This authentic style cauliflower fried rice with chicken is so good you won’t even miss the real thing. It’s bursting with a savory flavor that the whole family will love. This quick and easy one-pan dinner makes the perfect quick and filling gluten free meal that is great for meal prep as well. It definitely beats the take-out Chinese Food any day.
If you watch my Instagram stories, you may remember that my parents were recently visiting from China for a few weeks.
My parents are such great cooks and having them around awakened my Chinese food taste buds, inspiring me to bring the authentic Chinese flavor to a healthy version of fried rice.
Why I Love Cauliflower Fried Rice
Mostly, I love this recipe because it reminds me of home; perfect comfort food.
With a few essential ingredients in Asian cooking such as garlic, onion, ginger, this recipe tastes so authentic, and it’s actually healthy too. No more feeling bloated and lethargic after eating unhealthy take-out food.
Using cauliflower to replace rice in this recipe makes itGluten-free. That means it suits pretty much every diet and is a perfect crowd-pleaser.
It’s quick and easy to make too.
What’s better than a meal that is quick, easy AND healthy? It’s also a great way to sneak extra vegetables throughout the day as well.
How to Make Cauliflower Fried Rice
As I previously mentioned, this cauliflower fried rice recipe is loaded with authentic flavor. It uses a few of my favorite Chinese cooking essentials including ginger, garlic, green onion (scallions), soy sauce and sesame oil.
These are the base ingredients you will need for that traditional Chinese flavor.
Just one little twist: in order to replace the soy sauce, use coconut aminos which is the perfect soy-free, and gluten-free soy sauce replacement.Other ingredients I used to make this cauliflower rice are eggs, green peas, rice vinegar, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, and of course, riced cauliflower!
How to Make “Riced” Cauliflower
Riced cauliflower is fairly easy to find in supermarkets, both fresh and frozen. I’ve used frozen cauliflower rice from Trader Joes in the past with great results.
As with any pre-prepared foods, buying riced cauliflower is a little more expensive than doing it yourself, so if you want to save a little money, you can easily create the “rice” at home.
If you decide to go the DIY route, you can use either a cheese grater or a blender to get the rice texture. Be careful when using a blender to make sure that you don’t over blend; the texture will become more like grits rather than rice.
After ricing your cauliflower, you can place the cauliflower on a paper towel and let it absorb any excess moisture to prevent your rice from becoming soggy. At this point it will be ready to cook!
Pro tip: If you want to batch raw cauliflower rice ahead of time so that you always have some on hand, it is best to store it in the freezer. Using the rice right away or keeping it in the freezer will help prevent it from taking on an unpleasant sulfur odor. Use frozen cauliflower within a month for best results.
Find the FULL recipe for Homemade Cauliflower Rice in this Post.
How to Serve Cauliflower Fried Rice
Once you have the base for the fried cauliflower rice, you can customize the rice any way you like.
You can use chicken, shrimp, beef, pork, or tofu if you want to keep it vegetarian.
You can also add any vegetables like mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, water chestnuts, bell peppers… really anything you like.
I like to serve it with freshly sliced green onions on top and add a protein to make a full meal out of it, but you could easily keep this vegetarian and/or serve smaller portions to use as a side dish instead of the main course.
Another great way to serve it is in a nice warm bowl of comforting chicken noodle soup (stay tuned- my favorite recipe coming soon!). By replacing the noodles with this cauliflower rice recipe you get another healthy, low carb comfort food option.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
What’s your favorite way to eat fried rice? Leave a comment below!
I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS
Get the recipe:Cauliflower Fried Rice with Chicken {Gluten Free}
Yield: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 30 minutes mins
This quick and easy one-pan dinner makes the perfect Gluten Free dish. It definitely beats the take-out Chinese Food any day.
4.75 stars (4 reviews)
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Ingredients
- 1/2 head cauliflower, riced ~ 3 cups *
- 1/2 lb chicken thighs
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/3 cups chopped yellow onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup peas, frozen or fresh
- 4 tbsp coconut aminos, or low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 -2 tsp sesame oil
- salt pepper to taste
- red pepper flakes, to taste and for garnish
- 1 tsp ground ginger
Equipment
Coconut Aminos
Instructions
Season cubed chicken thighs with a generous amount of salt, ground ginger, 2 tbsp coconut aminos. Add 1 tbsp arrowroot flour (optional) to coat the chicken and make it extra soft. Let the chicken marinate for at least half an hour while prepping other ingredients.
Mince garlic, chop onions and red bell pepper into cubes.
Whisk 2 eggs and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Heat 1 tbsp cooking oil in a large skillet, pour the egg mixture in, gently stir for 15 seconds until it forms into one "omelet". Take it out while the top is still wet and undercooked.
Return to skillet, heat 1 -2 tbsp oil, add chicken, garlic and onion. cook for 3 – 4 minutes, until the chicken is lightly browned outside and cooked inside (cut into one big piece to check). Take the chicken out of the pan.
In the same skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil, add red bell pepper, ginger, green peas, and riced cauliflower. Cook until the cauliflower rice has softened. Stir in eggs and break the eggs into smaller pieces. Add all the rest of the cooked ingredients.
Season with salt to taste, 2 tbsp coconut aminos, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir until well combined.
Spoon into bowls, garnish with cilantro or green onion and extra red pepper flakes.
Notes
* See this post for my super easy Cauliflower Rice Recipe.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 202kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 166mg, Sodium: 482mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g
The Nutrition Facts above are specific to the ingredients I chose to use for this recipe, which may vary.
Author: Shuang Shuang Liang
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
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