Low-Carb Saffron Cauliflower Rice Risotto

Whether you need a low-carb version of the classic saffron risotto, or to change up your cooking with cauliflower rice, this low-carb saffron cauliflower rice risotto is a great side dish.

The low-carb saffron cauliflower rice risotto provides a healthy serving of vegetables and additional nutritional benefits of the bone broth. 

Cauliflower Rice Risotto is Healthy and Low-Carb

I simmer the cauliflower rice in my homemade chicken bone broth until completely soft. Bone broth is essential in keto, paleo, GAPS and other variations of traditional diets. Bone broth is healing and the soft cauliflower rice is very easy to digest. 

As a low-carb version of the classic saffron risotto, I originally made this to pair with Osso Buco. But with saffron’s delicate and mild taste, this dish is very versatile when replacing both rice and mashed potatoes to pair with other mains. 

More keto and low-carb recipes you may like:

• Sheet-Pan Keto Zucchini Noodles and Shrimp (Paleo, Whole 30, Keto)
• Anti-inflammatory Garlic Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower
• Keto Bacon-Wrapped Green Beans
• Cheesy Veggie-Stuffed Meatloaf
• Baked Eggs in Portabella Mushroom Caps (Paleo, Keto, Whole 30)
• Easy Stir Fry Kimchi & Pork Belly
• 50+ Best Keto Breakfast Recipes
• Homemade Fermented Sauerkraut /w Caraway Seeds

Tools and Ingredients

To make this low-carb saffron cauliflower rice risotto, you will need a few special tools and ingredients.  This is not an exhaustive list, but a few items I want to recommend specifically:

• Food processor: It makes life so much easier to rice the cauliflower in a food processor, instead of chopping with a knife. Pre-riced cauliflower isn’t always available in the grocery stories and they are more expensive. 
• High-sided stainless steel pan: You will need a high-sided pan to be able to hold all the liquid while cooking this cauliflower rice risotto. A lid is a must too. 
• Parmigiano-Reggiano: Use the real Parmigiano-Regiano cheese instead of Parmesan. Parmigiano-Reggiano is of higher quality, and the name is protected by law for the real cheese from Italy. There was an issue of cellulose found in Parmesan a few years ago, and you can read more on the differences between Parmigiano-Reggiano and Parmesan.  
• Cheese grater: You need it to grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

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Low-Carb Saffron Cauliflower Rice Risotto

Whether you need a low-carb version of the classic saffron risotto, or to change up your cooking with cauliflower rice, this low-carb saffron cauliflower rice risotto is a great side dish.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 262kcal

Author: Yang

Cost: 10

Ingredients

• 1 small head of cauliflower, to yield approx. 4 cups of riced cauliflower
• 3-4 shallots depending on size
• 4 tbsp organic butter
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups rich homemade chicken broth, divided
• 1/2 tsp saffron
• 1 tbsp tapioca starch
• 3/4 tsp sea salt or to taste
• 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Instructions

• Remove the stem and leaves of the cauliflower, then break into small florets. Use a food processor to turn the cauliflower florets into rice size; you may need to process all the florets in 2 to 3 batches.
• Peel the shallots and remove the ends, then finely dice the shallots.
• Heat a high-sided stainless steel pan, and melt the butter in the pan. Fry the shallots in the butter on medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes, until fragrant.
• Add all the cauliflower rice into the pan, stir for 3 to 4 minutes to cook in the butter and shallots.
• Add the white wine, and 2 cups of chicken broth into the pan. Bring the pan to a slow simmer and let the cauliflower rice cook in the broth for 40 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure the cauliflower is not stuck to the bottom of the pan; otherwise keep the lid on to prevent the liquid from evaporating quickly. Add a litte extra broth if needed.
• Add the saffron into the pan. Dissolve the tapioca starch into rest of the chicken broth, then pour the mixture into the pan. Stir the cauliflower rice risotto until the chicken broth is cooked down. This may take another 10 to 15 minutes. Turn up the heat slightly if needed to reduce the liquid.
• Stir freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano into the cauliflower rice risotto. Season with salt to taste. Remove the pan from heat once the desired consistency of the risotto is reached.

Notes

1. For a home-made chicken broth, you can use my leftover turkey carcass broth recipe, but replace the turkey carcass with chicken carcass. If you are cooking chicken broth from raw chicken carcass, then do a quick boil of the raw carcass first and discard the water to eliminate the foam and impurity. 

Nutrition

Calories: 262kcal

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