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Risotto 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 cauliflower mushroom risotto recipe uses it in this delicious low-carb side dish.
What is keto cauliflower risotto?
Traditional Italian style risotto recipes are a creamy rice dish made from long-grain rice called arborio rice. You can serve risotto with a variety of vegetables, meats, and seafood.
My keto risotto uses cauliflower rice. 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.
Why make keto risotto?
Regular risotto has over 50g of carbs. If you are keeping a keto diet, that is usually more than your daily allowance of carbs. Plus, since rice is a grain, risotto, though delicious, will not help you stay in ketosis.
Risotto is one of my favorite recipes. In fact, one of my favorite restaurant meals, seared scallops and risotto, inspired this mushroom risotto recipe.
What is in mushroom cauliflower risotto
Cauliflower rice risotto is creamy, like traditional recipes. The main ingredient is cauliflower rice.
To replicate the creamy texture, you will also need:
- salted butter
- Organic Heavy Whipping Cream
- Grated Parmesan cheese
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 season the risotto, you’ll need:
- minced garlic cloves
- thinly sliced green onions (keep the green tips to use as a garnish)
- Sea Salt
- black pepper
How to cook cauliflower risotto
Keto cauliflower mushroom risotto is an easy, one-skillet dish. To make it, first, bring a skillet up to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add in the salted butter, garlic, mushrooms, and green onions.
You should cook the veggies for about 3 minutes or until the mushrooms and garlic start to soften and cook. After about 3 minutes, add in the riced cauliflower to the skillet.
Cook the cauliflower rice for about 3 minutes or until it just starts to turn tender. Next, stir in the heavy cream, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese in the skillet until the cheese is well incorporated.
Finally, lower the heat so that the rice does not stick and cook until the cauliflower rice reaches your desired level of tenderness. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
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, as I did below, to add variety
Make Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto a Meal
Cauliflower risotto can be filling on its own, but if you want more protein in your meal, you can try adding in seared shrimp or scallops.
You can also make this keto risotto to enjoy alongside my beef pot roast. The risotto is a great substitute for potatoes. Another option is to serve this with seared halibut.
Creamy Keto Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto Recipe
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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!
