Fried Cauliflower with Bacon and Mushrooms
Fried Cauliflower with Bacon and Mushrooms cooks in minutes, and this is a seriously delicious low-carb stir-fry with fried cauliflower! And if you like cauliflower and you’ve never tried frying it before; I bet you’ll make this over and over.
PIN the Fried Cauliflower to try it later.
Fried Cauliflower with Bacon and Mushrooms cooks quickly on top of the stove, and this cauliflower side dish or main dish is loaded with amazing flavors. And maybe some people think of cauliflower as strictly a winter food, but it’s such a great low-carb ingredient that I love to use it all through the year!
And this very tasty combination with cauliflower, bacon, and mushrooms is something I’d love for an easy dinner (with BACON) if you wanted to serve it as a main dish. If you’ve never heard of frying cauliflower, I bet you’re going to love this recipe; I hope you try 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 with ingredient amounts.)
- bacon
- butter (or oil of your choice)
- cauliflower
- mushrooms
- fresh parsley
- salt and pepper
What kind of bacon did I use with the fried cauliflower?
When I first made this recipe I used pre-cooked bacon. This time I started with raw bacon that I cut in strips to fry, and I used a little bit of the bacon fat with butter when I cooked the cauliflower and mushrooms. If you don’t mind a bit more fat it would also be amazing with thick-cut bacon. Frying it in a touch of bacon fat added even more flavor to the cauliflower, but you can definitely use olive oil or coconut oil and skip the bacon fat and butter if you prefer.
What mushrooms did I use with the fried cauliflower?
I’m a huge fan of brown Cremini mushrooms, so that’s what I used for this recipe. But if you have regular white mushrooms, they will also be delicious!
How low in carbs is this fried cauliflower recipe?
This amazing way to cook cauliflower as a stir-fry with bacon and mushrooms makes a dish with only 5 net carbs per serving and 10 grams of protein! If you eat it as a main dish it will be about 3 servings with slightly higher carbs, but still quite low in carbs.
How to Make Fried Cauliflower with Bacon and Mushrooms:
(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.)
- Slice bacon into thin strips, cut cauliflower into same-size florets, wash and dry mushrooms and cut in half and then into thick slices, and chop some parsley. (This is a stir-fry, so prep every thing before you start cooking.)
- Cook the bacon in the largest frying pan you have until it’s very crisp.
- Then remove bacon and drain it on a paper towel, keeping some bacon fat in the pan.
- Heat the frying pan again over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon butter to the bacon fat, and let the butter melt.
- When it’s melted turn the heat to high, add the cauliflower and the mushrooms, and cook about 5-7 minutes, stirring often, or until the vegetables are starting to brown and the cauliflower is cooked through.
- Add the chopped parsley and the crisp pieces of bacon and cook 2-3 minutes more.
- Season the fried cauliflower to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper and serve hot.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated, but this is definitely best when it’s freshly made, and I’m guessing most people won’t have much left over!
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
I think this tasty cauliflower that’s stir-fried with bacon and mushrooms could be served as one-dish meal on a night you just want a simple dinner. But if you want to serve it as a side dish, it would taste great with any of these low-carb main dishes:
- Chicken and Green Beans Sheet Pan Meal
- Marinated Grilled Pork Sirloin Chops
- Easy Cheesy Baked Ham and Asparagus
- Janet’s Dijon Mustard Chicken
- Roasted Italian Sausage and Mini Peppers Sheet Pan Meal
Are you a cauliflower fan?
I’m such a huge cauliflower fan that I’m always making new recipes with cauliflower or cauliflower rice. Check out Keto Cauliflower Casserole Recipes or Roasted Cauliflower Recipes for more ideas with this favorite vegetable. Or you can use Cauliflower Recipes to see all the tasty things I’ve made with cauliflower!

Fried Cauliflower with Bacon and Mushrooms
Fried Cauliflower with Bacon and Mushrooms takes just a few minutes to cook, and this fried cauliflower recipe is such a great way to cook cauliflower that you'll probably want to make over and over.
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon (see notes)
- 1 T butter
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into small bite-size pieces
- 8 oz. mushrooms, cut in half, then into thick slices
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare all the ingredients before you start to cook, because this cooks pretty quickly.
- Cut the bacon slices into crosswise strips.
- Cut cauliflower apart into smallish same-size florets.
- Wash mushrooms if needed and spin dry or dry with paper towels, then cut mushrooms into half and slice each half into thick slices. (You want mushroom slices that are all relatively the same size.)
- Chop the parsley.
- Cook the bacon over medium-high heat in a very large frying pan until it’s very crisp. Use the biggest frying pan you have; I used my 12 inch Green Pan (affiliate link).
- Then remove bacon to drain on a paper towels and remove all but about 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease. (Or if you prefer to use olive oil or coconut oil, remove all the bacon grease.)
- Add the butter (or oil of your choice) to the pan and heat for 1 minute.
- Then add the chopped cauliflower and sliced mushrooms and cook over very high heat, stirring constantly, for about 5-7 minutes or until all mushroom liquid has evaporated, cauliflower is starting to brown a bit and the cauliflower is getting tender.
- Add crisp pieces of bacon and parsley and cook 2-3 minutes more.
- Season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper and serve hot.
Notes
You can definitely use less bacon if you prefer. If you prefer not to use bacon fat and/or butter, you can replace either with an equal amount of olive oil or coconut oil.
