Cauliflower Fried Rice

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 fried rice

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 recipe.

“This is shockingly good!!”

Laurie

What You’ll Need To Make Cauliflower Fried Rice

Rice ingredients including cauliflower, dark soy sauce, and sesame oil.

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.

Food processor full of grated cauliflower rice.

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.

Chopped vegetables on a wooden board.

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.

Wooden spoon stirring a skillet of scrambled eggs.

Set the eggs aside, then sauté the scallions, ginger, and garlic in oil until softened.

Skillet of garlic, scallions, and ginger.

Add the grated cauliflower, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes.

Skillet with riced cauliflower and soy sauce.

Add the peas and carrots and continue cooking until the cauliflower “rice” is tender-crisp and the vegetables are warmed through, a few minutes.

Peas and carrots in a skillet with riced cauliflower.

Stir in the rice vinegar, sesame oil, dark green scallions, nuts (if using), and scrambled eggs.

Scrambled eggs in a skillet with riced cauliflower.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot and enjoy!

Wooden bowl of cauliflower fried rice.

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Cauliflower Fried Rice

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.
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

  • Vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • Salt
  • 1 cup chopped scallions, from 5 to 6 scallions, white and green parts separated
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger, from a 1-inch knob
  • 1 (2-lb) head cauliflower, or 2 lbs (907 g) "ready to cook" cauliflower rice, thawed if frozen
  • 4 to 5 tablespoons soy sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon 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 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.

Notes

Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger.

Nutrition Information

Per serving (4 servings)Calories: 273kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 12gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 1717mgFiber: 7gSugar: 8g

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.

4.87 from 309 votes

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445 Comments

  • 5 stars
    Wow this was so good! The flavor was amazing. I made 1/2 a recipe. My husband kept commenting how much he liked it and asked me to put this in our repeat recipes! I riced my own cauliflower, grated fresh ginger and gluten free tamari sauce. I only used sesame oil. I cooked the peas and carrots with the onion, garlic and ginger. Thank you for creating such a healthy side dish! 😊

    • — MusTchr on April 28, 2026
    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious. I was a bit short on cauliflower so added a half red bell pepper and some tender stem broccoli. And it has still gone into my ‘keep’ folder. Thank you.

    • — Jill on April 20, 2026
    • Reply