No oats cauliflower rice oatmeal is a great way to sneak some vegetables into your morning routine. Cauliflower is used instead of oats to recreate a classic breakfast comfort food that's SCD (specific carbohydrate diet), Paleo, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, egg free, and refined sugar free.
One of the biggest food challenges I've had recently is breakfast.
Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE breakfast but having eggs everyday gets old and sometimes I'm not in the mood for pancakes or baked goods.
All I want is a big bowl of oatmeal (my husband thinks this is the saddest thing he's ever heard)!
Grains and gluten are a no-no when following the SCD diet, so I've been out of luck...until now!
A Life of Happenstance is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
You're going to think I'm absolutely bonkers when I tell you this, but the secret ingredient for a big, filling, comforting bowl of no oats oatmeal is....cauliflower rice!
See, I knew you'd think I've gone crazy!!!
Seriously though, this is delicious and tastes so much like traditional oatmeal.
You can't even taste the cauliflower!
How to make cauliflower rice
There are quite a few different ways to make cauliflower rice but I'm going to share my two favorites in this post.
The first way is to cut the florets off of a head of cauliflower (they should be in 2 inch pieces) and add to a food processor or blender.
You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your appliance and the amount of cauliflower.
Pulse the florets until they resemble the size of white rice.
Dump the cauliflower rice into a bowl and place any larger pieces back into the food processor to pulse again.
The second way to get cauliflower rice is to buy it from the grocery store.
Cheating, I know but I typically have to make so much from scratch that I appreciate little short cuts when I can find them!
When buying prepackaged frozen cauliflower rice just double-check the ingredients on the back.
The only ingredient you should see is cauliflower (many brands tend to add salt).
Ingredients
- cauliflower rice
- nut milk (coconut, almond, or cashew)
- banana
- ground cinnamon
- honey
Notes and Substitutions:
I tend to use frozen cauliflower rice for this recipe but fresh cauliflower rice can be used as well.
Any dairy free milk can be used although I'm partial to coconut milk.
Date syrup can be used in place of the honey. Start by using half of what's called for in the recipe and slowly add more depending on your taste.
Directions
Begin by placing the frozen cauliflower rice in a small saucepan over medium heat until thawed.
Pour in the canned coconut milk and add some well mashed bananas.
Stir in some ground cinnamon and allow the cauliflower oatmeal to simmer until your desired consistency is reached.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and mix in the honey.
If the oatmeal is too thick, add more liquid.
If the oatmeal is too runny, leave it to simmer longer over the heat.
Notes:
- This is a great dish to use up any overly ripe bananas. The riper the bananas, the sweeter the cauliflower oatmeal will be and the easier they will be to mash.
- The "oatmeal" is a great make ahead breakfast! I like to cook a big pot on Sunday and we eat it throughout the week. Simply reheat in the microwave or on the stove over low heat.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to five days.
Toppings
Anything you would add to traditional oatmeal can be added to this!
- fresh berries
- chopped nuts
- raisins
- coconut flakes
- almond butter
- dried fruit
Hope you enjoy!
More simple breakfast recipes!
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below! This is the best way you can help support me and my blog!
Follow me on facebook and instagram . Tag @thehealthierbite and #thehealthierbite so I can see your yummy creations!
Did you know I have a YouTube channel? SUBSCRIBE to watch all of my recipe videos!
NOTE: If following the SCD diet, I suggest contacting the company to verify ingredients before using any prepackaged products.
This recipe was originally posted in February 2018 and was updated in January 2020.
Recipe
No Oats Cauliflower Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen or fresh cauliflower rice
- ½ cup canned coconut milk, shaken
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Defrost and soften the frozen cauliflower rice in a small saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour the coconut milk into the saucepan and stir. Allow the cauliflower to cook for 2 more minutes. It should start to bubble and boil. Add the mashed bananas and cinnamon. Stir until well combined.
