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Cauliflower fried rice is a healthier alternative to traditional fried rice. It’s a low carb and vegetarian dish that is great as a side for your favorite take-out-inspired dishes.

I’ve shared my obsession with cauliflower, and I’m using it a lot to lighten up some of my favorite dishes like fried rice.

Traditional fried rice is made with day-old leftover rice, but when you substitute cauliflower for the rice, you don’t have to wait for the rice to dry out. Plus, it’s low-carb but with all of the same flavors.

Ingredients

Cauliflower rice
Beaten large eggs
Chopped fresh green beans
Cooking oil spray
Minced garlic cloves
Soy sauce
Salt and pepper
Chopped bell peppers
Grated Parmesan cheese

Cauliflower rice: You can rice your own cauliflower florets or you can buy frozen or fresh cauliflower rice at the grocery store. I make so many cauliflower rice recipes that I usually buy it frozen. You can also make your own cauliflower rice with a food processor or box grater.

How to Make It

Lightly coat a wok or large pan with cooking oil spray and heat it over medium-high heat.

Add the garlic to the pan and cook it until fragrant. This usually takes 30 seconds. Add the green beans and stir-fry them until they are almost cooked through.

Add the cauliflower and bell peppers and mix in the soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Cook until everything is tender and cooked through.

Move the ingredients to the side of the pan to make room to cook the eggs. Add the beaten eggs to the empty space and scramble them.

When they are close to being cooked, combine them with cauliflower rice and stir to mix everything together. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top and it’s ready to serve.

Recipe Tips

Use a wok or large skillet to make your cauliflower fried rice so you have plenty of space to cook everything.

This is a vegetarian cauliflower fried rice recipe, and I used green beans, bell peppers, and garlic. Other vegetables like snow peas, mushrooms, onions, carrots, and green peas work well, too. Depending on the kind of vegetables you add, you may need to cook them longer. You can also add tofu, too.

If you want to add a meat protein, chicken, beef, and shrimp are great. If your meat is already cooked, you can just add it at the end of the cooking time to warm it through. If it is raw, you will want to cook it first and add the vegetables after.

This is a quick recipe, so be sure to prep all of your ingredients before you start cooking.

Does cauliflower rice taste like regular rice?

Cauliflower rice looks like regular rice, but the taste is different. Raw cauliflower has a mild flavor, but when it’s cooked the flavor turns a little nutty and sweet.

Like rice, cauliflower rice will easily absorb other flavors you add to the dish, masking most of the cauliflower flavor, so it does work in a variety of dishes.

As far as texture, cauliflower rice is not that different from regular rice. As long as you don’t overcook it, it has a slightly chewy and firm texture.

Variations

There are quite a few ways to change this dish. You don’t have to make it the same way twice just by switching the ingredients and adding garnishes.

Vegetables: Any stir fry veggies you like will work in cauliflower fried rice. The only thing that might be different is how long it takes to cook them. Frozen peas, chopped broccoli florets, chopped red bell pepper, and mushrooms are all good.
Protein: You can also add cooked chicken breast, Chinese BBQ pork, and sliced cooked steak. Or try adding some cooked shrimp.
Other flavors: Grate some fresh ginger into the rice or add a little rice vinegar or sesame oil.
Garnishes: For serving, you can add a sprinkle of sesame seeds, sliced green onions, or chopped scallions.

Main Dish Ideas

I like to pair this lightened-up fried rice with my healthier orange chicken, Mongolian beef, and sheet pan beef and broccoli. It goes with pretty much any takeout-style recipes you like!

Storage Tips

Leftovers keep really well, so I like to make cauliflower fried rice for meal prep. You can make a batch, let it cool, and then store it in meal prep containers. It will keep for up to four days in the fridge.

For me, even though it’s not exactly the same, cauliflower rice is a great way to eat some of my favorite dishes without all the guilt. I love that you can make it with a variety of ingredients, so it’s a great way to use up leftover vegetables. It’s also really great if you like to meal prep.

More Cauliflower Rice Recipes