A lighter alternative to regular fried rice, this cauliflower fried rice is stir-fried together with soy sauce, eggs, veggies, garlic and sesame oil.
The cauliflower absorbs those other flavours SO WELL, and it’s great for soaking up sauces from curries or creamy chicken dishes.
You can even use ready-grated cauliflower for a super-speedy dinner.
An easy way to lighten up dinner, cauliflower fried rice is a great choice as a side dish for dinner.
Or you can add in some cooked chicken, bacon or ham to turn it into a full-on dinner!
I go through the occasional low carb phase at home. Just a few days here and there because I LOVE CARBS so much and I hate cutting them out.
This cauliflower rice is my go-to to side dish to make those meals feel complete – so I don’t whinge too much about missing out.
The cauliflower absorbs all the flavours from the garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil so it’s actually pretty darn tasty – and perfect for serving with saucy dinners.
What do we need?
Cauliflower – I like to use 2 small or one large head of cauliflower to serve 4 people as a side dish. This amounts to about 3 packed cups of grated/riced cauliflower.
If you’re serving as a main dish, you’ll need to double the amount.
You can buy cauliflower ready-riced in the frozen section of most large supermarkets if you want to save yourself the grating time.
How to make it
**Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.**
- First we grate the cauliflower. You can use a cheese grater for this, or your can use a food processor if you have one.
- Fry up the onion, garlic, peppers and peas in a little oil, then add in sesame oil and the riced cauliflower and fry again.
- The egg, along with a little soy sauce is added to the side of the pan and is scrambled, then stirred into the rice.
- Finish off with a little more soy sauce, salt and lemon juice.
I like to sprinkle on some chopped spring onions and drizzle on a little chilli sauce before serving.
Ingredient swaps
Add cooked ham, bacon, crispy tofu or chicken for a complete meal.
How to scale up and scale down this recipe
You can double or halve this recipes using the same ingredient ratios.
It will take a little longer to cook if you’re doubling the recipe.
What goes well with Cauliflower Fried Rice?
If you want to keep it to a lighter dinner, try one of these dishes to go with the cauliflower rice:
Watch how to make it
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More fantastic lighter recipes
These recipes are generally 500 cals or less:
- One-Pot Turkey Meatballs with Courgetti (Zoodles)
- 12 Minute Sticky Asian Sea Bass
- Lighter Slow-Cooked Chicken Curry
- Lighter Chicken and Pasta with Red Pepper Sauce
- Slow-Cooked Beef Curry
- Thai Prawns with Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion peeled and diced
- 1 red bell pepper deseeded and finely chopped
- 115 g (2/3 cup) frozen peas
- 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
- 300 g (10.5 oz) cauliflower about 1 large head, grated/riced (this is about 3 cups once it's riced)
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
To Serve:
- ½ bunch of spring onions/scallions chopped
Instructions
- First of all you want to grate the cauliflower.
- Add the oil to a large wok. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly on a medium heat for 5 minutes until the onion starts to turn soft and translucent.2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 onion
- Add in the chopped red pepper, garlic and peas. Cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring regularly.1 red bell pepper, 115 g (2/3 cup) frozen peas, 1 clove garlic
- Now add the sesame oil and the grated/riced cauliflower and turn up the heat to high.1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 300 g (10.5 oz) cauliflower
- Use a spatula to toss everything together and to ensure the cauliflower doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Once the cauliflower rice is hot (this will take about 3-4 minutes), push the cauliflower over to the side of the pan and crack the two eggs in the space. Add a little splash of the soy sauce to the eggs.2 eggs, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- Making sure the part of the wok with the eggs in is over the heat, fry the eggs, giving a mix with the spatula until the egg starts to cook and looks scrambled, but is still a little runny.
- Now mix the egg into the cauliflower rice.
- Pour in the remaining soy sauce, sprinkle on the salt and mix it all together.1/4 tsp salt
- Add the lemon juice, stir and taste. Add a little more lemon juice if required.1 tsp lemon juice
- Divide between 2 bowls. Top with spring onions (scallions).1/2 bunch of spring onions/scallions
Video
Notes
Cook the rice, then quickly cool, cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat as per the ‘make ahead’ instructions above. Nutritional information is per serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made this recipe tonight. My husband does not eat cauliflower. He ate this thinking it was rice and never noticed the difference. He had two helpings and said he really liked it. It is really a good side dish. I will be making this again. Thanks for the recipe.
I cannot find the amounts of everything. Or is it at your own discretion?
Hi Hilde. the recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions is at the bottom of the blog post. Or you can use the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of every post.
I always hated cauliflower rice until I tried this recipe. It is a superb variant and it is now my go-to recipe for a rice swap. Thanks Nicky.
I can’t believe how good this is, especially with the black pepper beef. So easy to make and amazing taste.
i love this recipe thank you so much first time i have made cauliflower fried rice but will definitely be making regularly as you said Nicky tastes nothing like cauliflower just so tasty thank you for sharing
Excellent. Have used frozen cauliflower rice. Was an instant hit on the family table. Will be an addition. Thks
Walter
Love the cauliflower recipe but is it for 4 or 2? It says for 4 but only has 2 bowls.
Hi Pamela,
The recipe makes 4 servings.
Thanks
Chris & Nicky