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Home Asian

Cauliflower Fried Rice

By:Nagi
Published:8 Jan '20Updated:7 Sep '22
110 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

This looks and tastes so much like real fried rice, I forgot for a moment that I was writing up a CAULIFLOWER Fried Rice recipe!

77% less calories, 89% less carbs, astonishingly similar mouthfeel as real fried rice and definitely right up there with flavour. This is one that even Cauliflower Rice cynics will love!

Close up of Cauliflower Fried Rice in a bowl, ready to be eaten

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Yes, it really does taste like real fried rice.

Cauliflower rice cynics, I’m talking to YOU!

And that includes me. It took me many years before I got on board the cauliflower rice train. And even once I was on board, it took me many months before I was happy enough with cauliflower fried rice to share the recipe with you.

Here are the top tips I’ve accumulated for wickedly good cauliflower rice:

  • cook it like real fried rice. Hard and fast. Keep the cauliflower crisp-tender, don’t let it get mushy and wet!

  • A great sauce is essential. Disguise the cauliflower flavour!

  • The cauliflower has to be rice-size. As opposed to tiny crumbly couscous size. Nobody wants mushy cauliflower-couscous!


What goes in Cauliflower Fried Rice

What goes in Cauliflower Fried Rice

  • Cauliflower rice – best to either make your own or buy fresh pre-prepared. Frozen thawed will also work, but is a bit more watery. Drain it well and dry as much as you can, even go as far as squeezing out excess liquid (but note that you will lose volume by doing this and you still need 4 cups).

  • Ham or bacon – goes a long to add a great flavour base! Can be skipped to make it meat free

  • Frozen mixed vegetables – I use frozen for convenience, and because I totally buy into the whole “snap frozen” thing. Feel free to substitute with any diced vegetables, frozen or fresh

  • Mirin or Chinese cooking wine – this is key in this sauce, to give it depth of flavour and complexity, making it extra tasty. Substitute with dry sherry or cooking sake. For a non alcoholic sub, add chicken stock powder (granulated chicken bouillon);

  • Oyster Sauce adds a good back of sweet-savoury flavour. The only appropriate substitute I can think of is Hoisin, though you will get a faint fie spice flavour (very nice though!)


How to make Cauliflower Fried Rice

Here’s how you make it – just like normal fried rice, cooked hard and fast over high heat!

How to make Cauliflower Fried Rice

How to serve Cauliflower Fried Rice

Serve this as a tasty low-carb side dish, or as a meal in itself. Cauliflower Fried Rice packs in a serious load of vegetables, and very small amount of carbs. So while I’d never recommend normal fried rice as a meal, Cauliflower Fried Rice IS a healthy, satisfying complete meal in itself!

While I usually use plain rice or (when I’m trying to “be good”) plain Cauliflower Rice for saucy stir fries and curries, I like to serve fried rice alongside other Asian and Asian-esque dishes that aren’t saucy. Here are a few ideas.

Dishes to serve with Cauliflower Fried Rice

Overhead photo of Char Siu (Chinese Barbecue Pork) sliced on a white cutting board.
Char Siu Pork (Chinese BBQ Pork)
Chinese Chicken (Char Siu) is the chicken version of the wildly popular Chinese BBQ Pork. The smell when this is cooking is outrageous! recipetineats.com
Chinese Chicken (Char Siu!)
Close up of sliced Chinese Crispy Pork Belly with the best crackling in the world
Chinese Crispy Pork Belly
Sticky Chinese Chicken Wings on a plate, ready to be eaten
Sticky Baked Chinese Chicken Wings
Chinese Dumplings – Pork (Potstickers)
Grilled Thai Chicken (Gai Yang)
Grilled Marinated Thai Chicken (Gai Yang)
Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings) - A traditional Japanese recipe! Plus a VIDEO to learn how to wrap them!
Japanese GYOZA (Dumplings)
Vietnamese Caramel Pork is a simple, magical recipe - tender pork in a sweet savoury glaze and no hunting down unusual ingredients! recipetineats.com
Vietnamese Caramel Pork

Have a browse through all my Asian recipes for more ideas!

So tell me, Cauliflower Rice cynics, have I convinced you to give this a go?? 😉 – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Close up of Cauliflower Fried Rice in a bowl, ready to be eaten

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 10 minutes mins
Total: 20 minutes mins
Sides
American Chinese, Asian
5 from 46 votes
Servings5
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. This is how you make cauliflower rice totally delicious - by making Cauliflower Fried Rice! The trick is to cook it hard and fast, just like real fried rice, and to ensure the cauliflower rice are "cooked rice size" rather than blitzed into tiny couscous-size grains. This gives it a real fried rice mouthfeel and eating experience!

