I’ve been reading about Cauliflower Rice for about a year now and over that time it has made its way onto several restaurants and or catering menus. I’m still a fan of quinoa as a base for any veggie bowls I make, so using cauliflower just hasn’t been on my radar. That is until Caroline asked for it. She and Grant both love it when I ‘caramelize’ veggies in the oven. They like the flavor of the toasted brown bites. So, when I went to make my veggie bowl this week I decided to use cauliflower. I didn’t want to just steam it like rice, I wanted the roasted flavor so I baked it in a really hot oven for 20 minutes.

While the cauliflower was baking, I prepped the remaining ingredients. Once the cauliflower cooled I chopped it up really fine and then tossed in fresh chopped mint from my garden along with a handful of chopped parsley! I pulled chicken from a rotisserie I had in the fridge and then when assembling the bowls, I just left the chicken off Caroline’s plate. It’s really easy to accommodate dietary needs on this dish. Grant does not care for avocado so I added his portion to mine. More the merrier for me!

In 20 minutes dinner was on the table. We all cleaned our plates and wanted more. Next time I’ll use 2 heads of cauliflower!

2 heads cauliflower, trimmed and chopped
2 cups cooked chicken
1 cucumber, sliced
1 avocado, cored and sliced
grape tomatoes, halved
¼ cup each of fresh mint & parsley, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add the cauliflower to a large bowl and drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil over top. Add some fresh ground pepper, a few pinches of kosher salt and toss. Put the cauliflower on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes and then let it cool. Meanwhile, prep the remaining ingredients. Chop the cauliflower florets until rice size pieces and add it to a large bowl. Stir in parsley and mint. Divide the cauliflower rice among the bowls and top with a layer of chicken, avocado, tomatoes and cucumber. Enjoy!