Whole30 cajun shrimp skillet with cauliflower rice and sweet potato chunks. This 20-minute meal is perfect for the weekdays!
Last week while cleaning my fridge I found an old head of cauliflower that my mother-in-law insisted in buying, affirming that I would surely make something good with it. Only thing is, she went back to her home in Florida and I completely ignored her wishes and that (now) buried head of cauliflower.
To my surprise the cauliflower remained beautifully white and looking as fresh as ever. I felt a knot tight in my gut as I picture myself tossing that entire vegetable in the trash, but then I felt slightly better as I realized I could feed it to my mother’s chickens instead. Good solution!
Funny how our brain works! Mine seemed to be working well that day as the third and last line of thought came as a reminder that I AM doing the whole30 diet and so... hello cauliflower!!
This long and hopefully not so boring story is to say that I do not like cauliflower or anything that is made with cauliflower, including ‘rice’. It’s blend and boring!
However, I took advantage of the fact that my brain seemed to be working well that day (I believe that having a clear(er) head is one of the benefits of the whole30 diet!), and made sure to transform my head of cauliflower into this AMAZING Whole30 CAJUN SHRIMP CAULIFLOWER RICE recipe!
what is cajun seasoning
Cajun seasoning has a smoky peppery tasty and is bright red colored. Cajun seasoning is used often in barbecue or grilled recipes, however you can still use the cajun flavors to season any recipe.
There are a lot of cajun seasoning blends on the market, some can be spicer than other but they all have a bite. I’d say that most cajun blends have a mild-medium level of spiciness, so if you have low(er) tolerance for spiciness or (like me) you love spicy foods, then a good idea is to make you own so that you can control the level of spiciness.
how to make cajun seasoning
Most cajun seasoning will include flavorful components such as garlic and onion powder, oregano and thyme, and a mix of chili flakes, cayenne pepper and smoky paprika. However, if you don’t have all the ingredients you can still accomplish the desired flavor.
Here is what I used to make my cajun seasoning:
- Onion Powder
- Oregano
- Chili pepper flakes
- Spoked paprika
- Tomato paste!
Yes, I added tomato paste for coloring. Stir everything into a paste and make sure the shrimp is completely coated in this cajun paste before cooking.
how to make cauliflower rice
If your heart’s desire has brought you to this recipe because I claimed to offer you a very flavorful cauliflower rice, yes you are at the right place!
I will be totally honest with you, cauliflower rice does NOT have a place in my heart. Don’t rush to blame me, I come from the land of color and flavor (Brazil) and cannot help myself in that department. My job here was to change my own mind about cauliflower rice’ blend status, and perhaps yours too!
And I did it! 🙂
First step is to make cauliflower rice. And by that I mean turn a head of cauliflower into ‘rice’ like crumbles. I love this guide from Love and Lemons and the fact that she added scallions for a pop or color and inch of flavor.
But I took one step further, but adding lots of color and flavor! As for the pop of greens I used kale but you can use anything from parsley, cilantro, tiny broccoli crumbles, scallions...
So here is how it goes. Crop, shred, blend or process your head of cauliflower into crumbles. Then add in your choice of greens. Set aside until it’s time to add on to the shrimp skillet.
how to make this whole30 cajun shrimp skillet with cauliflower rice
Now that you have your cajun ‘paste’ and cauliflower rice ready, the next steps are as following:
- Heat oil in a medium non-stick skillet. I don’t recommend using a cast iron because the cauliflower rice can stick to the bottom. Cook the shrimp to desired doneness, about 3-4 minutes on one side.
- Flip the shrimp to cook on the other side.
- Immediately add in the cauliflower rice, top with sweet potato chunks (I used frozen roasted sweet potatoes), and sprinkle with remaining olive oil.
- Cover the skillet, lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir shrimp and cauliflower rice together. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve!
other 20-minutes dinner ideas:
Whole30 Paleo Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Whole30 Paleo Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry
If you make this whole30 cajun shrimp cauliflower rice recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thanks a bunch!
Cajun Shrimp Cauliflower Rice
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 dz shrimp
- 12 oz frozen cauliflower rice
- 1 cup sweet potatoes, cubed
- ¼ cup kale, parsley or cilantro
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pinch kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
cajun seasoning
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon each, smoked paprika, onion powder and oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a medium bowl add in shrimp and cajun seasoning. Stir until the shrimp is evenly coated.
- In a separate bowl add cauliflower rice and ¼ cup of greens of choice (kale, parsley or cilantro)
- Heat a medium skillet with 1 tablespoon oil. Add shrimp and cook for 3-4 minutes on one side.
- Turn the shrimp and immediately add the cauliflower rice and sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of oil over the cauliflower, lower the heat, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove lid and stir to combine. If needed cook for an additional 1-2 minutes on low. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.
Nutrition
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Peggy says
I should have used common sense when you said cubed sweet potatoes. Maybe you meant minced. Sweet potatoes dont cut in five minutes. I ended up takinog the potatoes out and microwaving them and then mixing them back in. Also the cajun seasoning was dry with no liquid other than tomato pastys which is not very liquidy. Probably won't tryi this one again.
Silvia Ribas says
Thanks for taking the time to write your experience Peggy, sorry to hear it wasn't a good one. I made this recipe twice before posting with good results (as pictured) but I will re-do making a few alterations to make sure that others don't have a negative experience as well.
Peggy says
I realized my mistake. In the recipe it says just to use cubed sweet potatoes but in the writing above you suggest using roasted sweet potatoes. I had used raw. Also in the recipe it says to use frozen cauliflower rice but in the writing you talk about using fresh cauliflower, so the cold probably didn't help either. I will have to read the whole article when I follow your recipes in the future. Normally I love everything I have cooked from your site.
Millican Pecan says
I love finding new Whole 30 recipes, and this one is a winner. Thanks for sharing!
Silvia Ribas says
Thanks, glad you liked it! 🙂
Michelle says
This was a hit with my husband and myself! I am going to figure out how to make the shrimp a bit more saucy of a dish, maybe add some white wine, so that it can be poured over the cauliflower rice. I didn’t have green onions so I sautéed some red onion and added it to the rice with some butter and garlic, black pepper salt combo. Next time I will add more Cajun seasoning on the shrimp. I sauted a lot of fresh, minced garlic cloves that I added to the shrimp. I used frozen shrimp that I thawed a couple of hours earlier. Super quick and easy meal. Had sour dough bread and garlicy green beans as our sides, along with a couple of glasses of red wine. Thank you!
Silvia Ribas says
Sounds wonderful Michelle, glad you and your husband enjoyed my recipe and had a nice meal! xoxo, Silvia
Bob B says
What is the nutritional information for this?
Silvia Dunnirvine says
Hi Bob, I just updated the recipe to show nutritional information. Thank you!