Is Cauliflower Now The Trendiest Vegetable In The Produce Aisle?

When you think of the most popular vegetables in the produce aisle these days, maybe kale comes to mind, or swiss chard, or whatever the hipsters next door are currently obsessed. But there’s a new contender for cool vegetable these days, and Green Giant is hoping it’s trendy enough to help turn around flagging sales.

Green Giant is hoping to ride a new trend among health-conscious shoppers who are switching out rice and potatoes in their cooking for “cauliflower rice” with a slew of new products, including frozen “Riced Veggies” made with the veggie, and frozen mashed cauliflower.

It’s not alone: Trader Joe’s hopped on the cauliflower band wagon with frozen “Riced Cauliflower” last year, the Associated Press notes, while Northeastern grocery chain Wegmans has been selling a house brand of the stuff for a year as well.

It’s a new twist on an old move: parents have been trying to slip vegetabes into their kids’ food for years. Now grownups are turning to cauliflower more for themselves as well, along with using other substitutions like zucchini noodles in pasta dishes.

Green Giant’s owners hope its more than just a flash of veggie rice in the pan, with the vice president of B&G foods saying we’re in the midst of a “fundamental shift” and that people will continue to seek out vegetable alternatives to starchy foods.

“I believe vegetables will move from the side of the plate to the center,” Jordan Greenberg tells the AP.

Is ‘cauliflower rice’ going mainstream? Green Giant hopes so [Associated Press]