Honey Free Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice Salad
This bright, zesty salad is the kind of dish that looks impressive on the table but comes together with surprisingly little fuss. Cauliflower florets get pulsed down to tender, rice-sized pieces and lightly sautéed before being tossed with black beans, sweet corn, crisp red bell pepper, and creamy avocado — a combination that hits every texture you could want. The dressing is built entirely from fresh lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, cumin, and turmeric, so there's no sweetener of any kind hiding in it, which can be a real headache with store-bought dressings and marinades. Many packaged dressings and grain-free salad kits sneak in honey or agave to balance acidity, but here the brightness comes purely from citrus and warm spice. Every single ingredient is straightforward and easy to verify, making this a genuinely stress-free choice when you need to keep things sweetener-free. It works beautifully as a make-ahead lunch, a potluck side, or a light dinner, and the flavors actually deepen as it sits for that optional hour in the fridge.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the cauliflower rice
- 1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 lbs), cut into florets
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp salt
For the salad
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed if frozen
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 3 green onions (green tops only), thinly sliced
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Working in two batches, pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor (or grate on the large holes of a box grater) until broken down into rice-sized pieces, about 8–10 pulses per batch. You should have about 4 cups of cauliflower rice.
- 2
Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the cauliflower rice, salt, and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is just tender and any excess moisture has evaporated, about 5–7 minutes. Spread onto a large plate or sheet pan and let cool for 10 minutes.
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