This jalapeño lime cauliflower rice bowl with picadillo is another Mexican-inspired, Whole30 compliant dish. Plus it is not only healthy, but it’s bursting with amazing flavor and finished off with creamy and spicy guacamole.
Jalapeño Lime Cauliflower Rice Bowl
with Picadillo
My husband, Matt, and I are desperately trying to cling to our healthy eating habits post our second-round of Whole30. However, with chocolatey Halloween candy, warm holiday baking, and decadent fall comfort foods rearing their delicious heads around every corner, staying on the healthy track has been a bit difficult.
As soon as we completed our second round of Whole30, my husband ate an entire bag of Oreos without any trouble. I am not even kidding.
Sadly, a weekend of countless sweets, carbs, and over-indulgence followed for the both of us.
When we awoke with stomachaches and headaches we both knew we would not be able to make it through the holidays eating this way every day. So we are committed to staying as close to a Whole30 diet as possible, and letting ourselves indulge in moderation.
[If you don’t know about Whole30 and its great outcomes, check out this post.]
As a result, the day after our sugar hangover, I prepared us a jalapeño lime cauliflower rice bowl with picadillo. This healthy, Whole30 dinner is bursting with flavor and when topped with creamy guacamole, it almost seems like you are over-indulging.
Jalapeño Lime Cauliflower Rice Bowl with Picadillo
Picadillo
To begin, add 1 diced carrot and 1 diced stalk of celery to a hot pan with olive oil. Sauté until fragrant and the carrots are just a bit tender. This will take about 4 minutes.
Next, add a pound of ground beef, stirring occasionally to break it up. When the beef is almost done, add 2 diced garlic cloves and 1/4 of a diced onion. Sauté until translucent and fragrant.
Then, add 3/4 tablespoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 1/8 teaspoon of oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of hot water.
Stir everything together and let the water evaporate. At this point, check the carrots with a fork. They should be tender, but if not, allow the mixture to cook for a little longer.
Jalapeno Lime Cauliflower Rice
In a large pan, add 2 bags of frozen cauliflower rice. I like to use frozen cauliflower rice but you can use two heads of fresh riced cauliflower instead.
Cover the pan for about 8 minutes to allow the cauliflower to defrost and cook. Stir occasionally.
Next, push the cauliflower to the sides of the pan to create a well in the middle. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the middle, as well as a diced jalapeño, 3 diced garlic cloves, and 1/2 a diced onion.
Sauté the jalapeño, garlic, and onion for about 2 minutes until the onion is translucent. Then, stir it all together with the cauliflower.
Finally, squeeze a whole lime over the cauliflower and stir again. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble the Jalapeño Lime Cauliflower Rice Bowl with Picadillo
Serve the cauliflower rice in the bottom of a bowl followed by a scoop of the picadillo.
This dish is made even better topped off with spicy guacamole with roasted vegetables. Click here for that recipe.
I also happened to thinly slice some potatoes and tossed them in olive oil and kosher salt. Then I roasted them on a parchment-covered cookie sheet at 400 degrees until crispy. This took about 15 minutes. These were great dipped in the guacamole and as scoops for the picadillo and cauliflower rice.
We will definitely be eating more dinners like this one, so keep checking back for more healthy and delicious recipes.
Check out these other healthy cauliflower rice recipes already on the blog. Just click on the recipe links below.
Are you having trouble avoiding all the temptations this season? What do you do to avoid over-indulging? Let me know in the comments below.
This jalapeño lime cauliflower rice bowl with picadillo is a Mexican-inspired, Whole30 compliant dish that is bursting with flavor and finished off with creamy and spicy guacamole.
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 diced carrot
- 1 diced celery stalk
- 2 medium garlic cloves, diced
- 1/4 onion, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp oregano (or a pinch)
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 2 bags frozen cauliflower rice (see notes)
- 3 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 jalapeño, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lime
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Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the diced carrot and diced celery. Sauté until fragrant and the carrots are just a bit tender. This will take about 4 minutes.
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Add ground beef, breaking it up and stirring occasionally. When the beef is almost all brown, add 2 diced garlic cloves and 1/4 of a diced onion. Sauté until translucent and fragrant.
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Then, add 3/4 tablespoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, the oregano, chili powder, tomato sauce, and hot water.
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Stir everything together and let the water evaporate.
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Check the carrots with a fork. They should be tender, but if not, allow the mixture to cook for a little longer.
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In a large pan, add the 2 bags of frozen cauliflower rice.* Cover the pan for about 8 minutes to allow the cauliflower to defrost and cook. Stir occasionally.
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Next, push the cauliflower to the sides of the pan to create a well in the middle. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the middle, as well as the diced jalapeño, 3 diced garlic cloves, and 1/2 a diced onion.
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Sauté the jalapeño, garlic, and onion for about 2 minutes until the onion is translucent. Then, stir it all together with the cauliflower.
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Finally, squeeze a whole lime over the cauliflower and stir it all together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve the cauliflower rice in the bottom of a bowl followed by a scoop of the picadillo.
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Top it off with guacamole with roasted vegetables, see link in the notes.* You can also eat with roasted thinly sliced oven-roasted potatoes or over-roasted fries.
*I like to use frozen cauliflower rice but you can use two heads of fresh riced cauliflower instead. Just add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, then add the cauliflower rice and let it cook and soften for about 5 minutes.
*Click here for the spicy guacamole with roasted vegetables recipe.
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Oooh yum! This looks so great 🙂 We love Picadillo. I’ve seen that cauliflower rice at the store, I’ll have to try your jazzed up version.
I really like adding different flavors to the cauliflower rice, makes it so much yummier.
Just bought riced cauliflower and am looking for something to do with it! This looks awesome!!
That’s great! I hope you like it. There’s also two other cauliflower rice recipes on the blog, a taco salad and a arroz con pollo recipe. You can search for them and see if you like those as well.
Omg this looks fantastic!
Thank you so much!