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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Comments
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It didnt work well for me, I think I may have put too much cauliflower in and so it steamed alongside frying. The texture was soggy and not enjoyable. Flavour was ok though so giving 2 stars for that.
*Only giving the recipe two stars because you used too much cauliflower ? 🤔
Excellent recipe as always Jen! I make it often and sometimes add a protein. Thank you!
Oops…I forgot to add the 5 stars!
Delicious! This has become a favorite when we
are craving Chinese food! All the goodness without
the calories! Thank you Jenn for this amazing recipe!
I made this last night and it was delicious! I added chicken to my dish. I will be using this recipe often. I give it 5 stars!
I haven’t made this yet but am considering making it for a Christmas buffet as a light side. I see you say to serve warm. Any reason it couldn’t be served at room temp?
Hi Shawn, you can get away with serving this at room temp. Hope everyone enjoys!
Another winner Jenn!
I just don’t like most vegetables in general. I have tried this recipe before and loved it (but don’t remember if I ever made comments). Knowing I needed to add more vegetables to my eating habits, I remembered this recipe. I made this using already riced frozen Cauliflower (Costco had frozen organic riced cauliflower –in 16oz increments. So two 16oz bags = 2 lbs). I thawed, and made sure to remove the excess water after thawing. Followed the recipe, and yes! I can eat vegetables with pleasure! My husband also complimented the flavor of this! (He added some grilled chicken to his portion ). We’re looking forward to the leftovers.
Dear jenn
Thanks for another great recipe.
I’d like to make this ahead of time for a family gathering,and am wondering what the best way to reheat this would be.
Thank you
Glad you like it, Dagmar! You can reheat it either in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove.
Can you use rice instead?
Sure – I’d go with cooked rice that just needs to be warmed through.
This was fantastic. I used onions instead of scallions because I didn’t have any on hand. Didn’t use the nuts.
This is a great recipe and substitute for regular fried rice! I’m cutting back on carbs but miss things like fried rice. To make it easier, I used ready made frozen cauliflower rice from Trader Joe’s and substituted coconut aminos for the soy sauce, and that made it easy to reduce the oil. I like spice (and need to cut back on sugar) so I omitted the sugar and it still tasted fantastic. Thank you for a nice healthy alternative! Will definitely be using this in my weekly meal rotation.
Can leftovers be frozen? If so, for how long?
Hi Paula, Overall, I think this would freeze nicely for up to 3 months, but I’m not certain how the scrambled eggs would do. Please LMK how it is once you thaw it!
Delicious! Did not have peas and carrots, only peas so grated a carrot and cooked with the cauliflower. Seasonings spot on!
Delicious! I’ve made several versions but love this. I added crumbled cooked bacon. I also used a homemade stir fry sauce made with coconut aminos. Everything else is the same. As it’s four servings it will be gone in two meals for the two of us. I’m new to your site. Thanks so much.