Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice
I have to say, my diet and taste preferences up through college were pretty much what one would expect from a regular ‘ol suburban kid from the 80’s. My favorite foods consisted of Chicken Crispers from Chili’s, turkey sandwiches and tacos from Jack in the Crack. And when Krispy Kreme opened for the first time in the Bay Area? Ohh lord! I didn’t even have my first taste of sushi until college and that was maybe for a total of three times. I just could not get enough of those California Rolls man! 😉 You can say cauliflower didn’t pay a large role in my life at this point.
However, when I moved to San Francisco I was exposed to so many different types of food. It’s honestly a food lover’s paradise. And outside of NYC, I hold firmly that it’s the best city for foodies. I can go on and on about my love for the food of San Francisco but that’s an entirely different post.
I do remember one night when I had first moved there, a bunch of us had decided to go out for Thai food. I’d never had it and the thought of something exotic and scary like “curry” made me nervous. (Aw, such a fresh little food newbie I was!) I remember when someone ordered the pineapple fried rice I felt a little relieved. It still sounded strange to me combining PINEAPPLE and RICE.. but push come to shove I liked pineapple and I liked rice so I could just eat the pineapple out then eat the rest, right?
Well I didn’t have to! It was delicious! Like a rave-till-the-wee-hours-of-the-90’s, party-in-my-mouth delicious. And truth be told, the wider variety of foods I tried, the more I liked. Ask my friends. Any of them! Michelle likes food, they’ll tell you. I haven’t met much I don’t like. Except for oysters. As much as I reeeeally want to like them, I just can’t. I will always try them, thinking THIS will be the time it clicks for me. It’s yet to click.
Anyhoo. I couldn’t wait to try and recreate the same flavors in that pineapple fried rice for you in a grain-free, paleo version. When I succeeded, I couldn’t have been happier with the results. In fact, my husband has said this was one of his favorite recipes. And for a meat lover like himself, thats a lot to say for this veggie conglomeration!
And if you’re yearning for some more cauliflower rice love, make sure to check our my Cauli Rice Paella and Lemon + Herb Cauliflower Rice.
pineapple fried cauliflower rice
Ingredients
- 7 pieces of bacon
- 5 eggs scrambled
- 2 heads of cauliflower
- 1 carrot shredded
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 2 C. chopped pineapple preferably fresh
- 1/4 C. raisins no sugar added
- 1/2 C. cashew pieces and halves
- 1/4 C. coconut aminos + additional for serving if desired
- 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
- 2 tsp. fish sauce
- 1/4 C. chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Using kitchen shears, cut uncooked bacon into small pieces
- Heat large skillet to medium-high and cook bacon to desired crispiness
- Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside
- Pour some bacon grease into appropriate container and set aside
- With remaining bacon grease in pan, add scrambled egg and cook
- Set egg aside
- Add a bit more bacon grease back into pan and add shredded carrot, onion, and green onions
- Cook until onion mix is tender and slightly browned
- While onion mixture cooks, break apart cauliflower and add to food processor or high powered blender
- Pulse until cauliflower is the consistency of coarse rice. It is helpful to do this in batches to ensure an even texture
- Once the onion mix is done, add the cauliflower to the pan and combine, cooking covered for 5 minutes. Cauliflower should be tender but still retain a "bite" to it
- In a separate pan, heat coconut oil. Once the pan and oil is hot, add pineapple. Do not stir right away, let pineapple get a brown sear on one side, THEN toss to coat
- Once pineapple is done, add raisins and cashews to the pan and cook for an additional 2 minutes until raisins are plump
- Add pineapple mix into cauliflower rice and toss
- Add coconut aminos, sesame oil, and fish sauce to cauliflower and toss to coat
- Add bacon, eggs and cilantro to dish and combine
- Heat thoroughly for an additional two minutes and serve
I saw this recipe and thought “I’ll try this, I have everything and I’ve always wanted to try cauliflower rice.” I proceeded with caution…chopped the cauliflower (wayyyyy too much, should have headed your warning about batches) and discovered my cashews were missing (mid cooking) and I had quickly dump out my kids trail mix and fish all of the cashews out.
It was amazing…with my mistakes and all. My husband HATES cauliflower and onions (like HATES), so I served him a small dish and failed to mention those ingredients. I asked if he liked it and he replied “yea, but I don’t really care for cooked pineapple!” Hahahahaha. I would have sent a picture, but it looked like mush because of the cauliflower.
Haha, I’m so glad he still liked it even with all the other stuff!!! Thanks for sharing!
Made this tonight for dinner and it was so so so good! Used Trader Joes cauliflower rice and it helped speed up the process a bit! Will make again and again!
Yes! It definitely speeds up the process. It wasn’t around when I first created this recipe but now I either use that or buy fresh cauli rice at my local Whole Foods.
I’m making this now…how much pre-done cauliflower rice is needed?? (I have the big Costco bag of it)
I’d like to make this using Trader Joe’s cauli rice, how many cups of ‘rice’ does two heads of cauliflower usually yield? I’m not sure if I should use I bag or two? The bag weighs 1 lb. I haven’t opened it yet, but it looks like 4 cups?
Thanks,
Leslie
I just made this and I am in LOVE! so yummy and leaves a lot for left overs and meal prep.