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Risotto, a rice dish made from arborio rice, is one of my favorite indulgences. It’s creamy, comforting and feels fancy all at once. But, traditional risotto recipes are loaded with carbs. Cauliflower rice makes a perfect, low carb and keto-friendly substitute for rice. And, my keto cauliflower mushroom risotto recipe uses it in this delicious low-carb side dish.
Why Make This
- Cut carbs: Regular risotto has over 50g of carbs. If you are following a keto diet, that is usually more than the daily allowance of carbs. Plus, since rice is a grain, risotto, though delicious, will not help you stay in ketosis.
- Remakes a favorite restaurant meal: I often enjoy this keto risotto with pan seared scallops to re-create one of my favorite restaurant meals: seared scallops and risotto.
- Sneak in veggies for picky eaters: If you have picky eaters at home, cauliflower mushroom risotto is a great way to sneak in some cauliflower to those who don’t think they like it. They probably won’t even realize it.
Ingredients Needed
Cauliflower rice risotto is creamy, like traditional recipes.
The main ingredient is cauliflower rice. You can get it fresh or frozen.
To replicate the creamy texture, you will also need:
- Salted Butter
- Organic Heavy Whipping Cream
- Grated Parmesan cheese: I use the fresh refrigerated kind from the market.
You’ll also need mushrooms. I recommend shiitake mushrooms, but if you don’t have these, you can substitute other mushrooms that you prefer.
Finally, to add more flavor to the risotto, you’ll need:
- minced garlic cloves
- thinly sliced green onions: I keep the green tips to use as a garnish
- Sea Salt
- black pepper
How to Make Keto Mushroom Risotto
Keto cauliflower mushroom risotto is an easy, one-skillet dish. To make it, you should:
- Bring a medium skillet to medium heat. Add salted butter, garlic, mushrooms, and green onions to the skillet and cook until the mushrooms are sautéed.
- Add the riced cauliflower to the skillet and continue to cook until the riced cauliflower is almost tender.
- Mix in the remaining ingredients and stir until the parmesan cheese is well incorporated.
- Lower the heat so that the rice does not stick and cook until the cauliflower rice, cream and cheeses are creamy and tender.
Top Tips & FAQs
- Lower the heat: when adding in the cream and cheeses, you should lower the heat. This prevents the cream from scolding
- Use a non-stick skillet: cooking a cream-based parmesan cheese sauce can turn into a sticky situation. By using a true non-stick pan (combined with lowering the heat), you can skip the cleaning mess.
Common Substitutions & Cooking Tips
When making keto cauliflower mushroom risotto, you can follow some of these tips and substitutions:
- Use regular Parmesan, not the mixed varieties.
- If you want to lighten the recipe up a bit, substitute chicken broth for half of the heavy cream
- You can use either fresh cauliflower rice, usually found in the fresh vegetable section or frozen cauliflower rice. But if you use frozen, cooking the cauliflower rice will take a few extra minutes once you add it to the pan. The extra time will actually defrost the cauliflower rice.
- Add extra vegetables, like broccoli or asparagus to add variety
I prefer the mild flavor of shiitake mushrooms or even cremini mushrooms. But, you could use any you prefer.
You can, but the dish is best served hot.
What Goes Best with Mushroom Risotto:
Cauliflower risotto can be filling on its own, but if you want more protein in your meal, you can try adding:
More Keto Risotto Recipes
If you try this recipe, please stop back and leave it a star rating and/or a review in the comments. Stay connected & share photos of your creations with me & others on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Creamy Keto Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto Recipe
Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb package of riced cauliflower, ~4 cups of riced cauliflower
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions, keep the green tips to use as a garnish
- 1 cup Organic Heavy Whipping Cream, it has fewer ingredients and carbs than non-organic brands
- 3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1/4 tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Bring a medium skillet to medium heat
- Add salted butter, garlic, mushrooms, and green onions to the skillet and cook until the mushrooms start to become tender (~3 minutes)
- Add the riced cauliflower to the skillet and continue to cook until the riced cauliflower is almost tender (~3 minutes)
- Add remaining ingredients and stir until the parmesan cheese is well incorporated. Lower the heat so that the rice does not stick and cook until the cauliflower rice reaches your desired level of tenderness. Turn off the heat.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used. The keto sweeteners I use have 0g net carbs & are not included because sugar alcohols do not impact most people. This is provided as a courtesy, but you can do your own calculations if you wish!
