If you’re already a fan of cauliflower rice, you’ll love this Greek Style Cauliflower Rice Salad. If you’ve never tried it, then this is a great introduction. And don’t be put off by thinking it’s a bit of a fad, either – there’s much more to it than just being a low carb alternative to rice. This salad has a ton of flavor, and it’s easy to make too.
Greek Style Cauliflower Rice Salad – Photos by Caroline Williams
I’ll admit I hadn’t tried cauliflower rice myself until I made a cauliflower risotto with asparagus and mushrooms recently. In fact, being totally honest I was a bit skeptical that cauliflower rice was just one of those trends that over-hyped the ingredient because it allowed for a low-carb substitute for rice.
My experience of cauliflower growing up was mainly fairly plain boiled as a side or maybe as cauliflower cheese (the UK’s equivalent of mac and cheese, but with cauliflower and often a slightly mustard-spiked cheese sauce). It wasn’t exactly something I associated with having much flavor in itself. More recently, I used it in a roasted cauliflower and eggplant salad which I really enjoyed, but I always assumed it was more to do with the eggplant and herby dressing. Plus, roasting makes everything good, I think.
However what I hadn’t really appreciated is cauliflower, when riced at least, can act as a bit of a sponge. So even though it might not be that interesting eaten plain, let’s face it neither is rice. Add some good flavors in there, though, and it get’s interesting. When I made my risotto, I added in some lemon and herbs which worked really well, and led me to the idea of this salad.
This Greek style cauliflower rice salad is super-easy to make as you microwave the riced cauliflower then leave it to cool while you prepare everything else. Chop up some tomatoes, crumble some feta and chop some parsley, arugula and green onion (you can use a food processor to help, if you like). Whisk up the dressing then mix everything together.
This would make a great salad to take to a potluck or picnic as it won’t wilt like a lettuce-based salad, plus it’s fantastic for lunch. It’s full of flavor, satisfying and healthy. It’s easy to make too, so really you have no excuse not to give it a try. We were certainly won over and I hope you will be too.
Bring Greek Style Cauliflower Rice Salad to your next potluck!
- ½ medium cauliflower
- 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- ½ cup/ 75g cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 cup, packed / 25g arugula
- ¼ cup, packed / 6g parsley leaves
- 3 green onions
- ¼ cup/ 32g pitted olives (sliced or whole then thickly sliced)
- ½ cup / 60g feta cheese, broken into chunks
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- Remove the florets from the cauliflower, relatively close to the stem. Put them in a food processor and pulse until they are roughly the size of rice grains. Transfer to a microwaveable bowl or box and mix through 1tbsp of oil. Cook on high, covered, for 2 ½ minutes. Either transfer to a baking sheet or a cold bowl to allow to cool while you prepare the rest.
- Cut the tomatoes in half (or quarters if large). Roughly chop the arugula and parsley - you can do this in the food processor along with the roughly-chopped green onions. Thinly slice the green onions if not using the food processor.
- Mix together the cooled cauliflower rice, tomatoes, chopped arugula, parsley and green onions, and olives. Whisk together the remaining oil, lemon juice, vinegar and oregano and add it to the bowl along with the feta. Mix through and serve (or transfer to a box if taking for lunch/potluck).
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