- Allow the mixture to once again come to a bubble before dropping the heat to low. Simmer until the oatmeal has thickened to your desired consistency and the cauliflower is softened to your liking. (Once I drop the heat to low, I keep the oatmeal over the heat for about another 8 to 10 minutes )
- Remove from heat and stir in the honey. Scoop the cauliflower oatmeal into bowls and top with your choice of fruit, nuts, coconut flakes etc.
- Leftovers can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- If using fresh cauliflower rice, it will just need less time over the heat to soften.
- Any dairy free milk will work in this recipe.
- If the oatmeal is too thick for your liking, add more liquid. If it's too runny, keep over the heat longer.
Emma Lacy
Sooo good! I added date sugar and vanilla extract to mine and only did one banana and it was so good but tasted just like regular oatmeal I was actually shocked at how good it was! This will be my morning staple now!
Jennifer Brown
Your additions to the oatmeal sound delicious! Enjoy!
Scarlett
Hi!
I made a version of this with 1/2 pumpkin and 1/2 banana along with 1.5 cups of cauliflower rice and 1/2 cup of homemade coconut milk. I used a dab of date syrup and skipped the honey. I did let it simmer for longer than 10 min and I think it could go even longer. Thank you for the great recipe!
Jennifer Brown
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nicole Harding
This recipe has changed my life!!! i LOVE it, Im on the SIBO diet and intolerant to eggs so breakfast has always been a struggle. I'll continue to make this again and again even when I am able to eat more of a range of food.
Jennifer Brown
What a lovely compliment, I'm so happy you've found a breakfast recipe you enjoy Nicole! Thank you for taking the time to share!
Hannah
This is a great recipe! I’m really surprised it tastes like oatmeal. I threw in the whole bag of frozen riced cauliflower from Costco and a whole can of coconut milk with 4 bananas. Very comforting, even my kids ate it up! Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer Brown
I'm glad it was a hit with your kiddos!
Jen
I almost cried with happiness the first time I ate this - I was delighted to bring "oatmeal" back into my life! This is a super-flexible recipe. I now make it with ~3 cups of cauli rice per 2 bananas + 1/2 c coconut milk, and I omit the honey because it's sweet enough without. This is a keeper!
Jennifer
I enjoyed this. I too am tired of eggs for breakfast and miss hot cereal. Thank you!
Jennifer
Glad you liked it!
Samantha
I’ve made this recipe a few times now and each time it is delicious! My son, who I make it for, has no idea the base is cauliflower but he likes it and even asked for it this morning! Thank you for this amazing recipe, I’m so glad I found it when I thought his oatmeal days were over.
Tina
What brand of canned coconut milk do you use? I’ve yet to find one that is SCD compliant.
Thank you, can’t wait to try this!!
Jennifer
Hi Tina! I use Native Forest Simple Organic Coconut Milk and purchase it off of Amazon. The only ingredients listed are water and organic coconut, I also emailed the company a little over a year ago and was assured that they disclose all ingredients used on their label. Below is a link to a post of mine that has a picture of the can of coconut milk, just scroll down the post a few seconds and you'll see it. Hope this helps you! Also, when you make the cauliflower oatmeal I'd love to know how you liked it (if almond milk is easier for you to come by, it works great in this recipe too)!
https://thehealthierbite.com/whipped-coconut-cream/
lori
Can you use coconut MILK from carton instead of can?
Jennifer
For this recipe coconut milk from a carton will work. I typically specify coconut milk from a can since I'm currently unaware of any from a carton that are free of gums, "natural" flavors, additives, etc. Almond or cashew milk will also work.
Allison hanson
Very interesting, I too am sick of eggs all the time. i wonder if I could omit the banana and still have good results? I try to keep my sugar intake very low.
Jennifer
Hi Allison! The banana is there to help thicken the mixture into an oatmeal consistency. I haven’t tried it myself yet but you could try replacing it with canned pumpkin purée. It may give you similar results in terms of the consistency. If you try it I’d love to hear how it worked!