Asparagus, Kale & Pea Lemon Risotto
This Lemon Cauliflower Risotto is light, fresh, and full of flavour. It’s a one pan, 30 minute meal that is a great low carb Whole30 alternative to traditional risotto. This cauliflower risotto is Whole30, Keto, Paleo, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free, and Specific Carbohydrate Legal.
I realize my timing could not be worse. While most food blogs are posting endless autumn recipes for apples, pumpkins and cinnamon spiced desserts; I am fast forwarding 7 months and sharing what most would call a “springtime” risotto. Why the bad timing you ask? Well 1) this Lemon Cauliflower Risotto is sooo incredibly good, by far the best cauliflower risotto I’ve ever tried and 2) I don’t have nearly enough patience to keep this to myself until the appropriate season eventually comes around.
There are quite a few things that make this risotto so good. Firstly, it’s packed full of flavour with the combination of garlic, vegetable broth and zesty lemon. Although you may question whether the coconut cream is necessary, this is one ingredient you can’t skip, it gives the dish an amazing dairy like creaminess without a hint of coconut flavour. There is loads of texture in each bite of this dish with the creamy rice, slight crunch from the onion and celery and tender asparagus, peas and wilted kale which add substance. Feel free to swap spinach for the kale, or add in a protein such as shrimp or scallops if you are feeding a hungry carnivore.
This lemon cauliflower risotto can be prepared start to finish in under 25 minutes and can also be made ahead and reheated. I love eating these leftovers the next day, unlike traditional risotto which often dries out in the fridge, the cauliflower rice absorbs the flavours of the broth over time and becomes even more delicious.
Here are a few more cauliflower rice recipes that you might enjoy!
- Beef & Cauliflower Rice Mexican Casserole
- Chicken & Cauliflower Rice Soup
- Broccoli, Chicken & Cauliflower Rice Casserole
- Coconut Cauliflower Rice
- Cauliflower Rice Paella
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Asparagus, Kale & Pea Lemon Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups kale
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 3 cups cauliflower rice
- 3 tbsp coconut cream
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 8 spears asparagus
- 1/2 cup peas frozen
Instructions
- In a large frying pan over medium heat, sauté the onion, garlic and celery for 3-4 minutes until the onion turns translucent. Add in two spoonfuls of the vegetable broth to soften the celery.
- Cut the cauliflower into chunks and place in a food processor or blender. Pulse for 4 to 5 seconds until the cauliflower has broken into small rice sized pieces. Do not over blend the cauliflower.
- In a pan of boiling water add the asparagus and cook for 3 minutes until slightly tender. Remove from the pan and run under cold water to stop from cooking further. Cut the asparagus spears into four.
- Add the shredded kale, peas and cauliflower rice to the onion and celery mixture and stir to combine. Add in the remaining broth and cook for approximately 4 minutes until the cauliflower rice becomes tender but not mushy. Stir in the coconut cream and lemon zest and once mixed add in the asparagus. Serve topped with shaved asparagus, lemon zest or parmesan.
Nutrition
This is the 2nd time I made it. I thought it would be difficult to make. It was very easy and delicious. I added sun dried tomatoes and topped it with roasted butternut squash. I love it!
So delicious 😋 you’re the best! Do you think I could use coconut milk instead of cream? Coconut Cream is so hard to find at the store nowadays. 🤷♀️
I plan on trying this and will give feed back but I seen the comment on the peas and peas are now compliant! Question: will frozen cauliflower work or does it get to mushy?
Could you use frozen cauliflower rice instead of having to make it?
do you have the nutritional information for this recipe? just curious
I prefer not to include nutritional information for recipes and instead focus on just using wholesome ingredients but if you do want to know the nutritional information I recommend using this app RecipeIQ all you have to do is enter the recipe URL or take a photo of the recipe and it outputs the information.
This recipe looks amazing and I will definitely try it, but I’m confused. Peas are not allowed on Whole 30, so how it can be whole30 compliant?
If you leave out the peas this recipe is Whole30 complaint 🙂
Made this dish yesterday for dinner and LOVED it. I used vegetable broth I had made in my InstantPot and then frozen. Also used BOTH lemon zest and freshly grated Parmesana Reggiano. Delicious! And I felt so good about giving my body fewer carbs!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe Laurie! I always find it amazing how satisfying cauliflower rice can be. Thanks for such a kind comment 🙂