Cauliflower Dirty Rice is a twist on a Creole classic recipe that is made with ground sausage, Cajun seasonings, celery, bell pepper, onion, and riced cauliflower.  This is one of the best easy cauliflower rice recipes, is low-carb, dairy-free, gluten-free, keto and can be ready and on the table in under 30 minutes!

Want a few other healthy cauliflower recipes?  You might also enjoy this Mashed CauliflowerBuffalo CauliflowerPineapple Cauliflower Fried Rice, Curry Cauliflower Rice, and this Cauliflower Soup.

One of the best cauliflower rice recipes that is low-carb and keto in a black bowl with a spoon.

Low-Carb Dirty Cauliflower Rice

Are you craving dirty rice but do not want all of the added carbs?  I know what you mean, and this cauliflower dirty rice recipe is exactly what you need!

Not only is it still LOADED with Cajun spices and flavors, but it is also super easy to whip up in a moment’s notice on a busy weeknight.

Additionally, you can easily meal prep this recipe ahead of time and have it ready to reheat for lunch or dinner during the week.

Below you will learn what is dirty rice, the ingredients you will need in this cauliflower dirty rice recipe, how to cook cauliflower rice, whether or not you can use frozen cauliflower rice, and how to serve, store, and reheat this easy cauliflower rice recipe!

A low-carb and keto cauliflower rice Cajun and creole recipe.

What is Dirty Rice?

Dirty rice is a traditional Creole dish that starts with long grain white rice and is made “dirty” by incorporating ground beef or sausage (and sometimes chicken livers!), the holy trinity of onion, bell pepper, and celery, and then spiced with Creole or Cajun seasonings.

Unlike the classic version, we will be reducing the carbs quite a bit by using cauliflower rice instead of the long grain white rice in this recipe.

The ingredients for an authentic Creole and Cajun recipe for dirty rice.

Ingredients in this Dirty Rice Recipe

The ingredients in this cauliflower dirty rice recipe are very easy to find at your local grocery store and consist of:

  • Holy trinity: Celery, onion, and green bell pepper are essential in giving this cauliflower rice recipe the bulk of its flavor!
  • Ground sausage and turkey: Feel free to substitute ground beef of chicken for the turkey, but make sure you use a bit of ground sausage.  The ground sausage adds an extra level of flavor that is hard to replace with another meat.
  • Blackened or Cajun seasoning: You can either make your own homemade blackened seasoning or buy Cajun seasoning at your local grocery store.
  • Cauliflower rice:  To help save you a lot of time I would suggest buying the riced cauliflower from your grocery store.  This can either be found in the refrigerated area of the produce section of in the frozen foods aisle.

The holy trinity of bell pepper, onion, and celery being sauted in a skillet.

How to Cook Cauliflower Rice

Cooking up this dirty rice recipe with cauliflower rice is rather simple and only requires a few steps:

  1. Sauté your ground sausage and turkey until cooked through.  Crumble meat with a potato masher or fork and then drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
  2. Next, add oil, celery, bell pepper, and onion to the skillet or Dutch oven and sauté until vegetables are tender.  Add crushed garlic and sauté for another minute.
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add cauliflower rice, seasoning ingredients, and additional oil.  Give it a good stir, cover skillet or Dutch oven, and cook for 7-8 minutes.
  4. Serve cauliflower dirty rice with fresh parsley and enjoy!

A potato masher that is grinding up ground turkey and sausage in a skillet.

Can I Use Frozen Cauliflower Rice?

While I do strongly suggest using the riced cauliflower from your produce section, you can use frozen riced cauliflower if you can’t find the refrigerated kind in this recipe.

In order to avoid making your dirty rice too watery, remove the frozen cauliflower rice from the freezer a few hours in advance and let it begin to thaw to room temperature.  Dab the previously frozen cauliflower rice with a paper towel or dish towel to remove any excess liquid.

If using cauliflower rice that you have riced yourself, make sure you do not process it so much that it becomes more of a puree.  You want to keep your cauliflower rice rather thick and similarly sized to long grain white rice.

A metal spatula picking up a serving of cauliflower dirty rice.

How to Serve, Store and Reheat

When serving this dirty cauliflower rice you can sprinkle a touch of fresh parsley or green onions and crushed red pepper flakes for a pop of color and a bit of extra flavor.

Refrigerating Cauliflower Dirty Rice: Allow the cauliflower rice to come to room temperature before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Recipe will keep for 3-4 days.

Freezing Dirty Cauliflower Rice: Follow the steps above for refrigerating this recipe and then transfer to the freezer after it has come to refrigerator temperature.  Cauliflower rice will freeze for 4-6 months.

Reheating this Recipe: While you can reheat this recipe in the microwave, I would suggest popping it back in the skillet with a touch of olive oil for best taste and texture.  Saute it for 4-5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Cauliflower dirty rice in a black bowl with a hand picking up a spoonful of it.

Other Recipes like this Easy Cauliflower Rice Recipe:

Pineapple Cauliflower Fried Rice

15-Minute Curry Cauliflower Rice | Paleo

Quick & Easy Shrimp Creole

Sausage & Chicken Cajun Jambalaya | Gluten-Free

Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

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4.91 from 10 votes

Cauliflower Dirty Rice Recipe

Cauliflower Dirty Rice is a twist on a Creole classic recipe that is made with ground sausage, Cajun seasonings, celery, bell pepper, onion, and riced cauliflower.
Yield 4 servings
Prep 10 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total 30 minutes
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Ingredients 

  • ½ lb. ground turkey 93/7
  • ½ lb. ground sausage mild
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 sweet onion small, finely diced
  • 1 green bell pepper finely diced
  • 2 stalks celery finely diced
  • 3 garlic cloves crushed
  • 2 tsp. blackened seasoning or Cajun seasoning
  • 16 oz. cauliflower rice
  • ¾ tsp. salt to taste
  • ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes optional
  • Fresh parsley optional

Instructions 

  • Sauté ground turkey and sausage in a large skillet over medium heat for 6-7 minutes, or until cooked through. Crumble meat using a potato masher or fork. Remove ground meat from the skillet and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
  • Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet with onion, bell pepper, and celery. Sauté over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add crushed garlic and continue sautéing for 1 minute.
  • Reduce heat to medium-low and add remaining oil, riced cauliflower, seasoning, salt, red pepper flakes, and meat. Stir until well incorporated, cover skillet, and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until rice is tender.
  • Serve cauliflower dirty rice with chopped parsley and additional red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review letting us know how it was!

Tap stars to rate!

4.91 from 10 votes

Nutrition

Calories: 353kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 1461mg, Potassium: 800mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 350IU, Vitamin C: 82.3mg, Calcium: 51mg, Iron: 1.7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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  1. Oh London! You are an absolute dream. I have been craving dirty rice for a while and I was all disappointed thinking I wasn’t going to be able to do my Mardi Gras spread this year and wah la you go and post a recipe for my favorite dish. Thank you so much. I am going to the store today to get some sausage and peppers so I can make this for dinner! Love getting your emails and reading your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

    1. What a great idea to add a jalapeno pepper! I bet it tasted amazing! Thanks so much for your comment and rating, Debby!