Cauliflower Fried Rice – Healthy and Amazing!
This easy and healthy cauliflower fried rice is a reader favorite because it’s low carb and super flavorful. It’s a fantastic keto cauliflower rice recipe too!
Have you ever wondered how to make cauliflower fried rice?
First of all, here it is and it’s super easy. You’ll wonder why you’ve never made cauliflower fried rice before because it really is one of those easy 30 minute recipes. If you love asian fried rice but don’t want all the calories, then try substituting the rice with cauliflower! No joke friends, this truly is a game changer in satisfying your fried rice cravings and keeping it low fat and healthier.
Watch the Video Making the Recipe:
How to Make Cauliflower Rice
You can cut a whole head of cauliflower into small bite sized pieces. That’s how we make it and love it because you can have nice bite and texture when you had-cut them into “rice”. When cut into small pieces, cauliflower truly resembles the same bite and texture as rice. This easy cauliflower recipe has minced cauliflower that soaks up all the flavors just like rice, but you doesn’t have all the carbs and calories that rice has. It’s because of all these awesome factors, you can eat more and not feel as guilty!
You can also buy frozen Cauliflower rice or “riced cauliflower” in the frozen section of most grocery markets. They’re readily available in most super markets and Trader Joes cauliflower rice seems to be the most popular.
This recipe for cauliflower fried rice is super flexible too because you can add what ever you like. Just like any fried rice recipe, this cauliflower version has endless possibilities. Add ground shrimp, chicken, pork, beef or tofu. Add more vegetables if you like. Overall, it’ll be delicious so long as you don’t overcook the cauliflower.
Here’s our Favorite Tools for Ricing Cauliflower:
Food Processor- This is our favorite food processor for home. It is a great balance between useable size for the average recipe and how much space is needed to store it.
Hand Cut– The secret is to great riced cauliflower is to keep the cauliflower with a good bite and not cook it to be mushy. Hand-mincing it helps get the perfect texture. You can use a food processor too, but make sure to not overprocess the cauliflower or else it will be mushy. And every kitchen should have a good knife.
Grate the cauliflower- You can also grate the cauliflower to get the rice texture! Whip out the box grater and go to town!
Pre-cut & bagged: You can also buy pre-cut cauliflower in bags in your frozen food section.
Here’s the link to the latest food processor.
Cauliflower “Fried Rice”
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) cooking oil (olive oil, grape seed oil, canola oil – whatever your preference)
- 1/2 medium onion , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup (65 g) diced frozen carrots
- 1/2 cup (75 g) frozen peas
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce *for gluten-free use tamari
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt , or to taste
- fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 green onions , diced
- more optional vegetables: celery , broccoli, corn, spinach
Instructions
- Mince cauliflower into very small crumbled pieces, resembling the size of rice or larger because the cauliflower will shrink as it cooks. You can use a food processor to get this texture, but be careful to not process the cauliflower too much or it will become mushy. We prefer to hand mince everything to get the small texture, so it still remains firm when cooked.
- Heat large skillet on medium high heat. Add cooking oil, then add onion and garlic. Cook until soft and translucent.Add cauliflower and sauté until tender, but not mushy soft. Add the peas and carrots and stir until combined.
- Add the beaten egg, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and black pepper. Stir until the egg coats all of the cauliflower and becomes cooked.If needed, add additional kosher salt to taste. Add green onions and stir until everything is combined. Serve warm.
Nutrition Information per Serving
Here’s how to make Chicken Cauliflower Fried Rice Recipe
This recipe was originally published in 2016 and re-published in 2021 with updated photos.
71 Comments on “Cauliflower Fried Rice – Healthy and Amazing!”
Really glad I tried this. Turned out great and for my keto diet.
How much of bagged pre chopped cauliflower rice do you use? What equals a medium head?
Hi Elisha, we assume a regular 8oz bag should work good.
Needs more sesame oil and soy sauce. My cauliflower must have been larger. Keep adding until you get the flavor you want. Very good otherwise
This was delicious cauliflower fried rice, it exceeded my expectations
Thank you for making it Susan!
Delicious and easy using Trader Joes Riced cauliflower! Will be making this again.
Hi Angie, the TJ’s rice cauliflower sounds perfect! Thanks for enjoying it.
I just made this. Yummy! Loved it. I added spam cut in mini squares. Unbelievable taste?
Just turned off my stove from making this ! Of course, I had to taste test and I liked it a lot! Can’t wait for dinner tonight!
That’s fantastic! Have a a great dinner!
How is this left over! And how do you reheat it? There’s just two of us and that would be too much!
Oh my!! So good. Made it tonite and included some fresh herbs from my garden. Just wonderful. Can’t tell you how happy I am to have such a delish, low carb, alternative to rice. My husband cut up his pork (ok, I’ll admit it, it was a little dry) and added it to the “rice”. Pork fried rice! He loved, loved, loved it.
Hi Gretchen! That’s super cool you added the fresh herbs and pork. And best of all, we’re thrilled you husband loved it! Thanks for sharing.
used this in a Poke bowl with Tuna Salmon and Avocado. My boys and I loved it, I’m diabetic and lowering carbs is very important. It’s nice to all eat the same thing.
Is there a cook book I can purchase?
Just made this for dinner! We love it—-Will make it again!
Thanks Renee! Super glad you enjoyed it!
Made this tonight. Was very good since I’m trying to eat more healthy meals. Added roasted chicken from the deli. Made it a meal instead of a side dish. Also doubled the sauce because of the chicken and a can of mushrooms. I put the cauliflower in the food processor and it didn’t taste like cauliflower. Would make again. There’s so many other things you could add to this. Love this.
That’s fabulous! So glad you enjoyed it and love your different variation on it.
