Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp

Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp is kicked up with sugar snap peas and red peppers, and this can help when you’re craving fried rice! And if you’re skeptical about the idea of fried rice made with cauliflower rice, I promise you that it’s delicious!

PIN Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp to make it later.

Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp is a recipe I’m featuring for the first day of the brand new year! And of course I know that every year many, many people start out with a renewed desire to limit the amount of carbs they’re eating! That’s why I always like starting the new year on the blog with a recipe that’s really a wow, and this cauliflower fried rice recipe is amazing!

This is a recipe I’ve enjoyed for a few years, but I was never that happy with the original photos. So recently I took better photos so I could remind you about how absolutely delicious this recipe really is!

I’m a fan of Cauliflower Rice, a dish of finely chopped cauliflower that’s pan-fried and eaten as rice. And one day I found myself with cauliflower, sugar snap peas, red bell peppers, and cooked shrimp in the fridge. I experimented a bit to come up with this cauliflower fried rice recipe, and we absolutely loved this low-carb version of fried rice! It was so good that I quickly ate my leftovers for breakfast the next day, wishing I had more.

Since then I’ve seen many recipes for cauliflower fried rice around the web. But most of them use peas and carrots which makes cauliflower fried rice have more carbs. I love my version that uses lower-carb vegetables, and I still make it regularly. I really hope the new and improved photos will make you think about trying it!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• fresh chopped cauliflower rice
• onion
• garlic cloves
• slices of ginger root
• green onions
• soy sauce or Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link)
• Asian sesame oil (affiliate link)
• egg
• sugar snap peas
• red bell pepper
• cooked shrimp
• Peanut Oil (affiliate link) or other high smoke point oil

Can you make cauliflower fried rice without a wok?

If you don’t have a wok, you can definitely make this recipe in a large frying pan. Use the biggest frying pan you have so you have plenty of room to stir-fry the ingredients.

Tips for people who haven’t cooked fried rice before:

This is a recipe where it will be helpful to read about The Principles of Chinese Cooking if you haven’t done much stir-frying. Be sure you have all your ingredients prepped before you start to cook (very important), and remember to keep stirring when using high heat (also important). With those tips, this Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp is not that hard to make. If you’re someone who loves fried rice but is trying to avoid carbs, this might become a new favorite!

What if you can’t have soy sauce?

If you’re avoiding soy, you can substitute Coconut Aminos (affiliate link) for the soy sauce for this cauliflower fried rice recipe.

What if you don’t like cauliflower?

If you absolutely hate cauliflower, this recipe is probably not for you. But if you like cauliflower at all, you’ll be totally surprised at how delicious cauliflower fried rice can be. I was trying to make a dish that’s as close as possible to authentic fried rice, which I think made it so good.

How low in carbs is the Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp?

This tasty recipe only has 7.7 net carbs per serving, and 18 grams of protein!

Can you make this recipe with frozen cauliflower rice?

I haven’t tried making Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp using frozen cauliflower rice. And to be honest I’m pretty sure I would prefer fresh-chopped cauliflower rice for this recipe. Although frozen cauliflower rice can be great, it does release a fair amount of water when it’s cooked. I worry it will get too soft on this recipe by the time that liquid is evaporated. But anyone does have success making this with frozen cauliflower rice, please share your tips in the comments!

How to make Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Drain frozen shrimp into a colander placed in the sink. 
2. Cut 1/2 head of cauliflower into pieces and then pulse in food processor until it resembles grains of rice. (See notes in the recipe if you don’t have a food processor.) 
3. Cut drained shrimp into bite-sized pieces (and pat dry with paper towels if needed.)
4. Whisk together soy sauce and sesame oil, and beat the egg. 
5. Cut red bell pepper into 1/2 inch pieces and slice sugar snap peas on the diagonal.
6. Chop up half of an onion, and slice four green onions.  
7. Peel garlic cloves and slice if they’re large, and slice a few slices of ginger root.
8. Heat the wok or large frying pan over high heat for 30-60 seconds, then add the oil and heat 30-60 seconds more.
9. Add garlic cloves and ginger slices and cook just until they’re fragrant; then remove.
10. Then add onion and cook 1-2 minutes, just until starting to brown. (Remember to stir!)
11. Add chopped cauliflower and cook 2-3 minutes over high heat, stirring often. Remove the cauliflower to a bowl.
12. Add 1-2 teaspoons more oil as needed, then add the peppers and sugar snap peas and stir-fry 1-2 minutes.
13. Push vegetables to the side and add egg, stirring and breaking apart with the turner to get scrambled egg pieces.
14. Add cauliflower back into the wok and cook about a minute.
15. Then add shrimp and green onion pieces and cook just long enough to warm it, 1-2 minutes. (Keep stirring!)
16. Add soy-sauce/sesame oil mixture and cook 1-2 minutes more, stirring so the sauce is coating all the food.
17. Serve the Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp hot.
18. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty this was after being in the fridge overnight. But unless you have a really giant wok or frying pan I don’t recommend doubling the recipe.

