Cauliflower Fried Rice
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This cauliflower fried rice is a delicious spin on a Chinese takeout favorite. It’s a veggie-loaded version made with cauliflower, eggs, your favorite veggies, garlic, ginger, cashews, and sesame seeds. It’s an easy-to-make main or side dish, and it’s ready in just 25 minutes!
This cauliflower fried rice is one of those recipes that works just as well as a main dish as it does as a side. It’s packed with flavor thanks to fresh ginger, garlic, green onions, and a drizzle of sesame oil — nothing bland or boring about it. Toasted cashews add a satisfying crunch and a little nuttiness, while all the vegetables make it a meal you can feel really good about piling onto your plate.
I first made this years ago when I was learning about the paleo diet, and I’m still amazed at how good cauliflower rice can taste. It’s become a staple in my kitchen and even won over my toughest critic at home. The leftovers are great warm or cold for lunch, which is always a bonus.
You can rice the cauliflower yourself using a grater, food processor, or sharp knife, but store-bought riced cauliflower works perfectly, too — fresh or frozen both do the job. It’s an easy, flexible recipe I come back to again and again.
READ MORE: How to make cauliflower rice
Serving ideas
This cauliflower fried rice is hearty enough to serve as a main meal for two. It also makes a great side dish with chicken recipes. My family loves it with my sweet and spicy paleo chicken fingers, Korean BBQ chicken, and baked sesame orange chicken.
Cauliflower Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower (about 12 ounces of riced cauliflower)
- 3 teaspoons avocado oil (divided)
- 4 green onions (chopped – white and green parts separated)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon finely minced ginger
- 2 large carrots (diced small)
- ¼ cup soy sauce (or coco aminos)
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 large eggs (whisked)
- ¼ cup roasted cashews (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- Sea salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Either grate the cauliflower or pulse it in your food processor to make the cauliflower rice.1 large head of cauliflower
- Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the light parts of the green onions, the garlic, and ginger. Let them cook for 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower rice, diced carrots, soy sauce, and chili flakes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.4 green onions, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon finely minced ginger, 2 large carrots, ¼ cup soy sauce, ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- Add the peas and sesame oil to the pan and continue to cook until the vegetables are soft and the peas are warm.1 cup frozen peas, 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Push the vegetables to the sides of the pan and pour the remaining teaspoon of oil into the center and let it warm. Pour the eggs into the pan and scramble them. Once they are cooked stir them into the cauliflower rice. Sea salt to taste and stir in the remaining green onions, cashews, and sesame seeds.3 large eggs, ¼ cup roasted cashews, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
This was soo good! I didn’t have carrots or cashews , and it still came out delicious!
This was delicious!! I am not a fan of peas or carrots, so I ended up adding broccoli and mushrooms instead. I just cooked sauteed them in the pan before adding all the other ingredients and following the order of the recipe. Thank you for this!
I made this , but egg-free, as I’m vegan. Absolutely delicious! So easy to make my own cauliflower rice too ( quick pulse in mini food processor…) This recipe makes A LOT too! Yay!!!! I had it as a side dish with a vegan Chipotle sausage. Yum yum! Thank you for this easy tasty recipe!
Amazing! I’m fairly new to Paleo and have been looking for tasty recipes. I miss rice. This recipe is better than any rice I’ve ever had! Winner for sure!
Made this tonight and the family loved it!
That’s so great to hear, Annie! Thank you for letting us know!
I am allergic to legumes, lentils and nuts of any kind. Do you have a suggestion to substitute for the peas and nuts or can I just leave them out?
You can omit them. This recipe is quite flexible so if there are any other veggies that you want to add in place of the peas you can do that. Broccoli works well. 🙂
This cauliflower fried rice recipe is light and filling and the flavor in this meal is an amazing experience in itself, the perfect thing to indulge in on your paleo diet.
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!
Just had this as a side dish with garlic honey chicken. We’re eating low carb, and this is great! Almost couldn’t tell the difference between this and fried rice. We all loved it. I’ll be using this one often.
That is so great to hear! Thank you for taking the time to come back to let us know!
Haha I love it! I’ve definitely eaten leftovers for breakfast before lol. It’s delicious!
I made this the other day after you posted it to instagram and it was everything you said it would be. Even my young son loved it. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit with your family!
I am in much need of gluten free options in my diet.
I’m moving toward a Paleo diet, but have yet to try cauliflower as a replacement for grains. Will have to try this!
Love cauliflower rice! finding inventive ways to replace some not so great carbs/starches with veggies is something i’m looking to do after an indulgent holiday season (which somehow starts at the end of November now, what?).