I’m confused at directions? Oil divided? If I use diced raw carrot how does cooking time change. Anxious to try. TY
Hi Pam,
That was a typo. The oil didn’t need to be divided and the recipe is now updated. Thanks for bringing it up.
For the raw carrots add them in depending on how much “bite” you like for them. For softer, add it in the beginning with the onions and garlic. For firmer, just add them in with the peas, and maybe cook for an extra minute or two. Enjoy!
Love,this
This recipe looks delicious, but how can I make it vegan? What can I substitute for the egg?
To make it vegan you can leave out the egg. The texture will be just a touch different but still tasty. Of if you can find a vegan egg substitute. Enjoy!
I add chopped water chestnuts and Chinese five spice. Even my students tell me how good it smells! It freezes well, too.
Hi is there a substitute for the eggs? This sounds delicious but i don’t do dairy
You can leave out the egg. The texture will be just a touch different but still tasty. Of if you can find a vegan egg substitute. Enjoy!
This looks so good, I’m going to the store to get the stuff right now. Great idea!
I added 1 can of water chestnuts, chopped, 1/2 tsp of five spice, and just under a 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes…like a lot!
love the extra flavor and texture you added to the recipe. Sounds fabulous!
Frist time I have been able to get my husband to eat cauliflower and really enjoy it – (he will eat cauliflower soup) – Thanks for all the help in creating a low carb replacement for regular fried rice.
Wow that’s a huge moment to get him to eat a veggie and still enjoy it. Thanks for letting us know the great news!
I am honestly surprised with the outcome. The only thing I did different was added an extra egg to make it more nutritious but otherwise, what a simple, delicious and healthy dish. I have got thumbs up from all my family members and we’ll be eating this often from now on. Thank you!
Yay! Yeah, folks always are cautious about this recipe, but it’s always a pleasant surprise to everyone that it’s not all that bad. In fact, it’s quite delicious. Thanks for letting us know!
I made this with leftover cauliflower. I had boiled it the other day. Other times I roast it which would give a nice flavor to the recipe. Used one fresh carrot diced. and frozen peas. I lightly chopped the cauliflower i also had leftover pork and chopped a couple of slices of that to make a complete meal. It was delicious. Thanks.
Love the idea of roasting the cauliflower rice. All your variations sound fantastic!
How many calories are in this dish!! I’m looking forward to making it!!
We just updated the recipe format to include the calories. Enjoy!
I’m having a hard time finding the nutritional breakdown. Any help would be greatly appreciated
This is delicious! Will make it again and I followed the recipe to a tee and tasted great!!
That’s great news! Thanks for putting this on your maki-it-again list.
Has anyone made this recipe with a bage of frozen cauliflower rice? If so, what size of bag or how many cups of cauliflower rice? i would so love to get my kid to eat more veggies.
Melissa, I have used it…delicious (I used Green Giant and the medley cauli rice even has a recipe on the back.)
Thanks Ruthi!
I saw this and have not tried it yet but it is driving me crazy. I have to try it. Tried some of the other recipes and they are great. Thank you for this page.
I don’t cook. I’m serious – I cook nothing, nada, don’t even know how to chop/dice/mince. My husband does all the cooking. Well, I saw this recipe on Facebook and o was intrigued. I MADE IT and it came AWESOME! I read a few comments before I made it and doubled up the egg/tamari/sesame seed oil because my head of cauliflower was a
little too big. And I added ginger (left over from take-out sushi). I’m so proud of myself. My husband will never believe I did this (he’s traveling). Thank you so much. I’m going to try some more of your recipes.
Hi Janine! Thank you so much for letting us know and we’re happy that you AND your husband enjoyed this recipe. It’s definitely one of our most popular healthy recipes!
This recipe was awesome!
Just tried this. Absolutely delicious. It has joined the regular rotation on my menu. Highly recommend.
Fantastic, thank you so much Monica!
I made this for dinner tonight with some ground beef. It was delicious! Thanks for the recipe! =)
Oh love that you added ground beef! That sounds fantastic. Thanks Marianna!
I bet it would be great with chicken too!!
This is delish! Dio you have the nutritional value of this recipe?
Hi Cari! Glad you enjoyed the recipe and yes, we’re working on getting nutritional value for all our recipes. Stay tuned!
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it! Need a nutrition info breakdown, though.
I made this tonight and it was awesome! Love stir fry! Thank you for this recipe a I don’t eat rice anymore. Great substitute
Hi Tina, yeah it’s hard to go back to regular rice when we can make this recipe with less carbs. Thanks for making our recipe!
Outstanding recipe, tastes good and good for ya….even with some crumbled bacon !
Thanks Drew! And LOVE your addition of crumbled bacon. YUM!
Been looking for a simple fried cauliflower “rice” recipe, so happy to hv found it! Thanks!
So good! Definitely gonna make this often. My kids loved it and both went back for seconds.
Hi Paige, if your kids loved this recipe then it makes our day! So glad that kids can enjoy this vegetable recipe as much as we do.
I can’t find the Nutritional breakdown of this recipe
I know i was looking for it also
The 154 KCal is in the print version
LIKE YOUR SITE VERY MUCH !!!
THANK YOU FOR SHARING !!!
This was yummy I added some broccoli and another half tsp of sesame oil. Will make again for sure
Made this tonight! Good for a first go at it! I will probably add another egg, also more soy, a hint more sesame oil. I used frozen riced cauliflower, so I think it may have been a larger amount than a medium head of cauliflower. I’m excited to eat dinner tonight! Thank you!
I did exactly the same and used two medium eggs but instead of just adding the beaten egg I made a nest, ans let it start to fry a bit as I mixed it in. The extra soy sauce and sesame oil were needed. I also grilled some thin cut chicken breasts and tossed them in at the end. It was so good!