Alright, who else has been late to joining the cauliflower fried rice party? {Just me?!} I seriously can’t believe it took me this long to do a blog recipe for this veggie-packed takeout-fakeout dish.
Traditional fried rice from your local Chinese food restaurant is typically calorie-dense and carb-heavy, with only a few scattered veggies throughout. That’s totally cool to indulge in sometimes – but what if that craving strikes you regularly? What’s a fried rice fanatic to do?!
I’ll tell you what to do – you dig into a big ‘ol bowl of this cauliflower fried rice. This scrumptious alterative to Chinese takeout can be made in under a half hour, with less than 10 ingredients. And it clocks in at less than 200 calories per serving. That makes this perfect for an easy side dish (and way leaner compared to the 500+ calories in a side of fried rice from a popular takeout brand). Or you can double up the portion in this dish to make it a full meal!
Now, don’t get me wrong – cauliflower rice is not going to taste exactly the same as regular rice. One is very starchy; the other isn’t. It’s kind of comparable to spaghetti vs spaghetti squash.
But when cauliflower rice is used in dishes like this that have a lot of flavor (think salty soy sauce and aromatic garlic), it carries those tastes very well! The texture can also be quite similar to traditional rice. I think it’s an absolutely awesome substitute because it allows you to cut down on the calorie and/or carbohydrate content of the whole meal. Plus, it’s another way to add even more veggies to this dish – always a winning idea.
Making the cauliflower rice itself is simple. You’ll find a lot of blog posts out there with different techniques, but I’m all about quick and easy, so I stick with a food processor. To start, trim the head of cauliflower to just the florets, removing the stalks and outer leaves. You should end up with around 5 or 6 cups of cauliflower from a medium head, but honestly – there’s no need to be super precise because this recipe is forgiving if you have more or less.
Throw those florets into a food processor, hit the pulse button a few times, and voila – cauliflower rice! It should have an appearance similar to small grains of rice (or maybe like couscous). Don’t pulse it too many times or too long – or it can break down too much. (You can still cook with it that way, though, it just won’t have the same textural properties and might cook a little faster).
From there, you’ll just spend a few minutes whipping up some scrambled eggs and sautéing some other veggies, then toss in the cauliflower rice and mix in a little soy sauce. That’s it! You’ve got yourself a fabulously healthy version of fried rice.
You can mix up this recipe according to your own tastes and needs too. You could get creative with the types of veggies in there, or you can add in some chopped chicken, pork or shrimp. If you have dietary limitations, like you’re gluten free, you can use a certified gluten free soy sauce. If you can’t do soy, you can use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
I’m a big fan of this dish for athletes I work with that struggle with either constant hunger and trying to lose weight in the early part of the season. It’s a way for them to really eat a lot of filling, nutrient-dense food while still working towards their goals. I hope you’ll give it a try too and let me know what you think!
A tasty veggie-packed dish that's low in calories and carbs but rich in taste.
- 1 medium head of cauliflower (about 5-6 cups of trimmed florets)
- 1.33 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 green onions, chopped
- 2 tbsp lower sodium soy sauce
Trim the head of cauliflower to just florets, removing large stalks and outer leaves. A medium head of cauliflower should give you about 5-6 cups of trimmed cauliflower. (Keep in mind a little more or a little less won’t hurt this recipe, so don’t worry about being super precise.)
Place cauliflower florets in a food processor. Press the pulse button just a few quick times until the cauliflower roughly resembles the appearance of rice (it doesn’t take long). Set aside.
Heat 1 teaspoon sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium heat. (You can also just quickly spray the pan with cooking spray rather than use sesame oil here). Whisk eggs in a bowl and add them to the skillet to cook scrambled eggs. When eggs are done, set aside for now.
Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in the skillet. Add onion, carrots, and bell pepper. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, until vegetables are just starting to get tender. Add garlic and scallions and cook for another minute.
