Hawaiian Cauliflower Fried Rice

This Hawaiian Cauliflower Fried Rice is packed with so much flavor, including ham and pineapple– the Hawaiian classics!– that you won’t even notice it’s grain-free and full of veggies.

Cauliflower grows super well here. Every year it’s our best winter crop. We try broccoli, Brussels sprouts, different root veggies and greens, all with varying success from year to year. But every year, without fail, our cute little cauliflowers grow to supermarket size with 10 times more flavor! Since they grow so well, we always plant a lot of them. In fact, we just seeded this year’s cauliflower crop and decided to dedicate a whole garden bed to them. We should get 8 or 10 big heads.

This past spring, I had a whole bunch of cauliflower heads ready to harvest all at the same time while the hubby was out of town working. There was no way I could eat all those cauli’s myself, so I decided to shred a few of them and freeze it. I’ve used shredded cauliflower in a bunch of things in the past, including our favorite Bacon Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder, as well as this Cheddar Cauliflower Chowder with Leeks and Mushrooms, and of course the ever popular Cauliflower Fried Rice. So I knew I’d have plenty of uses for the cauliflower in a couple months when I wasn’t totally sick of it anymore.

With the birth of our little nugget and a crazy work schedule for the hubs, the cauliflower got pushed to the back of the freezer and forgotten. Until recently when I decided to start clearing out space for freezing milk and stumbled upon an unlabeled bag of white mystery mush. Ah hah! The cauliflower!

I decided to use the cauliflower as rice again but this time added some fun flavors– ham and pineapple– to make this Hawaiian Cauliflower Fried Rice. Adding the ham was a great addition because it turned a side dish into a light meal! Of course, you could still serve this as a side dish, but I enjoyed it as lunch for a couple days.

If you haven’t tried cauliflower rice yet, you’ve really got to! This Hawaiian version is a good one to start with. I promise with all the yummy flavors going on in here you won’t even miss your grains. This is a favorite in our house!

Hawaiian Cauliflower Fried Rice

 

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This Hawaiian Cauliflower Fried Rice is packed with so much flavor, including ham and pineapple-- the Hawaiian classics!-- that you won't even notice it's grain-free and full of veggies.

Author: Jess

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 medium (about 24 oz) cauliflower, rinsed and dried
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp sesame oil, divided
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• ½ small onion, diced
• 5 scallions, sliced, whites and greens separated
• ½ cup frozen peas and carrots
• 8 oz diced ham
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup canned pineapple tidbits, drained
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

Instructions

1. Using a food processor or box grater, grate the cauliflower and set aside.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp sesame oil, then add the eggs to the pan, turning a few times until set. Remove eggs from pan and set aside.
3. Add the remaining 1 tbsp sesame oil and saute onions, scallion whites, peas and carrots, ham and garlic about 3 to 4 minutes, or until veggies are soft.
4. Add the cauliflower and soy sauce. Mix, cover and cook approximately 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cauliflower is tender.
5. Stir in the egg and pineapple, then remove from heat and mix in scallion greens.

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If you’re not into the pineapple version, check out this classic Cauliflower Fried Rice!