Ingredients

  • 1.5 tbsp oil , separated (vegetable, canola, peanut)
  • 3 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1/2 onion , finely chopped
  • 75g/ 2.5 oz ham or bacon , diced
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen diced peas, carrots, corn (mix, or other diced fresh veg of choice)
  • 400g (4 cups) cauliflower rice, raw (Note 1)
  • 2 eggs , lightly whisked
  • 2 green onions , finely sliced

Sauce - Mix:

  • 1 tbsp Mirin (or Chinese Cooking Wine) (sub dry sherry or cooking sake) (Note 2)
  • 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce (sub Hoisin)
  • 1.5 tbsp soy sauce , light or all purpose (Note 3)
  • 1 tsp sesame oil , toasted

Instructions

  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over high heat.
  • Add garlic and onion, cook for 30 seconds.
  • Add ham, cook for 1 minute to release flavour.
  • Add frozen vegetables, cook 2 minutes until carrot is almost cooked.
  • Add cauliflower and Sauce. Cook, stirring regularly, for 4 minutes until sauce is reduced and cauliflower is almost cooked - firm, tender crisp, not soft and mushy.
  • Push the cauliflower to one side of the skillet. Add 1/2 tbsp oil, let it heat up briefly, then pour in egg.
  • Leave for 10 seconds, then leisurely scramble it. Once almost cooked, mix egg through cauliflower.
  • Toss through green onions then serve immediately!

Recipe Notes:

1. Cauliflower rice - make your own, buy it ready made or frozen. If frozen, thaw and drain well before using. If making your own, key trick is to ensure cauliflower is grated until it's the size of cooked rice, not tiny couscous size. Texture of cauliflower fried rice is much better when it's rice size!
2. Mirin or Chinese cooking wine ("Shaoxing wine") is the secret that will make this dish really taste like your favourite fried rice! Substitute with Japanese cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic sub - reduce Oyster Sauce to 1/2 tbsp and soy sauce to 1/2 tbsp, add 3/4 tsp chicken stock powder (granulated bouillon) into the Sauce.
3. Soy Sauce - light or all purpose soy sauce is ideal here, adds flavour without staining rice colour too much. If you only have "dark soy sauce" (will be labelled as such on the bottle) reduce to 1 tbsp. Note the your rice will be stained a dark brown colour (which actually looks very appetising!).
4. Storage - best made fresh. It's still pretty good the next day, but on Day 2 and beyond I find it starts getting a bit too wet for my taste. Still edible and decent though!
5. Nutrition per serving. Recipe will serve 5 to 6 as a side, or 3 as a meal.
Half the carbs in the nutrition per serving below is attributable to the peas, corn and carrot so they could be eliminated if you wish to make the carbs even lower. To keep some colour in it, you could toss through baby spinach instead - 1 cup raw spinach only has 1g carbs.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 144cal (7%)Carbohydrates: 13g (4%)Protein: 9g (18%)Fat: 10g (15%)Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)Cholesterol: 72mg (24%)Sodium: 660mg (29%)Potassium: 438mg (13%)Fiber: 3g (13%)Sugar: 3g (3%)Vitamin A: 4132IU (83%)Vitamin C: 46mg (56%)Calcium: 48mg (5%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: cauliflower fried rice
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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New year, new home! Actually, I moved in the week before Christmas. And for almost a whole week, this is all I had in the living area – a work desk, and Dozer’s bed. The two most important pieces of furniture I own! 😂

Dozer the golden retriever new home

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110 Comments

  1. Novellian says

    October 4, 2023 at 7:48 am

    Why is it that I can not find one single regular fried rice with beef and, add some chunks of roasted or fried cauliflowers? I’m not talking about so-called riced cauliflower. I’m trying to add cauliflower to a good regular beef and rice fried rice.
    Is there a recipe for what I’m actually looking for?
    Thank you

    Reply
  2. Jennifer says

    August 12, 2023 at 6:45 am

    5 stars
    Made it with vegan butter and shrimp and was yummy! Have made it with frozen cauliflower rice, 1 time I had time to defrost it and 1 time I didn’t. Works well both ways but better if can defrost!

    Reply
  3. Colleen says

    April 14, 2023 at 1:41 pm

    Oh my yum! This was absolutely delicious

    Reply
  4. Jennifer says

    January 27, 2023 at 1:54 pm

    5 stars
    My gosh My gosh, it tastes AMAZING, my whole family loved it, including my 3 and 5 yo kids, absolutely delicious

    Reply
  5. Oona says

    October 12, 2022 at 4:55 pm

    5 stars
    Made this last night. So easy. So yum. I’ve forwarded the recipe to nearly everyone I know. Thanks Nagi!