This recipe adapted from Vegetable Love (affiliate link).
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 157Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 25mgSodium 414mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 5gSugar 4gProtein 10g
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.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Fried Cauliflower is a good side dish for any low-carb or Keto diet, or you could also eat it as a stir-fried main dish (which would change the nutritional information if you had fewer than four servings.) Bacon and butter both are not recommended for the original South Beach Diet but personally I’d eat this as a personal choice for South Beach, or make it with turkey bacon and olive oil if you prefer and it will still be delicious.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Stir-Fry Recipes to see 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 amazing Fried Cauliflower recipe was first posted in 2006! The photos were greatly improved in 2017 and the recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.
37 Comments on “Fried Cauliflower with Bacon and Mushrooms”
This was very good. Next time I will start to cook the cauliflower first for a few minutes before adding the mushrooms as it takes longer to cook.
So glad you enjoyed. And by all means cook the cauliflower a bit longer if you prefer it softer.
Greatly surprised, this had lots of flavor and so easy. I microwave bacon nowadays and cut recipe in half. Was so tasty and filling without the carbs.
This was so simple yet very yummy. There were only 2 of us for dinner last night but I followed the recipe exactly and made it to serve 4. We (my Daughter and I) gobbled it up. I made it to accompany pan-seared Pork Chops with a creamy Mushroom sauce and the 2 dishes complemented one another perfectly.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it JoAnn!
I made exactly as written and it was delish.Â
So happy to hear that; glad you enjoyed!
Can frozen cauliflower be used in place of fresh? I have frozen cauliflower on hand now…
I haven’t ever made a recipe like this with frozen cauliflower and honestly I don’t think it will be as good. But if you thaw the cauliflower well, cook at high heat, and shorten the cooking time it might work. That is only a guess though. Would love to hear how it works if you do try it.
So did you ever test this with frozen cauliflower? I can never get fresh where I live, but I can get frozen. In the past I’ve thawed it in a pot over medium heat. Then I’ve drained the water and left it in the pot for a while to try to dry it out some. When it starts to brown I stop. It’s still a bit mushy, but usually is acceptable.Â
No, I haven’t tried it with frozen cauliflower. Sorry to hear you can’t get it fresh.
This recipe was delicious. I modified a little because I wanted to use my cauliflower right away and I didn’t have any mushrooms. I just added 1/2 bag of medium sized cooked frozen (thawed) shrimp at the end. I also covered the pan and stirred often to soften the cauliflower.  After about 3 minutes with the shrimp, I sprinkled some shredded cheddar cheese on top til melted. Yum
That’s a fun variation! So glad you enjoyed it!
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Its really looking nice. It is a very simple and very healthy recipe. Thanks for your sharing.
Glad you like it!
Hi Kalyn, this would be a great addition to the mushroom theme over at Food on Friday (which is on right now). Each month there are 3 different themes plus a Potluck – so you should always be able to share something. If you would like to join in the fun on a regular basis please schedule a reminder for the second Friday of each month (NZ time). Cheers from Carole's Chatter
Thanks for the kind invitation Carole. Unfortunately there are so many good blogs now that I've kind of given up on keeping up with blog events like that! Just too much to do all the time, story of my life!
Wondering how Brussels sprouts would do in place of the mushrooms … cauliflower and bacon sound great and really want to try this …
I like the sound of cauliflower with Brussels sprouts; would love to hear how it works if you try it.
This looks delightful. I adore cauliflower, though I eat it primarily in the cold months (it has that bone-warming quality I like then). Fortunately, here in Maine … May is a cold month so I'm in luck — Can't wait to try this!
Hi Sarah, great to hear from you. Hope you enjoy, we loved it!
Glad you brought this one back around. I bet I can make it tasty without the bacon too. 😉
Thanks Letty! I KNOW you can!
Cauliflower isn't my favorite food, but pair it with bacon…. well, that is hard to resist!
Thanks Lydia, I have to admit the bacon made this really tasty!
Kalyn – I made the cauliflower dish again the other day and decided that since I have my own blog now, I’d post it. Gave you all the credit, though. Thanks much for the great recipe. http://tastingspoons.blogspot.com
Carolyn, thanks so much for letting me know you like it. I need to make it again myself!
Ever since you posted this recipe, I’ve been making it regularly (probably about 5 times). The quantities seem to be very adaptable, and I can hardly keep my fingers out of the pan, nibbling as it cooks. It’s just delicious. Thanks for sharing this one.
Lisa, that sounds good to me. More bacon is always good. (Don’t tell the South Beach Diet police.)
Cauliflower fan…NOT! So I used 1/4 of it and doubled the bacon and used some broccoli….it twasn’t bad at all! I guess you’d have to change the name!
Watch for purple cauliflower next time.You will find it more interesting.I had tried purple ones.
Kayln…this looks incredible! Some of my favorite things all in one dish. I’ll be making this very soon. Thank you for posting!
This looks fantastic. I adore cauliflower, so I’ll have to try these variations.
What a great way to enjoy cauliflower. Love the recipe.
That looks great Kalyn, I’m going to have to re-think never pickin up a big bunch of cauli at the grocery store:)
This looks fantastic. I’m thinking I could substitute the bacon for smoked ham and still feel great about eating it. Thanks for the recipe!