Is it cheaper to make or buy cauliflower rice, save up to 254$ year

Cauliflower rice is not actually rice, but it is a fantastic substitute if you are looking for a low carb alternative. It is very easy to get riced cauliflower in a store, but it’s even easier to make it yourself at home. But is it cheaper to make or buy cauliflower rice? I also was wondering the same and wrote about my discoveries.

Is it cheaper to make cauliflower rice or buy it:

Yes, it is cheaper, way cheaper to make cauliflower rice at home from scratches. Homemade cauliflower rice can be 34% to 87% cheaper than store-bought, depending on the type of riced cauliflower you buy in a store. You can make homemade cauliflower rice for 0.11$ per oz, which is 0.09$ to 0.40$ per oz cheaper if you compare homemade price to the average store-bought price of frozen, fresh, or pre-cooked pouch price.

In general, cooking at home is cheaper than eating out. Check out how to save from 1720$ to 4303$ with homemade food.

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While researching the options to make cauliflower rice and the prices, I discovered some interesting things, read on to learn more.

Is it worth making cauliflower rice at home and savings

The reasons why you should be making cauliflower rice at home are not so obvious, but they will convince you to start making it on your own.

The price and quantity

Yes, it’s worth making cauliflower rice at home from scratch. Cauliflower rice is very easy to make, and it requires minimal effort. It is way more affordable than a store-bought, and the quantities you get are much larger.

There are usually three types of cauliflower rice you can get in a store, fresh cauliflower rice, frozen cauliflower rice, and pre-cooked cauliflower rice in a pouch. The prices between each variety are significant. But it doesn’t matter to which variety of store-bought cauliflower rice homemade is compared to. In every case, homemade wins or is cheaper than store-bought.

In order to make 1.6 lb of riced cauliflower, you need one head of cauliflower (1 head of cauliflower weights on average 1.6lb = 26oz). You will only be paying 2.9$ for it, which is 0.11$ per oz. Since the amount of the ingredient you put in is the same as the end product, you will only be paying 0.11$ per oz. of cauliflower rice.

The table shows that if you buy a pouch of pre-cooked cauliflower rice, it will cost you a whopping 0.40$ more per ounce than if you would make homemade cauliflower rice from scratch. If you compare the store-bought frozen and fresh cauliflower rice price per ounce with the homemade, the price difference isn’t as high. Frozen cauliflower rice will cost you 0.09$ more per ounce, whereas fresh cauliflower rice will cost you 0.15$ more per ounce.

Moisture 

Homemade cauliflower rice is not as wet as the one you buy in a store. Cauliflower rice with the highest moister content is pre-cooked cauliflower rice in a pouch. The frozen store-bought cauliflower rice tends to be less watery. The closest consistency to freshly homemade cauliflower rice has got frozen store-bought cauliflower rice. If you make frozen store-bought cauliflower rice at home, it will actually look more like rice and not like mush. 

When making some sort of a puree with cauliflower, then it is not that important which riced cauliflower you are using, store-bought or homemade. But if you would like to make riced cauliflower fried rice, then the moisture in the store-bought cauliflower rice will keep you from getting the perfect fried rice consistency.

Texture

Homemade cauliflower rice tends to have a better, toasted texture. When you stir fry it, it gets nice and toasted all the way around and still has a little bit of a bite to it. Frozen cauliflower rice gets a bit mushier if you prepare it the same way as the fresh cauliflower rice.

How much does it actually cost to make homemade cauliflower rice and savings?

It costs 0.11$ per oz. to make cauliflower rice at home.

Most people usually make cauliflower rice in a food processor. So if you want, you can add the electricity cost to the calculation because I didn’t add it. But, since you make cauliflower rice in a food processor with only a pulse or two, it won’t make any difference if you add a cent or two to the calculation. 

Then there is also the effort. You will have to actually make cauliflower rice and store it if you make a lot of it. I didn’t include any time and effort into this calculation since the effort is minimal. 

Cauliflower rice ingredient cost is calculated on the following basis:

Measurement to grams: we calculated the measurement of each ingredient into grams to get the sum weight of ingredients for cauliflower rice.

Average product price: for each ingredient, we checked the latest prices online and calculated the average price of ingredients per ounce, which are included in the cauliflower rice recipe.

Price per ingredient: the price for each ingredient is calculated to match the amount used in the recipe. 

Sum weight of cauliflower: to get the total weight of cauliflower, we summed the weight of all ingredients in grams. 

Electricity cost: there are no electricity costs included.

Time, utensils, and cookware: we did not include time cost or the purchase of cookware and tools into the calculation. 

How much do you save if you make cauliflower rice at home

If you usually buy pouches of pre-cooked cauliflower rice, then your savings will be significant. Even if you buy fresh or frozen store-bought cauliflower rice, homemade will always be way cheaper. 

It really depends on how many times and how much cauliflower rice you make in a batch. But if you make cauliflower rice from 1 head of cauliflower twice a month, you could save from 55$-254$ a year. 

What is the easiest way to make cauliflower rice?

Including riced cauliflower in cooking helps you discover new tastes and meal varieties. You’ve probably heard of fried rice recipes. Well, you can make fried rice recipe with riced cauliflower, which is a healthier low carb choice.

The easiest way to make riced cauliflower is to use a food processor. First, clean and wash the cauliflower. Then cut it into large chunks. Place them in a food processor and pulse a few times. It’s best not to overdo it because you will be left with a mush instead of rice. 

Food processors also have special blades for grating foods. These blades are very versatile and usually save a lot of time, but they don’t work very well with cauliflower, especially if you make cauliflower rice. 
When you use a special bland, cauliflower tends to get too fine and wet, which is not ideal for riced cauliflower.

Is there a way to make cauliflower rice without a food processor?

If you don’t have a food processor, the next best thing to use is a box grater or a cheese grater. Cut a large chunk of cauliflower and grate it down the side. Always use the cheese grater side. 

The advantage of a box grated over a food processor is that you can use it if you want to make less cauliflower rice at once. If you are making it for just yourself only once a week, a box grater is way better than a food processor. 

For more gluten free foods you could save money on, check out the gluten free bread post.

* The prices for ingredients and products in our tables are average prices take from various websites. The prices are not taken directly from Amazon.
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