amounts and full instructions is located in the printable recipe card below. This section covers ingredient and substitution considerations.

• Garlic & Onion – These add a lot of flavour so I wouldn’t recommend skipping unless you must. If you don’t have fresh garlic on hand, you can season with garlic powder. Fresh ginger also makes a nice addition here.
• Cooking Oil – You’ll need a bit of oil to saute up the garlic and onion in a skillet. Sesame oil works here for a “fried” rice flavour and coconut oil, avocado oil and olive oil all work too. If you need the recipe to be oil-free, go ahead and swap the oil for water or broth.
• Riced Cauliflower – We’ll go over how to prepare the rice cauliflower below. If you have frozen prepared cauliflower rice, you can use that too!
• Pineapple – Canned or fresh work!
• Green Peas – Canned, fresh or frozen work!
• Cashews – You can use plain raw cashews, toast cashews or dry-roasted unsalted cashews.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1. We’re going to start by adding the chopped onions and garlic to a skillet and cooking for a few minutes until they start to soften and become fragrant.

Quick Tip: I used 1 tsp of coconut oil to saute them but you can go oil-free by using a bit of water or vegetable broth. Sesame oil also works well in this recipe!

Step 2. Add curry powder, cumin, coriander, and red pepper flakes to the skillet. These spices add layers of flavor and a little kick. Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking. The red pepper flakes make it a little spicy so feel free to leave them out if you’re sensitive to spice.

Step 3. Add the riced cauliflower and grated carrots and stir fry for about 5 minutes.

Carrot Prep: You can grate the carrots with a box or hand-held grater, use a julienne peeler, julienne them by hand or use pre-cut shredded carrots from your local grocery store. I just grate them using a grater.

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Step 4. Add the raw cashews, green peas, and sweet, tangy pineapple. Cook for a couple more minutes to heat through and you’re done!

Quick Tip: Make sure pineapple is fully drained from the can before adding to the stir fry as the juices could make it too sweet and soggy. You can also use fresh pineapple in this recipe. 

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How to Prepare the Cauliflower Rice

The easiest way to make cauliflower rice homemade with a head of cauliflower is by using a blender or food processor. Follow the steps below:

1. Remove the stem from a head of cauliflower and chop it into even-sized pieces. 
2. Add it to a food processor and pulse a few times until it resembles rice.
3. It’s ready to use in the recipe. You can dump it from the food processor straight into the skillet.

NOTE: You can also use a grater but it’s a little more work and I much prefer the consistency you get from using a food processor. Plus it’s just quicker and easier. Find full details and instructions for how to make cauliflower rice here.

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Variations

• Top with some fresh basil or mint for an even more fresh flavor.
• Add some sweetness and acidity by tossing in a few canned drained mandarin oranges to the mix.
• It goes great with a handful of raisins or dried cranberries.
• Change up the nuts by using chopped walnuts, sliced almonds, or crushed peanuts. 
• Save time in the kitchen by using a bag of frozen riced cauliflower that’s been thawed and drained.

Storing Instructions

• Storing: Let cool completely, then store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Freezing: Store cooked and cooled cauliflower stir fry in a freezer-safe bag or container or for up to 3 months before thawing and reheating. 
• Reheating: Reheat this dish on the stovetop in a pan or in the microwave until warm to your preference.

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Originally published April 10, 2017.