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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We found a new favorite and will definitely be adding this to our rotation! I was fourth bite in and couldn’t wait to have it again. We used frozen cauliflower and added a few shitake mushrooms and some cut up grilled chicken for a little protein. Absolutely delicious!!
So delicious, and super easy! Have made a few times, definitely a new fav in the rotation of healthy eating! The perfect side dish or hot lunch. I used frozen cauliflower and just cooked until all the liquid was absorbed. Your recipes always kick a**! Thank you! 😊
Hi, do I need to let frozen cauliflower defrost first?
Thank you!
Yes, I would defrost it first. Hope you enjoy!
Another winning recipe from Jenn & Once Upon a Chef.
This is an amazingly easy recipe that has more flavor than other fried rice recipes I’ve made. You would almost never know that it’s cauliflower and not rice. My wife raved about it!
The only thing I may do next time is use a little less oil when frying the cauliflower so it’s a bit firmer. But that’s a minor fix.
Overall, a great recipe!
Thanks for the recipe. I’m on my third week of very low carbs so this was helpful.
Years ago I learned from a Cantonese chef to use sugar and salt in fried rice, and no soy sauce. So I modified it accordingly. I also separated the yolks from the egg whites and mixed the yolks in with the cauliflower rice before frying.
Been cooking cauliflower rice for a bit now and this was great. I didn’t add the sugar but did add two cups of rough chopped cabbage and dry fried tofu and it was great. Thanks for the recipe. Will make again.
I’m not a huge fan of cauliflower rice but keep eating it because well… it’s better for me than potatoes or rice. THIS IS AMAZING… and has opened my eyes to how versatile cauliflower rice can be! Thank you for a great recipe… it’s delicious! This will most definitely be one of my go-to items for our weekday menus!
Love this recipe! I don’t think there could be any better recipe for cauliflower rice!
Yummy, will use your cauliflower fried rice recipe again and again.
Jenn, this is so good! I have made it a few times, but decided to add ground pork tonight like in your Thai style pork fried rice recipe. I grated the fresh cauliflower and let it get a bit crispy in the skillet after the pork was cooked. It turned out better for me than the bagged cauliflower rice—-not watery. Then followed the rest of the steps. You can get creative with the veggies! Sauteed some diced red pepper in it. It was a very colorful, tasty complete meal!