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The perfect Monday Bowl: Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowl!

Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowls with Mango Salsa | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Especially after a long Easter weekend when many of us may have had just a little too much sugar and are in need of something slightly healthier, BUT don’t really want a salad. Don’t worry, I have you covered and it’s going to be delicious!

I could not be happier to bring you this colorful dinner today. It’s a reflection of all the things I’m loving right now and these bowls radiate with serious Mexican flavor…which you know I love!

First though, how was everyone’s Easter weekend? On Saturday, Miss Asher walked her little self down to my house and convinced me go with her and my dad to see some horses over at a ranch a few miles down the road. My dad’s friend owns some horses and one of them just had a baby, so he invited Asher over to come see it. The little guy was just five days old and probably the cutest thing ever. If you follow me on Instagram you saw all the snaps of the cute little baby and his mom. We weren’t there too long, but it convinced me that horses definitely need to happen over here pretty soon! We have the chickens and the goats, so obviously horses are the next step. I mean, right?

Easter Sunday was spent cooking away…what’s new? We had almost a complete Gerard family dinner, minus my oldest brother Creighton, and my brother just above me, Brendan. Somehow, everyone else was at the table. Kai is in town for surgery that he had done on Wednesday to repair a torn ACL, Red flew in on Saturday (he’ll be off again on Friday I believe), and the rest of us live here in Colorado! It was a pretty simple dinner, but perfect none the less. It’s always nice when Kai and Red are both around! What did you guys do?

Oh, and we also had sunny skies all weekend, so that was a major added bonus. PLUS I’ve even seen a few flowers popping up out of the ground. YES. Signs of life. Whoop, whoop!

Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowls with Mango Salsa | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowls with Mango Salsa | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowls with Mango Salsa | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Okok, on to Mexi food talk now!

How incredible do these bowls sound? I can’t hide my excitement for them. They’re full of color, flavor and texture, plus healthy at the same time. Yes, please!

Question: have you guys gotten on this whole cauliflower rice craze? They are now selling it already riced at grocery stores and people seem to be buying it off the shelves! I went to Whole Foods the other day looking for it and there was none in sight. They where completely out! I heard even Costco is selling it now?

Anyway, I’ve actually been making cauliflower rice for years. Or well, let me rephrase that, I made it years and years ago for a while when I was on a serious health kick, but somehow forgot about it until someone mentioned she made this recipe of mine, but used the cauliflower rice instead of quinoa. That got me thinking about cauliflower rice and then this bowl was created. Now I can’t get enough of everything happening here. It’s layer after layer of flavor.

Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowls with Mango Salsa | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowls with Mango Salsa | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

If you’re new to carne asada, it’s simply Mexican marinated steak with tons of orange and lime and just a kick of heat. You want to start this recipe off by marinating the meat. You can marinate it anywhere from thirty minutes to overnight. If I can remember, I really like to marinate it overnight for super tender meat and great flavor. It’s one of my favorite meat marinades. SO GOOD.

Once you have your meat marinading, it’s time to make the rice! Like I said, you can now buy pre-chopped cauliflower rice at many grocery stores (Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Costco are the three I know of), but you can also just add a large head of cauliflower to a food processor and pulse until it becomes a rice consistency. Easy as that! I like to roast the riced cauliflower in the oven to not only warm it, but toast it up at well. Then I finish with hit of lime juice and a little cilantro. If you’re one of those people who think cilantro tastes like soap, try swapping in basil. Different flavor, but still delish!

And then, no good Mexi inspired meal would be complete without a little salsa! Yup, yup! Top this dish with a little mango salsa and you’ll have dinner perfection…any night of the week! Not gonna lie, the salsa is probably my favorite part, but I feel like I say that every time I pair a recipe with salsa. I can’t help it, it’s my favorite!

Also, you can use this carne asada recipe for tacos, burritos, etc. The leftovers are insanely good topped with a fried egg. Just sayin’.

Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowls with Mango Salsa | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowls with Mango Salsa | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowls with Mango Salsa

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
marinade time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 382 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Cauliflower Rice

Instructions

  • 1. Add the steak to a ziplock bag and add the olive oil, orange juice, garlic, chipotle peppers, lime zest and juice, and the cilantro. Seal the bag and marinate 30 minutes or in the fridge as long as overnight. 
    2. Meanwhile, make the cauliflower rice. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. 
    3. Spread the riced cauliflower out on a large baking sheet and toss together with the olive oil, cumin, and a large pinch of salt. Transfer to the oven and cook 10 minutes, toss and cook 10 minutes more or until the cauliflower is tender. Remove and stir in the cilantro and juice + zest of 1/2 a lime juice.
    4. Preheat your grill or grill pan to high. 
    5. Remove the steak from its marinade and sear the steak for 5-8 minutes, flip and sear another 5 minutes or until your desired doneness is reached. Remove the steak from the grill and allow to rest 10 minutes. Slice steak thinly against the grain.
    6. To make the salsa. In a bowl, combine the mango, jalapeño, lime juice, cilantro, and a pinch of salt.
    7. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and top with steak, lettuce, avocado, salsa, and cheese, EAT!
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Cauliflower Rice Carne Asada Bowls with Mango Salsa | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Oh, and don’t forget the chips and guac! Happy Monday guys!

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Comments

  1. This looks amazing, as are all of your recipes! I have large bags of frozen riced cauliflower from Costco. What changes do you recommend to cooking time? Thaw and drain first?

    1. Hi Christy,
      I would follow the cooking instructions on the bag and then make the recipe was written:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx

  2. 5 stars
    Super yummy, although I did have to improvise a bit with what I had on hand. I had nothing resembling cauliflower in any form, so I followed another person’s suggestions and made tacos. I had round steak instead of flank steak, so I just cut the grilling time a bit. I topped the tacos with the amazing mango salsa, avocados, and queso fresco. Absolutely perfect!

  3. What kind of cheese does the recipe contemplate me using? It just says cheese and there are so many kinds of cheese in the world. I could use a more specific description of the the type of cheese. thanks, Mark

    1. Hey Mark, I like to use crumbled feta cheese. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan

  4. 5 stars
    I made the carne asada part of this recipe for dinner and it was fantastic! Super flavorful and easy to make. We served it on corn tortillas with peppers, onions, cheese, and mango/pineapple salsa. Delicious!

  5. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! I’m kind of a Half Baked Harvest groupie… as in… I’ve made seriously over 100 of your recipes ?Just made this tonight and it is the perfect Monday dinner to pair with a margarita to cure your Monday blues! Thanks for the tastes, Tieghan!

  6. If I use the cauliflower rice that comes frozen from Trader Joe’s would you recommend I let it that first? Also, is it recommended to prep the salsa in advance? Does it keep well?

    1. Hey Cody, I am sorry, I am not sure what exactly you are asking. I think you maybe typed something wrong?

  7. Thinking of trying cauliflower, you rice it, is it cooked first or do you rice it raw. The dish looks so yummy.

    1. Hey Bridget! Add the cauliflower raw to a food processor and then pulse until it resembles rice. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this recipe! 🙂

  8. Rockin’ recipe – shared with hubby and we collectively got all the ingredients and had this last night..super yummers! Love protein, spice, citrus together! We had some slender asparagus/ green beans, pan roasted them in cast iron & added them in.. also had some charred pineapple leftover..OK..it’s a bowl! Everything down to the cauliflower rice, which is a staple, got major thumbs up at dinner last night! AND now you have more to play with coconut shrimp and spicy fish taco’s…oh how can you not adore Mexican food especially when it is this inspired – Ole Tieghan!