These crispy, spicy, and cheesy rice balls are the perfect way to use up cauliflower rice. I saw a recipe online that used regular rice and breadcrumbs. I knew right away that I had to try and recreate this with cauliflower. The inside is like a jalapeno popper, and the outside has a wonderfully crunchy texture thanks to the pork rind and Parmesan coating.
If you have some leftover cauliflower fried rice on hand, then this would be a great recipe to make use of that. I’ve included instructions for baking these in the oven, as well as using an air fryer. The air fryer is my favorite, but these are great both ways!
Yields 3 (3-ball) servings of Jalapeno Cauliflower Rice Balls
The Preparation
- 2 tablespoons softened cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons jalapeno, deseeded and diced
- 50 grams pork rinds
- 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 60 grams pork sausage
- 2 ¼ cups (225 grams) cauliflower rice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (60 grams) shredded mozzarella
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
The Execution
1. Preheat your oven to 425F. Add the cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and diced jalapeno to a microwave-safe dish. Microwave for 30 seconds, or until soft, then stir together to combine thoroughly
2. Grind the pork rinds and Parmesan cheese in a food processor until you have a homogenous breadcrumb type texture. Transfer the pork rinds to a shallow dish. Whisk the egg together in another shallow dish to finish setting up a dredging station for the rice balls.
3. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the pork sausage until it’s no longer pink in the center.
4. Add the cauliflower rice to the sausage then stir to combine. Season with salt then continue cooking until the cauliflower rice softens.
5. Stir in the jalapeno cheese mixture, and the mozzarella, then keep stirring until everything is fully combined. The cheese will act as a binder for the rice balls, so you want it to be mixed evenly.
6. Remove the rice from the heat, then let it cool.
7. Use the coconut oil to grease an ice cream scoop and your hands. Scoop up the rice then form into uniform balls with the palm of your hands.
8. Coat each ball with egg then dredge in the pork rind breading mixture.
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. If you have an air fryer then you can lightly grease the fryer and bake at 400F for 6 minutes, turning the rice balls over halfway through the cooking process.
This makes a total of 3 (3-ball) servings of Jalapeno Cauliflower Rice Balls. Each serving comes out to be 414.44 Calories, 31.77g Fats, 5.9g Net Carbs, and 25.07g Protein.
| Jalapeno Cauliflower Rice Balls | Calories | Fats(g) | Carbs(g) | Fiber(g) | Net Carbs(g) | Protein(g) |
| 2 tablespoons cream cheese | 94 | 9.2 | 1.5 | 0 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream | 51 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| 2 tablespoons jalapeno | 3.3 | 0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| 50 grams pork rinds | 272 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan | 95 | 6.3 | 3.1 | 0 | 3.1 | 6.4 |
| 1 large egg | 72 | 4.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 6.3 |
| 1 tablespoon butter | 102 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 60 grams pork sausage | 195 | 16 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 11 |
| 225 grams cauliflower rice | 56 | 0.6 | 11 | 4.5 | 6.5 | 4.3 |
| 60 grams shredded mozzarella | 182 | 12 | 4.8 | 0 | 4.8 | 14 |
| 1 tablespoon coconut oil | 121 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 1243.3 | 95.3 | 22.7 | 5 | 17.7 | 75.2 |
| Per Serving(/3) | 414.44 | 31.77 | 7.57 | 1.67 | 5.9 | 25.07 |
Jalapeno Cauliflower Rice Balls
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons softened cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons jalapeno deseeded and diced
- 50 grams pork rinds
- 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 60 grams pork sausage
- 8 ounce cauliflower rice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounce shredded mozzarella
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425F. Add the cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and diced jalapeno to a microwave-safe dish. Microwave for 30 seconds, or until soft, then stir together to combine thoroughly
- Grind the pork rinds and Parmesan cheese in a food processor until you have a homogenous breadcrumb type texture. Transfer the pork rinds to a shallow dish. Whisk the egg together in another shallow dish to finish setting up a dredging station for the rice balls.
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the pork sausage until it’s no longer pink in the center.
- Add the cauliflower rice to the sausage then stir to combine. Season with salt then continue cooking until the cauliflower rice softens.
- Stir in the jalapeno cheese mixture, and the mozzarella, then keep stirring until everything is fully combined. The cheese will act as a binder for the rice balls, so you want it to be mixed evenly.
- Remove the rice from the heat, then let it cool.
- Use the coconut oil to grease an ice cream scoop and your hands. Scoop up the rice then form into uniform balls with the palm of your hands.
- Coat each ball with egg then dredge in the pork rind breading mixture.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. If you have an air fryer then you can lightly grease the fryer and bake at 400F for 6 minutes, turning the rice balls over halfway through the cooking process.
