This Indian Cauliflower Fried Rice with Chicken is a must try. Loaded with delicious Indian flavors, you certainly won’t miss the carbs!
I’ll admit it, I’m on a health kick right now and I’m making all kinds of yummy healthy dishes which I’ll share with you. But cauliflower fried rice? Yeah well I’ve brought you before my cheesy cauliflower breadsticks which are unbelievably good, so why not fried rice?
It’s really simple to make too, all you need is a food processor to rice your cauliflower, but don’t worry if you don’t have a food processor. You can now find already riced cauliflower in certain grocery stores, bonus!
To get those great Indian flavors here I used spices like garam masala, turmeric, cayenne pepper then of course some garlic and ginger. You can find these spices in your regular grocery store in the spice aisle. The chicken is cooked in all these spices and let me tell you, it packs some heat. Use as much cayenne pepper as you want to control the heat.
I have to admit my favorite part of this dish are the roasted chickpeas! Before you ask, yes you can use store bought roasted chickpeas, why not? My spices of choice here were cumin, smoked paprika and garlic powder then I lightly seasoned them with some sea salt and ground pepper. These are now my latest favorite snack, so good!
What is Turmeric?
Turmeric is what gives the fish this wonderful yellow color. Turmeric is a very powerful spice and has a long impressive list of uses and benefits. Feel free to add more if you want.
Ingredients
Keep scrolling down to the printable recipe card for FULL ingredient amounts and instructions or click the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page!
Roasted chickpeas
- Chickpeas – 1 entire can, drained and rinsed.
- Spices – Smoked paprika, cumin, and garlic powder.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
Fried rice with chicken
- Cauliflower – An entire head, broken up into florets.
- Spices – Cumin, garam masala, ground turmeric, and cayenne pepper.
- Chicken – Breast, skinless and boneless and cut into 1 inch cubes.
- Olive oil – We want a nice neutral flavored oil to saute our ingredients in.
- Aromatics – Fresh ginger and garlic.
- Veggies – Carrots, corn, and 1 small onion.
- Herbs – Fresh cilantro, totally optional.
Other additions
Fried rice is such a perfect blank canvas! You can incorporate so many amazing flavors, textures, and ingredients to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve into your little faux dish, so let’s get into it.
| Veggies | Meat |
| Corn | Shrimp |
| Bell pepper | White fish |
| Butternut squash | Lamb |
| Zucchini | Beef |
| Mushrooms | |
| Lentils | |
| Potatoes |
And of course you can use actual rice if you’d prefer or if you’re not particularly carb conscious.
How to make Indian Cauliflower Fried Rice With Chicken
- Preheat oven: To 400 F degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Prep the chickpeas: In a medium bowl toss together the chickpeas with the smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Make sure each chickpea is covered in spices. Spread the chickpeas in an even layer over the prepared baking sheet.
- Rice the cauliflower: Roast the chickpeas in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until dry and crispy on the outside. Meanwhile place the cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse until mixture resembles the texture of rice. You will probably have to do this in a couple batches. Place in a bowl and set aside.
- Prep the chicken: In a medium bowl combine the cumin, garam masala, salt, turmeric and cayenne pepper. Add the chicken pieces and toss and make sure each chicken piece is coated in the spice mixture.
Cook the dish
- Cook the chicken: In a large wok or skillet heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil over medium hight heat. Add the minced garlic and ginger and cook for 10 seconds. Add the chicken to the wok and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink and starts to brown a bit. Stir as necessary to make sure the chicken cooks on all sides.
- Assemble the dish: Remove the chicken from the wok. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and add onion, carrots and peas. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower rice and stir well, then cook for another 4 minutes until cauliflower is tender. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Return chicken to wok and heat through.
- Serve: while warm topped with the roasted chickpeas and cilantro.
How to peel your ginger
If you’re not familiar with this aromatic ingredient, no worries, Jo is here to give you the 411. Take your hunk of ginger and a spoon and use the dull edge of the spoon to shave off the brown outer skin on the ginger. It’s that easy!
Can’t find Garam Masala?
Garam Masala is used in Indian cuisine and it’s a blend of spices such as cloves, peppercorns, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and bay leaf. If garam masala isn’t available you can substitute it for one part cumin and 1/4 part allspice.
Why cauliflower rice?
The cauliflower rice doesn’t take a long time to cook at all, only about 4 minutes or so. That’s what’s so great about this dish, once you have your chickpeas done, your cauliflower riced, it takes only a few minutes to put it all together, especially if you buy your cauliflower riced already. I hope you give this faux cauliflower fried rice a try, another great way to fool your kids into eating more veggies, while not sacrificing on big and bold flavors.
Crispy chickpeas, your new favorite snack
Chickpeas, especially crisped up in the oven is such a delicious, nutritious little snack! It’s packed full of flavor, fiber, and protein. You will have more chickpeas than needed for this dish, so just store them in an airtight container and snack on them.
Leftovers
Sealed in an airtight container this dish will keep for 3 – 4 days in the fridge once it’s been cooked. You can also freeze this dish, as long as the cauliflower rice is left uncooked. Sealed in an airtight container this dish will freeze for up to 2 months, just be sure to allow it to thaw in the fridge over night before cooking.
More great dishes to try:
- Indian Salmon Curry With Saffron Rice
- Coconut Shrimp Curry
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken
- Mulligatawny Soup
- Tandoori Chicken
- Naan Bread
- Coconut Basil Chicken Curry
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Duck Confit
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Indian Cauliflower Fried Rice with Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
Roasted Chickpeas
- 1 cup chickpeas drained
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
Indian Cauliflower Fried Rice with Chicken
- 1 large cauliflower broken into florets
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- 1 tsp garam masala *
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric **
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 chicken breasts boneless and skinless cut in 1 inch cubes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 cup carrots shredded
- 1 cup peas frozen
- 2 tbsp cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl toss together the chickpeas with the smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Make sure each chickpea is covered in spices. Spread the chickpeas in an even layer over the prepared baking sheet.
- Roast the chickpeas in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until dry and crispy on the outside.
- Meanwhile place the cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse until mixture resembles the texture of rice. You will probably have to do this in a couple batches. Place in a bowl and set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine the cumin, garam masala, salt, turmeric and cayenne pepper. Add the chicken pieces and toss and make sure each chicken piece is coated in the spice mixture.
- In a large wok or skillet heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil over medium hight heat. Add the minced garlic and ginger and cook for 10 seconds. Add the chicken to the wok and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink and starts to brown a bit. Stir as necessary to make sure the chicken cooks on all sides.
- Remove the chicken from the wok. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and add onion, carrots and peas. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the cauliflower rice and stir well, then cook for another 4 minutes until cauliflower is tender. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Return chicken to wok and heat through.
- Serve while warm topped with the roasted chickpeas and cilantro.
Recipe Notes
- You will have more chickpeas than needed for this dish, so just store them in an airtight container and snack on them.
- *Garam Masala is used in Indian cuisine and it’s a blend of spices such as cloves, peppercorns, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and bay leaf.
- **Turmeric is a spice that has a peppery, warm and bitter flavor and is or yellow/orange color.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