Make it for a Low-Carb Meal:

Since this cauliflower fried rice has a generous amount of shrimp, it might be a main dish. But if you wanted to serve it as part of a low-carb Asian meal, it would taste great with one of these Asian main dishes:

• Spicy Asian Chicken
• Baked Teriyaki Chicken (Sugar-Free)
• Pork with Peanut Sauce
• Sweet and Spicy Baked Sriracha Chicken
• Korean Salmon with Dipping Sauce

More Tasty Cauliflower Rice Recipes:

Check out Low-Carb Soups with Cauliflower Rice, Cauliflower Rice Casserole Recipes, or Frozen Cauliflower Rice Recipes for lots more ideas for using this versatile low-carb ingredients.

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Yield: 4 servings

Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

My Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp uses low-carb veggies to replace the traditional peas and carrots and adds shrimp, and this is delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh chopped cauliflower rice (see notes)
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 4 peeled garlic cloves
• 4 slices ginger root
• 4 green onions, sliced in 1/2 inch diagonal pieces
• 2 T soy sauce (see notes)
• 2 tsp. Asian sesame oil
• 1 egg, beaten well
• 1 cup diagonally sliced sugar snap peas
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 8 oz. cooked shrimp, cut into pieces (see notes)
• 1 T + 2 tsp. peanut oil or other high smoke point oil

Instructions

1. Drain frozen shrimp into a colander placed in the sink.
2. Cut 1/2 head of cauliflower into pieces and then pulse in food processor until it's approximately the consistency of grains of rice. We had some big pieces that didn't chop well and we buzzed them again.
3. (If you don't have a food processor you can grate the cauliflower on the large side of a cheese grater. Or if you buy pre-chopped fresh cauliflower, use 2 cups of chopped cauliflower.) 
4. Cut the drained shrimp into bite-sized pieces (and pat dry with paper towels if they're wet.)
5. Whisk together the soy sauce and sesame oil, and beat the egg. If you're avoiding soy, you can substitute Coconut Aminos (affiliate link) for the soy sauce.)
6. Cut the red bell pepper into 1/2 inch pieces and slice sugar snap peas on the diagonal into thin slices.
7. Chop up half of an onion, and slice four green onions.  
8. Peel some garlic cloves and slice if they're large, and slice a few slices of ginger root. (This is for "seasoning the oil" which is essential to add flavor to the dish.)
9. Heat the wok or large frying pan over high heat for 30-60 seconds, then add the oil and heat 30-60 seconds more.
10. Add the garlic cloves and ginger slices and cook just until they're fragrant; then remove.
11. Then add the onion and cook 1-2 minutes, just until it's starting to brown.  (Remember to stir!)
12. Add the chopped cauliflower and cook 2-3 minutes over high heat, stirring often. Remove the cauliflower to a bowl.  (It will get cooked more later.)
13. Add 1-2 teaspoons more oil as needed, then add the peppers and sugar snap peas and stir-fry 1-2 minutes.
14. Push the vegetables over to the side and add the egg, stirring and breaking apart with the turner to get scrambled egg pieces.
15. Add the cauliflower back into the wok and cook about a minute.
16. Then add the shrimp and green onion pieces and cook just long enough to warm it, 1-2 minutes. (Keep stirring!)
17. Add the soy-sauce/sesame oil mixture and cook 1-2 minutes more, stirring so the sauce is coating all the food. Serve hot.
18. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty the Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp was after a night in the fridge, but unless you have a really giant wok or frying pan I don't recommend doubling the recipe.

Notes

Start with 1/2 large head of cauliflower if you're chopping it in the food processor.

You can use Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link) such as Tamari for gluten free; substitute Coconut Aminos (affiliate link) for Paleo.

When we updated the photos we increased the amount of shrimp to 8 oz. cooked shrimp, or about 2 cups. But if that's a stretch for the budget this will still be delicious with half that amount of shrimp.

If you don't want to use peanut oil, use another high smoke point oil such as avocado oil or safflower oil.

This recipe created by Kalyn and Jake, with inspiration from many other versions of Cauliflower Fried Rice spotted around the web.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 177Total Fat 7.2gSaturated Fat 1.5gUnsaturated Fat 5.1gCholesterol 166mgSodium 1008mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 3.3gSugar 4.3gProtein 18g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp is a great dish for low-carb and Keto eating plans as well as any phase of the original South Beach Diet and other low-glycemic diets. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Stir-Fry Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This cauliflower fried rice recipe was posted in 2014. The post was updated in 2023 with new photos and was last updated with more information in 2025.