Stir in cauliflower rice. Continue cooking for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the 2 tablespoons of lower sodium soy sauce and the cooked eggs, and cook for another minute until everything is heated through. Enjoy!
Nutrition analysis (approximate per serving):
190 calories, 9 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 388 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 9 g protein, Vitamin A: 126%, Vitamin C: 182%, Folate: 30%, Vitamin B6: 30%, Vitamin K: 70%, Calcium: 9%, Iron: 12%, Potassium: 22%
Share with me: Are you a fried rice fanatic? What’s your favorite way to use cauliflower rice? Have you ever had cauliflower fried rice?
Chrissy Carroll
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GiGi Eats says
March 21, 2017 at 9:11 amI recently found sweet potato “rice” at the store in the freezer section! I am going to need to make “fried rice” with it now and see how it is! I friggin’ ADORE cauliflower rice so I have a feeling I am going to LOVEEEEEE it!
Chrissy Carroll says
March 23, 2017 at 9:08 pmWhaaaat?! Sweet potato rice?! I need to find this marvelous invention.
Missy says
March 21, 2017 at 10:16 amI have a few cauliflower rice recipes on my blog, but I haven’t tried making it this way. Looks yummy!
Chrissy Carroll says
March 23, 2017 at 9:08 pmI’ll have to check out your recipes! I’m always looking for new dinner inspiration!
Carmy says
March 21, 2017 at 1:47 pmHow comparable do you find the texture to rice? My BF is super picky so I’m worried if I make it, he won’t eat it!
Chrissy Carroll says
March 23, 2017 at 9:09 pmHi Carmy! It’s not quite as dense/chewy as regular rice, but other wise I think it’s fairly comparable. My husband is kind of picky about his fried rice and he liked this.
Christina Bauer says
March 21, 2017 at 6:57 pmI can’t believe that I haven’t tried cauliflower rice yet! This looks so good, because I too love fried rice 🙂 I’ll need to get some cauliflower!
Chrissy Carroll says
March 23, 2017 at 9:09 pmI hope you love it Christina!!
abbey sharp says
March 21, 2017 at 8:03 pmCauliflower rice is my absolute fave!! I also want to try it in homemade sushi rolls!
Chrissy Carroll says
March 23, 2017 at 9:10 pmThat sounds brilliant Abbey! I’ll be keeping an eye out to see a recipe for it of course!
Kim Kremer says
April 21, 2017 at 2:18 pmHave you tried it as sushi ‘rice’? I’m very curious to hear how well it works.
Chrissy Carroll says
April 21, 2017 at 6:45 pmI have not but it is on my list of things to do! I’m not sure it’ll stick together like sushi rice but I bet you could do a ‘deconstructed’ version in a bowl.
Kim Kremer says
April 21, 2017 at 2:17 pmI was surprised by how much I like this stuff. I am head-over-heels, crazy-in-love with white rice. Medium grain, steamed in my pressure cooker to sufficient stickiness that I could eat it with chopsticks, with a splash of shoyu. While I like black rice (a/k/a forbidden rice – given how cheap it is in the bulk section of at WinCo, it feels weird calling it “forbidden rice”), to me, brown rice is punishment. I would rather skip rice altogether than eat brown rice – and that’s right up there with forgoing a sacrament and risking eternal culinary damnation. That’s how much I love white rice.
But as Chrissy notes, this stuff is a tasty substitute and I can eat a huge pan-full without falling into self-loathing and immediately craving sweets. It helps that I like cauliflower, and I’d eat an old shoe if it was cooked with sautéed onions, garlic, and ginger. This stuff is my secret weapon – it makes everything wonderful: http://www.ramenplanet.com/shichimi-nanami-assorted-chili-pepper.html
Chrissy Carroll says
April 21, 2017 at 6:44 pmSo glad to hear you like this! I’m all about meals where I can eat a big ‘ol portion and know that it’s perfectly acceptable to do so 🙂
I’ve never seen that seasoning before! I need to buy some. Do you order it online or buy it at the store?