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Cauliflower Fried Rice

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By Jenn Segal
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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 fried rice

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

Rice ingredients including cauliflower, dark soy sauce, and sesame oil.

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.

Food processor full of grated cauliflower rice.

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.

Chopped vegetables on a wooden board.

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.

Wooden spoon stirring a skillet of scrambled eggs.

Set the eggs aside, then sauté the scallions, ginger, and garlic in oil until softened.

Skillet of garlic, scallions, and ginger.

Add the grated cauliflower, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes.

Skillet with riced cauliflower and soy sauce.

Add the peas and carrots and continue cooking until the cauliflower “rice” is tender-crisp and the vegetables are warmed through, a few minutes.

Peas and carrots in a skillet with riced cauliflower.

Stir in the rice vinegar, sesame oil, dark green scallions, nuts (if using), and scrambled eggs.

Scrambled eggs in a skillet with riced cauliflower.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot and enjoy!

Wooden bowl of cauliflower fried rice.

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Cauliflower Fried Rice

Metric Cup Measures
By Jenn Segal

This Chinese-style cauliflower fried rice is a healthy, low-carb dish that’s hearty enough to serve as a main course.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes

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

  1. 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.)
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • 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
Nutritional Data Disclaimer

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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Comments

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  • Not sure what I did differently than all of the other reviewers, because I thought this was just gross. We threw it away and got out a bag of regular fried rice. I followed the recipe exactly. I have liked many of the other recipes from this site, though!

  • this was one of the best things I ever made! i substituted carrots with frozen corn and added a bit more ginger…a hit for the entire family. Thank you!

  • I added chicken to it :), it was awesome, and a little more red pepper flakes

    • Just made it and love this dish! I had no ginger but not sure it’s needed. Fantastic!

  • It was a terrific dish and i will be making it again. It is such a versatile dish.

    • — Anne from West Chester,PA
    • Reply

  • I have made at least a dozen of your recipes, they have all been delicious, but this one was especially tasty. I look at your site every day, I noticed this recipe, later that day I was at my local Trader Joe’s and saw the cauliflower rice. What a happy circumstance. This will become my go to recipe for a quick side dish. Thanks!

  • OMG! So so good! I made this for myself and my husband last weekend. He couldn’t believe how good it tasted. We loved it! Even better the next day! I told my parents about it and my dad needs to watch his carb intake so I am going to make it for my parents. What a delicious dish to add to our dinner menu. THANKS AGAIN for another awesome recipe!

  • I made this last night. Super easy.
    1) I substituted lightly roasted sunflower seeds for the cashews (nut allergy at our house).
    2) I used 3 eggs instead of 2 and added cooked shrimp at the end to up the protein.

    Husband and son gave it two thumbs up and a YUM.

    VERY easy to make. Will put this in the rotation. Yet another hit recipe from your website!

  • i feel like 13 mg of protein is a misprint, with all the egg in there…

    • Hi David, One egg has 6 grams of protein so I believe it’s correct.

      • I think David IS correct.
        6 g =6000mg.
        So – 2 eggs between 4 people would give (2*6/4) = 3g (3000mg) each
        13mg is one 1/461th of 1 egg.

  • Easy and super delicious!!! Made this last night and it was a huge hit!!! I used 4 of the 5 tbls. of soy sauce and found it a bit salty. I will cut out the salt and reduce soy next time. I added an extra egg, because we love eggs!!! Now that I know how to make cauliflower rice, I will try it with shrooms and onions next!
    Thanks for another great recipe!!!
    Cheers, Marnie

  • Hi Jenn:

    Can you freeze this. BTW! It is very yummy.

    • Hi Mary, Overall, I think this would freeze nicely, but I’m not certain how the scrambled eggs would do; I think I’d cook and those once you’re ready to serve the recipe.

      • I did freeze it…..and just had it for a quick lunch. The eggs seemed ok. For a leftover, it was great. Do you think I could add more sesame oil?

        Thanks much Jenn.

        • Sure, Mary – just go easy…Asian (dark) sesame oil is strong stuff.

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