Weeknight Ragù with Cauliflower Rice

Weeknight meals can be a challenge, especially if you are trying to eat more whole foods and eliminated added sugar from your diet. Conveniences foods sure made my life easier but they did not make me feel great. Now, I like to have quick and easy recipes in our rotation so I can get a healthy dinner on the table quickly. This Weeknight Ragù with Cauliflower Rice is one of my family’s favorites and it is so easy to throw together.

Eliminating anything from your diet can be hard. I’ve found that the best way to stick to my plans is to have a plan in the first place: a menu plan. Those nights when I don’t have a menu plan in place are the nights I give in and eat something that I wish I hadn’t.

Food cravings are hard. When I’m hungry my willpower goes way down so when I get hungry in the late afternoon, I know that’s when I’m going to slip.

To get around this, I plan my menu for the week, as best I can (We love this weekly meal planner from Busy Mommy Media) and make sure that I have as much food prepped ahead of time as I can so I can get dinner on the table quickly.

This Weeknight Ragù with Cauliflower Rice comes together quickly and it makes great leftovers so you can even make it the night before or have it for lunch the next day.

I adapted this recipe from one that I received in a Blue Apron Box, something I’d highly recommend for those weeks when you are short on time. 

Weeknight Ragù with Cauliflower Rice Ingredients

• Hamburger, 1 pound
• 1 Red onion, chopped
• Garlic, 5 cloves, minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 Bell Peppers, any color, sliced
• 3 Zucchini, sliced
• 3 stems Fresh rosemary, chopped
• Fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1-2 heads of Cauliflower
• Olive Oil

Weeknight Ragù with Cauliflower Rice Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Slice the zucchini and break 1 head of cauliflower into large florets. On a large sheet pan, lay out your veggies, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for about 20 minutes (tossing halfway through).

Brown the hamburger, adding the chopped red onion and minced garlic cloves a few minutes in. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sauté for a few minutes, until the hamburger is fully cooked, then add in the sliced bell peppers, Italian seasoning and chopped rosemary.

Once the bell peppers soften a bit, stir in diced tomatoes and 3/4 cup of water (or beef broth). Lower the heat and leave to simmer for about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, wash and roughly chop your remaining head of cauliflower. You can make your own cauliflower rice using any food processor.

I love the one that connects to my Ninja blender and comes in the Ninja Kitchen System (If you can only buy one thing for your sugar-free kitchen, this is it. You can spiralize veggies, make some amazing sauces, and more).

To make your cauliflower rice, place your pieces of cauliflower in the food processor. These do not have to be chopped much, just enough to fit into the food processor. The Ninja Kitchen system has a setting to chop. That’s what I use when making this. I just push the button and it does its thing. You’ll have to experiment a bit with your food processor to see what works. You don’t want this to turn to mush. Just chop the cauliflower enough that it is in rice-sized pieces.

In a large frying pan, use a bit of butter or olive oil, heat on medium-high heat and add your cauliflower rice. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the cauliflower rice is slightly toasted.

Mix in your chopped fresh parsley and about 3/4 of your parmesan cheese and set aside.

Serve your Ragù on top of the cauliflower rice and top with your roasted veggies and a bit of extra parmesan.