Low-carb cauliflower fried rice
Since I’m now pretty much cauliflower’s biggest fan, and found it such a good replacement for bread in my cauliflower pizza, I thought I’d see how it held up as an alternative to a different carb – rice! I’ve seen cauliflower rice all over the web, but rather than serve it plain, I decided to use it in one of my favourite rice dishes, and make cauliflower fried rice.
Another roaring success.
Cauliflower can literally do no wrong in my eyes at the moment.
Cauliflower rice is basically just raw cauliflower whizzed up in a food processor until it resembles rice – it only takes a few seconds. Then you can steam it or sauté it however you please. Because it’s just 100% vegetable, I wasn’t expecting it to be remotely similar to ‘real’ rice – I thought it might be one of those things that looks the part, but actually tastes a bit rubbish.
Buuut, it was actually more similar than I thought it would be! It’s definitely a little softer, with a finer texture and less of a bite to it (actually more similar to quinoa than rice), but even so, it was definitely a great substitute. I added a handful of stir fry veg to add a bit more texture (a mixture of carrot, cabbage and beansprouts), and with the usual additions of eggs and plenty of soy sauce, it tasted just like egg fried rice! Especially if you’re serving it alongside your favourite Chinese veggie dish, it totally hits the spot and makes a great low-carb alternative to rice.
Low-carb cauliflower fried rice
Ingredients
- 350 g cauliflower around 1/2 a head
- 1 tbsp oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 75 g mixed stir-fry vegetables
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Break the cauliflower into small pieces, and put them into a food processor (do a couple of batches if you only have a small one). Blitz for a few seconds, until the mixture resembles rice.
- Heat the oil in a wok, and add the cauliflower rice. Cook for several minutes over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower begins to turn just slightly golden brown.
- Add the garlic and vegetables, and cook for a further 4-5 minutes.
- Make a well in the centre of the pan, and break in the eggs. Break the yolks, and scramble them gently, trying not to pull in too many of the other ingredients. Cook over a fairly low heat, gently scraping the eggs off the bottom of the pan, until they are nearly cooked. Gradually mix the other ingredients in with the eggs until the eggs are fully cooked.
- Add the soy sauce and plenty of black pepper, mix well, and serve warm.
Want yet another alternative to egg fried rice? How about quinoa fried rice?
What is the carb count per serving?
Hi Elizabeth, I’m not sure but if you copy and paste the ingredients into here it should tell you :)
Made this tonight with some chicken mixed in and doubled it for a main meal. So good!! Loved the flavors and im excited to use caulliflower rice in some other meals. Thanks!
Thanks Leslie, really glad you liked it! :)
Thank you so much for this recipe. I’m on a low carb diet but really miss rice. I was absolutely amazed at how good this was.
Thanks Ross, it’s great isn’t it! Thanks for the comment :)
love the recipe. any chance you can list nutritional value?
Hi Nancy, it depends what vegetables you use, but it will be something like 250 calories a serving. There are some online calculators you can use (e.g. caloriecount.com).
Thank you so much for this recipe. I really did enjoyed it and I am thankful for the extra tip with the egg on step 4. I always wondered how to incorporate the egg in the right way. :) I only used 2 Tbsp. of Soy Sauce and added spring onions, brokkolie and mushrooms. So simple and so good! Thank you :)
Just made this today….I added some oyster sauce and green onion and it was amazing! Defiantly making this again!
Yay thanks Gloria, really glad you liked it! :)
fabulous I will give this a go next week cauliflower is on top of my grocery list thank you so much xoxo
I absolutely love cauliflower and have since I was a kid! My wife uses it in her shepherd’s pie recipe instead of mashed potatoes and it is out of this world! She also uses it in place of potatoes in a great “potato” salad recipe! Both are amazingly delicious!
Gonna have her try this recipe next! Sounds great! Thanks for sharing!
Delicious and healthy fried rice. Thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul bloghop. pinning it.
Ohh I never thought of this, brilliant!
Yum that looks so good. I agree that cauliflower is the wonder vegetable. And it is even more fun because if you get lucky it comes in a range of colours – my favourite cauliflower rice I ever made was with purple rice. If you are into vegan cheese sauces cauliflower makes a great light cheese sauce.
I’d love to find a purple cauliflower, I’ve only ever seen the normal white ones over here!
Have you tried Farmer’s Markets?
this looks delicious! will have a go at making this one day :D
Yummy! such cauliflower ‘rice’ has been on my list for a while and I still didn’t have a chance to try it. Yours look so good!
I’ve seen cauliflower used a lot as low carb replacement but much as I love cauliflower I love rice even more. When I’m feeling adventurous I’ll have to give this a try.