Maybe it’s my southern roots, but rice has been a staple food for all my life. It doesn’t matter what type of cuisine is on the table, we’ll make it work. The problem with rice, however, is that it’s awfully calorie dense and what I would consider a low-volume food. Meaning, it’s not very filling for the number of calories consumed. That’s what initially appealed to me about cauliflower rice. Unlike regular rice, I could eat an entire bag of cauliflower rice (or an entire head of cauliflower) for 100 calories. Calorie savings aside, cauliflower rice just isn’t the same as rice, but it’s rather easy to spruce things up. In the list below, for instance, you’ll find 7 recipes for cauliflower fried rice that will remove all thoughts of grain from your brain.
For each cauliflower fried rice recipe, you’ll need one 12-ounce bag of frozen cauliflower rice (thawed) or the equivalent of freshly riced cauliflower. Most of the recipes are as you’d expect from my site, simple, with only a few having more than two ingredients. And I would encourage you to not sweat the details as this dish is difficult to mess up.
To prepare any of these cauliflower fried rice recipes, heat a skillet over medium-high heat before adding nonstick cooking spray. Add cauliflower rice and your choice of ingredients below and stir-fry for 8-10 minutes, depending on how crisp you want your rice. For some of the sauce-based combos, you may want to extend the cook time to 12-15 minutes. Okay, let’s look at the ingredient combos for each recipe.
Simple Cauliflower Fried Rice Recipes
Sea Salt and Lime Cauliflower Fried Rice
- 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt and Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Lime Juice
- 1 small Jalapeno, sliced (optional)
109 Cals | 8P | 17C | 0F
Pesto Cauliflower Fried Rice
- 2 Tablespoons Prego Basil Pesto (or any pre-made pesto)
200 Cals | 9P | 18C | 9F
I enjoy pairing Italian-style cauliflower fried rice with one of my low calorie and low carb pizza recipes like this.
Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower Fried Rice
- 2 teaspoons Minced Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) Light Butter (optional)
- 1/4 Cup (28g) Shredded Parmesan
260 Cals | 18P | 18C | 13F
You might serve this as a side to something like my low carb pizza cups.
Sweet & Spicy Cauliflower Fried Rice
- 2 Tablespoons (34g) Reduced-Sugar Strawberry or Grape Jelly
- 2 teaspoons (10g) Sriracha
160 Cals | 8P | 30C | 0F
This recipe would go well with my frozen-to-roasted vegetables recipe like you see below.
Taco Cauliflower Fried Rice
- 1 Cup (250g) Rotel
- 4 teaspoons (10g) Taco Seasoning
180 Cals | 10P | 32C | 0F
Zesty Italian Cauliflower Fried Rice
- 1/4 Cup (64g) Kraft Lite Zesty Italian Dressing
150 Cals | 8P | 22C | 2F
Stir-Fried Cauliflower Rice
- 1 Large Egg
- 2 Cups Stir Fry Vegetables (I buy a frozen mix from Kroger with broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, onions, celery, green beans, mushrooms, and red peppers)
- 1 teaspoon Liquid Aminos or Lite Soy Sauce
Fry the egg separately, chop, and add towards the end of cook time.
230 Cals | 16P | 26C | 5F
This would be great with my General Tso Chicken or Kung Pao Shrimp.
Bonus: 6 Roasted Broccoli Recipes & Easy Cauliflower Fried Rice Graphic
I put together the following graphics for Stronger U members. Stronger U is a nutrition coaching company that I’ve partnered with to develop food-related content and recipes for their members. They’ve helped more than 10,000 people lose over 100,000 pounds at this point, and I recommend checking them out here if you have any interest in nutrition coaching.
And be sure to follow them on Instagram for more recipe graphics like this.
Easy Cauliflower Fried Rice Reference Guide
And finally, if you have an air fryer and want an alternative prep method, check out my air fryer fried cauliflower rice.
That’s it for now. If you try any of these cauliflower fried rice recipes or any other recipe on my site, I want to see your creation on Instagram. Be sure to tag me and I’ll share your work with everyone!
