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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This was amazing! I have wanted to try a dish like this for quite a while but I didn’t see how cauliflower could mimic rice enough for me to actually like. But, wanting to drop a few lbs., I decided to give it a whirl. I ate 2 big bowls for lunch and am having the rest for dinner tonight. The only minor changes I made? I added celery bc I like the crunch it provides, & I only had ABC Sweet Soy Sauce instead of regular so I omitted the sugar. I will absolutely make this again & again. Thanks for sharing!
Had a few struggles while making this – didn’t help that my entree required constant stirring – doing two things at once is a challenge. I did prepare everything prior to starting and then my challenges began. My bag of riced cauliflower was only 1.5 lbs instead of 2 lbs – ignored this and forged ahead. Instead of using frozen veggies, I substituted raw baby carrots – this was a mistake as precooked would have been much better. When cooking the cauliflower, it looked really dry and just didn’t seem to be doing anything, so added about 1/2 cup of water. Decided to top with raw green peppers just before serving. Despite my issues this did try out.
Did anyone else feel the need to add water? Or was it a case of me being distracted by my other pan and panicking unnecessarily? Or was it because I didn’t use frozen veggies?
I will try it again but not with raw carrots because we did enjoy it – my efforts were just missing that wow factor.
I did add about a quarter cup of chicken broth. Also sprinkled sesame seeds on the finished dish. Really good.
Excellent recipe! Didn’t have cashews or peas. Used broccoli. Thanks for your recipes.
Loved it! Great flavor. Easy too. Measuring out the ingredients and chopping ahead made it easy to combine on the stovetop.
PS: I used low sodium soy sauce.
Oh my, too salty! I would suggest tasting as you go.
Taste great
Everybody likes it,it will be a recipe to make again
Thank you for charging it with us
I have made this recipe with chicken and meat. Family absolutely loves this.
This is a winner in our household!! Just made it and my hubby and daughters loved it!! Everyone went back for seconds (and thirds in my kid’s case). I served it with pineapple bbq shrimp and they paired very well together. Thanks again!
Loved It! Since my husbands recent diabetes diagnosis I have been searching for healthy alternatives to cut some excess carbs from our meals. I do not own a food processor but rice my cauliflower using my blender. Just add water, cauliflower and blend till it looks like rice, pour off water and strain. It works for me.
I am making this for a party and was wondering if you think it could be made ahead? If so is there any special suggestions on the process?
Kathy
Yes, it keeps really nicely in the fridge. I would just warm it through on the stove before serving it. (It’s actually good cold and at room temp too, so lots of flexibility!)