    Reply
  6. Mandi says

    June 16, 2022 at 4:04 am

    5 stars
    Another great recipe Nagi! I didn’t add any meat but did add fresh mushrooms … very delicious! 🙂

    Reply
  7. Glenys lyn Davies says

    May 8, 2022 at 4:14 am

    Wow, wow and double wow!! Tried cauliflower rice a while back and thought Nah not for me.
    But when Nagi says try it, I try it and boy what an absolutely amazingly delicious way of eating cauliflower…. At last a cauliflower recipe that isn’t cauliflower cheese (not that I have, or ever will, abandon cauliflower cheese!!) but this is a super duper alternative.
    Try it, I dare you. Never doubt the Nagi xx

    Reply
    • Debra Caroline McCallum says

      January 19, 2023 at 9:09 pm

      5 stars
      OMG!!!! This is AMAZING!!! My carnivore hubby didn’t realise he was eating cauliflower fried rice – when he’d finished raving about how great it was I told him there was no rice but cauliflower! He is now a true convert and this will be on our dinner table often!!! Thanks Nagi – you are truely an amazing human!!!! xoxoxo

      Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 9, 2022 at 4:35 pm

      Never doubt the Nagi??? 😂🤣😂🤣 N x

      Reply
  8. Rachel says

    February 27, 2022 at 11:20 am

    5 stars
    I made this with your Asian Glazed Salmon recipe. I left out the meat, and it was still amazing! Good thing I made a huge batch for leftovers!!!

    Reply
  9. Amber Guerra says

    January 10, 2022 at 10:05 am

    This is the best!!! My kids even eat it. “Said mom what’s that amazing smell?!” And he’s 5!.

    Reply
  10. Paula says

    December 6, 2021 at 3:04 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi!
    This recipe is AHmazing!!!!!
    Taste and texture is Sooo much like regular fried rice!!! Wonderful way to get a ton of veggies in you!!! I left out the meat and added cubed pan crisped tofu. For the veg I used a combo of broccoli, carrot, mushrooms and edamame. Highly recommend!!! thank you for this recipe!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 6, 2021 at 10:08 pm

      I’m happy you enjoyed it Paula! N x

      Reply
  11. Kellie says

    November 24, 2021 at 7:07 pm

    5 stars
    Ooohhhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyy Lord above! This was so amazing, I sat in silence mostly from pure amazement haha. Love love love this 💗

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 26, 2021 at 4:35 pm

      So glad you enjoyed it Kellie!! N x

      Reply
  12. Ali says

    August 23, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    5 stars
    I have been using your website for a few years but have never commented. I have just been lurking around using all your recipes and enjoying them without commenting. Until today. I can’t go on. This was so good. I made it without the ham and it was just so good. I honestly thought a ninja came in and swapped the rice with cauliflower because it just tasted so good. I mixed through some chilli oil at the end and it was just amazing.

    I love your recipes and time you invest in this page.

    I’m from a turkish background and was so rapt when you put a pide recipe. You even went to the effort of using sucuk and kasar cheese. It honestly is better than any takeaway pide I’ve had here and is closest thing to what I’ve had in Turkey.

    Keep doing what you do. Love your work xoxo

    Reply
  13. Babsie says

    August 22, 2021 at 1:42 am

    5 stars
    Another absolute cracker of a recipe. Trying to do low/no carbs so delighted this turned out incredibly tasty. I had some smoked pancetta which gave a lovely depth of flavour also. This is a real winner. Definitely gonna be a regular dish.

    Reply
  14. Marsha says

    August 17, 2021 at 2:57 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delish – full of flavor. I’m glad I stumbled across this one – about to make it for the third time.

    I use the frozen cauliflower for the convenience and dry them up on the pan with low heat before making the dish, works a treat.

    Thank you Nagi 🙂

    Reply
  15. Angela says

    June 15, 2021 at 12:01 pm

    5 stars
    Another winner, Nagi! I made this with your mom’s teriyaki chicken and of course, they were both hits with the whole family. You couldn’t even tell the “rice” was cauliflower. We all said another win for Nagi. FYI, every recipe we’ve tried of yours have been winners. Keep ‘em comin.. Love Dozer too!😍

    Reply
  16. Mackenzie says

    May 31, 2021 at 5:27 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi, would this freeze well? I’m looking to use this for meal preps and freeze it in portions with chicken breast. Thank you so much 🙏🏼

    Reply
  17. Saunny says

    May 18, 2021 at 11:03 am

    5 stars
    This is a new favorite or mine! So flavorful and easy! Thank you so much for sharing 😘

    Reply
  18. Cherie says

    May 13, 2021 at 11:30 pm

    This fried rice is excellent so tasty and healthy too. Thank you magi I love your recipes always

    Reply
  19. cc says

    March 17, 2021 at 7:39 pm

    5 stars
    This is so delicious and so perfect!! I finished 1.5 servings yum! I used vegan bacon instead and it still tasted delish

    Reply
  20. Aimy says

    February 4, 2021 at 5:15 am

    5 stars
    Honestly I didn’t have high hopes, I make fried rice all the time and I love your recipes but I just felt it wouldn’t work. But I recently joined weight watchers so I decided what the hell, I reduced the vegetable oil to 1/2 a tbsp and used extra ham, eggs and veg and honestly I have never had anything ‘healthy’ be better than this. I couldn’t really tell much of a difference when eating it I felt like I was having comfort food and it really made my day. Maybe this dieting thing won’t be so hard after all 🙂 thank you so much for the recipie

    Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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