This Keto Cauliflower fried rice - with chicken - really hits the spot when you're watching your carbs and craving Chinese takeout. With great flavour and texture, you can serve it as a main dish, or a side dish - only 9 grams of net carbs as a main!
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again - my favorite recipes for the keto diet are the ones that the whole family will eat, without complaint.
As keto recipes go, this fits the bill: a delicious recipe for an easy meal - based on a favourite Chinese takeout dish: Keto Chicken Fried Rice
While it’s a bit more effort than take out, it’s really not by much. Just a little bit of effort results in a great option for a main course OR side dish for the entire family.
It’s also a great way to use up bits of vegetables in your fridge. As healthy dinner recipes go, this one really checks a lot of boxes!
There’s just a bit of information you’ll want to know to achieve the best results from this great recipe, especially when it comes to handling the cauliflower
While many cauliflower rice recipes can use fresh or frozen cauliflower, this one specifically needs fresh. More on that in a bit...
Traditional Fried Rice vs Keto Fried Rice
Many keto recipes can be made with techniques relatively similar to the real thing.
When it comes to fried rice, the keto version actually has an added bonus over the regular rice version you get from a Chinese restaurant: You don’t really need to plan ahead!
Making fried rice with real rice means you really do need to use chilled, leftover rice. Otherwise, you just end up with a mushy dish.
So, you make a batch white rice one day, stick it in the fridge, and make your fried rice the next day.
As someone who tends to fly by the seat of my pants when menu planning, I love that I can make a low carb swap to the main ingredient, and lose the need to plan ahead.
It might not be THE best part of this recipe, but it’s up there!
(I also love the cauliflower rice taste in this dish.)
Keto Cauliflower Fried Rice Ingredients
The recipe card below has the recipe as I made it for this set of photos - and to have a set point for nutritional information - but this recipe is highly customizable.
I’ll address the ingredients as-is, then get into some suggestions for other additions you can do.
I like to think of the ingredients in 3 sections: Vegetables, proteins, and flavour.
Vegetables
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is one of the “vegetables”, but really deserves its own section. This is the base of the recipe, so it’s important!
After a bunch of experimentation, it’s clear to me that fresh cauliflower rice is the way to go.
While I love the convenience of frozen cauliflower rice, it just doesn’t compare to the texture of fresh riced cauliflower in this dish.
Frozen rice just retains - then releases - too much moisture in the cooking process, and ends up a bit soggy.
Ricing an actual head of cauliflower - and cooking it right - crisps it up a bit, while letting it remain a little firm. It’s much more like the texture of rice this way.
So, while frozen absolutely works as a low carb cauliflower rice in general... use fresh for a texture closer to that of traditional rice.
Other Vegetables
* Diced carrot
* Celery ribs
* Diced onions
* Green onions
Proteins
* Chicken breast or chicken thighs
* Scrambled eggs
I like to have all of the veggies prepared before I start cooking.
Flavour
* Sesame oil - I love this for flavour, but you can use olive oil, avocado oil, or another type of healthy fats if you like.
* Garlic - I used fresh, pressed or minced garlic
* Ginger paste - I buy it in a jar, but you can grate fresh ginger if you prefer.
* Soy sauce, coconut aminos, or Tamari - I’ll usually use a low sodium soy sauce, personally.
* Salt and black pepper
Other possibilities
Here are some other ideas of things you can add / swap in.
Vegetables: bell pepper, snow peas, chopped green beans, bean sprouts, etc.
Proteins: Beef, pork, shrimp, tofu, fried egg
Flavour: Sriracha sauce, sesame seeds, fish sauce, red pepper flakes, etc
How to Make Keto Chicken Fried Rice
Full recipe follows, here is the pictorial overview:
Chop your cauliflower florets into small pieces, then run through a food processor until it's the desired texture.
Alternately, you can use a box grater to manually grate the whole cauliflower into “rice”.
Making the cauliflower "rice".
Season chicken with a little salt and pepper, to taste.
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in 1 tablespoon sesame oil, until browned and fully cooked. Remove from heat, set aside.
Whisk the eggs in a small bowl, adding a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Spray the pan you cooked the chicken in, the scramble the whisked eggs in it.
Once cooked, remove eggs from heat and set aside.
Cook riced cauliflower over medium high heat, in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Spread it out and give it a lot of room - you want it to brown up and get crispy, not steam itself!
Add carrot, celery, onion, garlic, and ginger, stirring well to combine. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken back to the pan, cook for another minute or two to heat through.
Add soy sauce, green onions, and scrambled eggs to the pan, stirring gently to combine.
Season with salt and pepper, to taste, serve hot.
More Asian & Asian Fusion Keto Recipes
Craving Chinese take-out, a Vietnamese dish, or sushi? Try some of these low-carb versions of my favourites!
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Keto Gyoza [Potstickers]
Singapore Mai Fan Style Zoodles
Keto Pad Thai
Low Carb Shanghai Noodles
Easy Keto Ramen
Keto Sesame Chicken
Easy Keto Stir Fry
Keto Sushi Rice
Low Carb Vietnamese Noodle Salad
Keto Orange Chicken
Sugar Free Furikake Seasoning
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Keto Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice
Equipment
- Large nonstick pan
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breasts chopped
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 tablespoon Sesame oil divided
- 2 Large eggs
- Pan spray
- 1 head Fresh cauliflower
- ½ cup Diced carrot
- 1-2 Celery ribs diced
- 1 Small Onion diced
- 3 Garlic cloves pressed or finely minced
- 2 teaspoon Ginger paste
- 2 Green onions sliced
- ¼ cup Soy sauce coconut aminos, or Tamari.
Instructions
- Season chicken with a little salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cook in 1 tablespoon sesame oil, until browned and fully cooked. Remove from heat, set aside.
- Whisk the eggs, adding a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Spray the pan you cooked the chicken in, the scramble the eggs in it.
- Once cooked, remove from heat and set aside.
- Cook riced cauliflower in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Spread it out and give it a lot of room - you want it to brown up and get crispy, not steam itself!
- Add carrot, celery, onion, garlic, and ginger, stirring well to combine. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken back to the pan, cook for another minute or two to heat through.
- Add soy sauce, green onions, and scrambled eggs to the pan, stirring gently to combine.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Nutrition
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