Cauliflower Fried Rice

Cauliflower Fried Rice is an easy to make a tasty, low carb meal packed with vitamins and flavor!

This “rice” is so good you won’t even think you’re eating healthy! Minced raw cauliflower is the perfect substitute for rice in this recipe.

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Why this recipe works:

Cauliflower Fried Rice is a healthy alternative to the standard fried rice recipe that you’re used to getting from a Chinese takeout restaurant.

This recipe is cooked exactly the same as a traditional fried rice recipe, but in place of cooked short grain white rice I used raw cauliflower.

Cauliflower recipes are all the rage, and making using cauliflower in place of the white rice is made even easier with store bought cauliflower “rice”.

I’ve found that if I can replace my favorite carbs (i.e. bread, pasta and rice) with some kind of vegetable that is somewhat similar in texture, yet still enjoy the same recipes I know and love, I can make healthier choices.

Here’s how to make it:

My cauliflower fried rice recipe is exactly like my standard fried rice recipe with one exception.  I swap minced raw cauliflower, or cauliflower “rice”, for the cold, cooked short grain white rice.

1. The best fried rice recipes start out with scrambled egg. I recommend cooking it first and setting it aside. That way you can add it at the very end and it won’t be overcooked.
2. Next you’ll saute your veggies. I recommend using butter. Who am I kidding? I almost always recommend using butter! It will give your vegetables the most color and flavor. Remember to always at the garlic last as it can burn easily.
3. Next you’ll cook up your cauliflower rice. You won’t want to over cook it as you’ll want to keep it firm so that it resembles real white rice. The cooking part is just to warm it up and add some flavor.
4. Finally, you’ll toss everything together and add some soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds, and green onions. Delicious!

What to serve with cauliflower rice?

This recipe is a meal in and of itself. If you want to add more protein, you can easily make cauliflower rice with chicken. You  take some boneless skinless thighs, pound them thin, and cook them with the veggies. Or, if you like chicken fried rice, you can toss in some already cooked shredded chicken.

The same goes for teriyaki shrimp. Everything is better with shrimp!  I’m also a huge fan of pork fried rice. Either leftover oven baked pork tenderloin or sauteed pork chops would be outstanding.

If you’re serving up cauliflower fried rice as a main course, you may just want to throw in some meat like I mentioned above.

Is cauliflower fried rice good for you?

I suppose the answer to that question could be left up to interpretation. Cauliflower fried “rice” is loaded with vegetables. We’re talking loads of cauliflower, plus a fair amount of carrots, onion, peas, garlic, and green onions. I would think most people would argue that is super healthy.

You also have protein from the egg. I’m a huge fan of eggs and eat them daily. I’m also a big fan of fat. It gives you energy and keeps you full longer. My cauliflower fried rice recipe uses butter. If you go with a grass fed and finished butter like Kerrygold, you’ll get the most health benefits.

Any time you’re going to eat a big bowl of vegetables, you’ll most likely need salt. In lieu of salt, I use a fair amount of soy sauce. If you have to keep your sodium levels low, you can always reduce the amount of soy sauce to your liking.

I’m not a health expert, but I’m going to say that yes – cauliflower fried rice IS good for you

Recommended cauliflower recipes:

There are so many delicious possibilities when cooking with cauliflower. Be sure to try these favorites.

• Two Ingredient Cauliflower Mash – These look and feel incredibly like mashed potatoes. Can you guess which two ingredients I used? Hint: not potatoes.
• Buffalo Cauliflower Bites – These are always made when we have people over to watch a game on the big screen. So tasty! There’s a how-to video in the post too.
• Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower Rice – This is a great side dish. Parmesan always cooks up so wonderfully golden brown!
• Cauliflower Garlic Breadsticks – Definitely not that similar to real bread sticks, but a nice alternative if you’re trying to watch your carbs.
• Hidden Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese – One of my first cauliflower recipes. I pureed it and hid it in the cheese sauce. The kids had no idea!
• If you love this recipe, you’ll want to also try making broccoli fried rice.

Go ahead and give this recipe a try and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Prep15 minutes mins

Cook15 minutes mins

Total30 minutes mins

Servings 4 servings

Author Krissy Allori

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Cauliflower Fried Rice is an easy to make a tasty, low carb meal packed with vitamins and flavor! This rice is so good you won’t even think you’re eating healthy!

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Equipment

• wok pan

Ingredients 

½x1x2x

• ▢ 2 eggs whisked
• ▢ 4 tablespoons butter divided
• ▢ 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
• ▢ 1 small white or yellow onion diced
• ▢ 1/2 cup frozen peas
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 4 cups cauliflower rice  raw cauliflower diced
• ▢ 1/4 cup green onions thinly sliced
• ▢ 3 tablespoons soy sauce or more to taste
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

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Instructions 

• Using a large saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Once hot, add the whisked egg, stirring only occasionally until soft scrambled. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Melt two additional tablespoons of butter and increase heat to medium-high. Add diced carrots, onion, and peas. Stir to coat in butter and allow to cook until slightly brown, stirring occasionally, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and allow to cook for an additional minute.
• Push the sauteed veggies to the sides of the pan, add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the middle of the pan, and add the cauliflower rice. Give it a quick stir to distribute the melted butter, but allow it to brown slightly by not stirring for a couple of minutes. Once the bottom of the cauliflower starts to brown, stir all the veggies together and allow them to cook for another couple of minutes.
• Stir in the green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and cooked egg. Remove from heat. Serve with additional sesame seeds, if desired.

Notes

Save yourself some time and buy a bag of cauliflower rice from the store instead of chopping it yourself.

Nutrition

Calories: 230kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 111mg, Sodium: 957mg, Potassium: 745mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 5765IU, Vitamin C: 90.1mg, Calcium: 88mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this? Leave me a comment below

This post first appeared over at Real Housemoms where I was a contributor. It has since been updated with more helpful information and cooking tips.