Cauliflower Fried Rice
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This Chinese-style cauliflower fried rice is a healthy, low-carb dish that’s hearty enough to serve as a main course.
Cauliflower rice — which is just cauliflower grated into rice-like bits — really does taste similar to rice, or at least it behaves similarly by soaking up all the flavor of its seasonings. In this quick and easy cauliflower fried rice recipe, I sauté grated cauliflower with aromatics, vegetables, soy sauce, and eggs, much like Chinese fried rice. It’s a healthy, low-carb dish that’s hearty enough to serve as a main course.
Cauliflower has a mild flavor that makes it an excellent blank canvas for other flavors. In addition to rice, it makes a great substitute for mashed potatoes in my cauliflower purée with thyme recipe. It’s also excellent roasted in my roasted cauliflower recipe.
What You’ll Need To Make Cauliflower Fried Rice
You’ll likely be able to find grated cauliflower in the produce or frozen vegetable section of your supermarket. But if not, it’s simple to make using a food processor (use the grating disc) or hand grater.
How To Make Cauliflower Fried Rice
As with any quick stir-fry, it’s important to have all of your ingredients prepped before you start cooking.
Begin by heating a few teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and a pinch of salt and cook over medium heat until scrambled.
Set the eggs aside, then sauté the scallions, ginger, and garlic in oil until softened.
Add the grated cauliflower, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes.
Add the peas and carrots and continue cooking until the cauliflower “rice” is tender-crisp and the vegetables are warmed through, a few minutes.
Stir in the rice vinegar, sesame oil, dark green scallions, nuts (if using), and scrambled eggs.
Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot and enjoy!
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Cauliflower Fried Rice
This Chinese-style cauliflower fried rice is a healthy, low-carb dish that’s hearty enough to serve as a main course.
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- Salt
- 1 cup chopped scallions, light and green parts separated (you'll need 5-6 scallions)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger, from a 1-inch knob (see note)
- One 2-lb head cauliflower (or 2 pounds "ready to cook" cauliflower rice), thawed if frozen
- 4-5 tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Asian/toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup chopped cashews or peanuts (optional)
Instructions
- Grate the cauliflower in a food processor fitted with the grating disc. Alternatively, grate on the large holes of a box or hand-held grater. Set aside. (Skip this step if using "ready to cook" cauliflower rice.)
- Heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a large (10 or 12-inch) nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and a pinch of salt and scramble until the eggs are cooked. Transfer to a small plate and set aside. Wipe the pan clean.
- Add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan and set over medium heat. Add the light scallions, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the grated cauliflower, 4 tablespoons of the soy sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes. Add the peas and carrots and continue cooking until the cauliflower "rice" is tender-crisp and the vegetables are warmed through, a few minutes. Stir in the rice vinegar, sesame oil, dark green scallions, nuts (if using) and eggs. Taste and adjust seasoning (adding the remaining tablespoon of soy sauce if necessary). Serve hot.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Serving size: about 2 cups
- Calories: 273
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Sugar: 8 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Sodium: 1717 mg
- Cholesterol: 93 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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I been cooking a recipe for Chicken Fried Rice from a cookbook that I received as a wedding gift 42 years ago. But in 2017 I found your amazing blog and your recipe for Cauliflower Fried Rice and it has now become my favorite way to do this dish. I follow your recipe but have about 1 to 2 cups of cooked, diced chicken breast in a bowl and I put the soy sauce on the meat prior to beginning the prep for the rest of the dish. I really liked the way you cooked your eggs alone and then added them back into dish. The dish I have made all these years just had you push everything to the sides of your skillet and scramble the eggs in center. The only addition I sometimes add is the finely sliced(angle hair type) lettuce in the prepared bagged lettuce section of grocery store (like used for tacos). My adult daughters (both special ed teachers) love taking this for lunches. I make it on a Sunday afternoon and they enjoy it on work days. I like to serve grilled or sliced fresh pineapple with this dish.
Fabulous recipe! Versatile and healthy. I pretty much followed it the first time except for adding cooked, diced chicken. I sometimes add sliced or chopped mushrooms, water chestnuts, mire poix, or any veggie in my fridge that would work. It’s a winner!
Absolutely delish! Perfect antidote from heavyThanksgiving foods. I too subbed lower carb veggies, red pepper and kale, and added sautéed shrimp to make a wonderful dinner. I would highly recommend this!
Great quick side dish for during the week. I substituted a pinch of monk fruit for the sugar as we are trying to eliminate sugar from our diets. Also used tamari sauce rather than soy, gluten free option. Truly enjoyed! Even our picky eaters did not miss the “rice”. Thank you!
Love this fried “rice” recipe!! You can change it up with a variety of veggies. I added thinly sliced pea pods because I love them. Other than that, I didn’t make any modifications. Thanks Jenn for you great recipes!!
This was amazing! My husband and I have been doing low carb for a few years, and this was a perfect fit (all I had to adjust was replacing the sugar with a sugar substitute to fit the diet).
As a type 2, insulin dependent, non-obese diabetic it’s sometimes hard to find really delicious sides for the holiday table. Well… let me tell you, even when I substituted chopped broccoli and red peppers for the higher carbohydrate peas and carrots this was an amazing addition to our holiday table.
Excellent Recipe! I only substituted honey for the sugar. Outside of that, this recipe is perfect. Taste is a mix of Chinese fried rice and Pad Thai. Excellent.
This was FANTASTIC. As I am cooking for one, I only made half a batch, but still used 2 eggs. I omitted the sesame oil by accident and it was still delicious. And I subbed chili garlic paste (a lot) for the red pepper flakes. I will definitely make this again!
Just finished making and having this dish, delicious, easy to make a little spicy but enjoyable. The new go-to side dish.