Bold and spicy and full of flavor (not carbs!) This cauliflower dirty rice is one of the most flavorful keto side dishes you’ll ever try! Ready in about 15 minutes!
Keto Dirty Rice
I grew up in West Virginia, so when I moved to Texas in college, Cajun and Creole foods were pretty unknown to me. However, I quickly discovered that I loved the bold, spicy flavors of this new (to me) cuisine!
Dirty rice is one of my fav dishes, but as the name implies, it’s not going to work on a keto diet.
But you know that won’t stop me from eating the foods I love!
Instead, we made a keto-friendly version, which uses cauliflower rice! Normally, I think cauliflower is kind of boring…but this recipe is the furthest thing from boring!
The flavors of the cajun sausage and veggies cook into the rice so that every bite tastes incredible. I could eat cauliflower like this any day!
Because this easy cauliflower dirty rice has no grains, which makes it a great low carb option for those on a keto diet! This is a quick and easy recipe you can whip up in just a few minutes on the stove, making it great for an easy weeknight meal.
What is Dirty Rice?
Dirty rice is a traditional cajun dish — the name comes from the “dirty” appearance of the rice, as it browns when cooked with meat and veggies.
There are many different ways to prepare dirty rice because it came about as a way to use up leftover meats. So you can use anything from ground beef to chicken to sausage (like we did here).
A purist might look at our low carb dirty rice as blasphemy, but I think that anything that lets me enjoy the foods I love with way less carbs is pretty awesome!
For your convenience in re-creating this recipe at home, we’ve included shop-able ad links to some of the products and supplies used. Read our disclosure policy here.
Cauliflower Dirty Rice Ingredients
- Frozen cauliflower rice — two (10oz bags)
- Cajun style sausage — about a pound, can be mild or spicy depending on your preference
- Bell pepper — any color
- Onion — one small or half of a large onion
- Olive oil — or your favorite cooking oil
- Cajun seasoning — be sure to check labels to make sure there is no added sugar or carbs; Tony Chachare’s Original Creole Seasoning is one of our favs
KETO FAQ – Learn More
- How many carbs can you eat on keto?
- What is the Keto flu and how to avoid it?
- What is a Targeted Keto Diet?
- 8 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight on Keto
- Best Keto Sweeteners
How to Make Dirty Rice with Cauliflower
In a large skillet, sauté the diced bell peppers and onions in olive oil until they begin to soften.
Add in the sliced sausage and continue to cook for a few minutes, until the sausage starts to brown.
Finally, toss in the frozen cauliflower rice and cajun seasoning.
Mix well to combine all the ingredients and cook until the cauliflower rice is warm and heated all the way through.
You’ll know it’s ready when your cauliflower rice starts to turn a golden brown and gets that “dirty” look!
More of our favorite keto cauliflower recipes:
- 25 Keto Cauliflower Recipes That Taste GOOD
- Low Carb Cauliflower Pizza Crust
- Keto Spicy Roasted Cauliflower
Can you use fresh cauliflower instead of frozen?
Yes! If you have fresh cauliflower on hand, you can turn them into cauliflower rice pretty easily!
Chop a head of cauliflower into florets, then pulse in the food processor until they became small pieces that look like rice. Add them to this recipe where you’d add the frozen cauliflower rice.
I love fresh veggies in my dishes, however, having frozen cauliflower rice helps me save some time in the kitchen! No shame in that!
Related: Check out our easy cauliflower rice recipe here!
Can I add more veggies to this dish?
Yes! This is a pretty flexible recipe, so you can use up leftover veggies that you have on hand if you want to try and use up some leftovers. You could even switch up the protein in this dish to chicken or something else if you’d like.
Related: Click here for our keto food list and to see which veggies are lowest in carbs.
Can you use different types of meat?
Sure! I personally love cajun sausage (I usually eat it first out of any dish!) However, dirty rice can be made with pretty much any type of meat you like!
Ground beef works well, as does chicken. The main thing is just to make sure that the meat is cooked through, as cooking times for other meats may vary from how long it takes to cook sausage like we used.
Low Carb Dirty Rice Recipe (Printable Copy)
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Cauliflower Dirty Rice
Ingredients
- 20 oz frozen cauliflower rice 2 - 10 oz bags
- 13 ounces sausage cajun style
- 1 bell pepper diced (any color)
- 1 small onion (or half a large onion) diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
Instructions
- In a large pan, sauté the bell peppers and diced onion in olive oil until they begin to soften.
- Add in the sliced sausage and continue to cook for a few minutes or until the sausage starts to brown.
- Add in the frozen cauliflower rice and cajun seasoning; mix well and cook until the cauliflower rice is warm and heated all the way through.
Notes
Nutrition
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