The Popular Riced Vegetable You're Better Off Making At Home Than Buying Premade

Riced cauliflower has been a popular grocery item for years now, but let's get real: It's pretty overpriced for what you're actually getting. Making your own at home, rather than seeking out the prepared versions at the store, could be saving you a lot of money over time. Taking a look into local pricing, a 12-ounce bag of Great Value cauliflower rice at Walmart in Los Angeles costs $2.24 and will make less than four cups when cooked. A head of cauliflower sold at the same Walmart goes for $3.07 and can get you up to six cups of cauliflower rice. At Ralph's, a bag of frozen cauliflower rice is $4.69 and makes 1.5 cups of prepared rice, compared to a head of cauliflower, which goes for around $5 at the store. Depending on where you shop, the savings will vary, but you're getting at least a few cents on each cup of cauliflower rice, which can add up in the long run. All in all, you're saving money by preparing your own.

Making your own cauliflower rice has plenty of other benefits, too. First of all, pre-made versions from the grocery store tend to get soft, smell funny, and some refrigerated options may even spoil quicker. When you make it yourself, you can eat it fresh, which is when the rice is firm and at its best. That said, just like bagged frozen cauliflower rice from the grocery store, your homemade version can also be frozen. Plus, there are a ton of easy ways to customize cauliflower rice to taste even better than what you'd buy in-store. 

Your first option is simple: Place that head of cauliflower on a cutting board and use a knife to chop it into little pieces. Or, you could use a box grater to grate the cauliflower. The third option is using a food processor to do all the work for you — just toss in your cauliflower and any other desired spices and ingredients (like some store-bought chili crisp for added flavor). Additionally, a blender could also be used to make cauliflower rice fast. And if you're worried about your homemade cauliflower rice turning mushy when cooked (as it easily does), there are plenty of ways to avoid this, like removing excess moisture and roasting it before ricing. 

Cauliflower rice on its own can be slightly bland, but there are ways to enhance the flavor. Adding garlic butter to the pan as you saute can easily do the trick. Another option is tossing in sesame seeds as it cooks, which adds flavor, texture, and offsets the cauliflower's softness with some crunch. Other dry seasonings that pair well with it include curry powder, Cajun seasoning, onion powder, and salt and pepper. Adding black beans, cilantro, sea salt, and lime juice to the pan as you cook the rice could create the perfect base for a burrito bowl, while opting for chopped veggies, garlic, soy sauce, and an egg could make for a tasty fried cauliflower rice situation.