It is so easy to make air fried cauliflower rice in the air fryer! You can follow this recipe exactly or mix-and-match your own veggies to suit your tastes.
It might seem complicated to make air fried cauliflower rice, but it's really very simple. You might think that you need an inner dish, but in my experience, way fewer cauliflower bits fall through the holes than you'd expect.
I make my cauliflower rice with no dish and no parchment paper to line the pan.
Mixing Up Your Air Fried Cauliflower Rice
I adapted this recipe from my Pineapple Fried Rice, and you can use the technique below to adapt your favorite fried rice recipe or use what you have in the fridge!
No matter what direction you go, you'll still do your cooking in two rounds, just like below. Here's what you do:
- Round 1: These are the veggies that need the most time to cook. Think hard veggies like carrots, celery, onions, and eggplant that would take a while to soften on the stove.
- Round 2: This is where you add your cauliflower rice and your quicker-cooking veggies, like broccoli, kale, and mushrooms. Because veggie cooking times may vary, Round 2 might need up to 2-3 additional minutes to complete. Check for doneness after 5 minutes, and if your veggies aren't cooked to your liking, cook for another 2-3. Easy peasy!
You can also omit the tofu or substitute other plant-based proteins like seitan or vegan chicken strips. Check out my Big Guide to Vegan Meat Alternatives for other substitution ideas.
Mix, match, and have fun with it! Don't be shy about raiding your fridge and freezer for ingredients.
Whether you follow my recipe to the letter of mix up your own, air fried cauliflower rice is a quick and easy weeknight dish that's ready in under 30 minutes.
More vegan fried rice
Air Fried Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
Round 1
- ½ block firm or extra firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced carrot - about 1 ½ to 2 carrots
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
Round 2
- 3 cups riced cauliflower - Cauliflower minced into pieces smaller than the size of a pea. You can do this by hand with a box-style cheese crater, use your food processor to pulse into pieces, or buy pre-riced, bagged cauliflower.
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil - optional, but recommended
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- ½ cup finely chopped broccoli
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- ½ cup frozen peas
Instructions
- In a large bowl, crumble the tofu (you're going for scrambled egg-size pieces, not ricotta here), then toss with the rest of the Round 1 ingredients. Air fry at 370F for 10 minutes, shaking once.
- Meanwhile, toss together all of the Round 2 ingredients in a large bowl*.
- When that first 10 minutes of cooking are done, add all of the Round 2 ingredients to your air fryer, shake gently, and fry at 370 for 10 more minutes, shaking after 5 minutes.
- Riced cauliflower can vary quite a bit in size, so if you feel like yours doesn't look done enough at this point, you can cook for an additional 2-5 minutes at 370F. Just shake and check in every couple of minutes until it's done to your liking.
Sarah Jackson
so happy to find this blog! I just ordered my first air fryer on a hunch it could be useful. Then got a little nervous about how useful it would be for vegetarian (well flex-itarians) like myself! Lots of great options here. Can't wait to get mine. Have you considered doing an air fryer ebook? I'll be your first customer :-)
Becky Striepe
Aw, thank you so much! Holler if there's anything I can do to help. No book in the works at the moment, but I appreciate the kind words!
Hannah
You make me want an air fryer, oy! I'm usually so anti-new appliances, but I feel like this thing is amazing.
Becky Striepe
Haha I know what you mean. O love gadgets, but finding the storage space for them can be a pain!
Ginny McMeans
Delicious and love the video too!
Becky Striepe
Thank you so much, Ginny!
Sina @Vegan Heaven
What a great dinner! I still need to get an air-fryer!! One of my best friends got one and she always tells me how great it is and that I really need to get one. I think it's about time now! :D
Becky Striepe
I am obsessed with mine!
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen
You make me want to get an air fryer sooooo bad!!! This rice looks amazing. :)
Becky Striepe
Thank you so much, Ceara!
Alisa Fleming
Well I don't have an air fryer but may have to make this recipe anyway! It's a flavor variation on cauli rice that I haven't tried yet.
Becky Striepe
Enjoy it, Alisa!
Melissa | Vegan Huggs
This is such a great idea! I love fried cauliflower rice, but I never thought about making it in an air fryer. I still have to get one of those. So neat!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Melissa!
Sarah
Ooh, this looks so delicious! I don't have an air fryer, so I'd have to do mine on the stove top, but I love the idea of using cauliflower rice! And I love "Being Your Own Chef" in the kitchen, using what's on hand!
Becky Striepe
You can totally convert this to a stovetop recipe. Enjoy it, Sarah!
Greg @ Full of Beans
I'm thinking that we really need to try an air fryer. We love cauliflower dishes and now...THIS ONE! It looks delicious!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Greg! I love our air fryer. We use it at least once a day!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
This is amazing, Becky! You have figured out how to make pretty much everything in the air fryer!
Becky Striepe
Aw, thank you, Amy! I was pretty sure this wouldn't work, so it was a pleasant surprise for sure!
Nicole Dawson
You must be working on an air-fryer cookbook with all the recipes you've been coming up. I just love them and can't wait to buy my own air fryer.
Becky Striepe
Aw, thank you, Nicole!
Mel | avirtualvegan.com
What an easy dinner. I would love a bowl of this with a rather large drizzle of hot sauce!
Becky Striepe
You get me, girl! I douse mine in sriracha.
Sophia | Veggies Don't Bite
I love cauliflower rice!! It's so inventive to do it in the air fryer!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Sophia!
Cynthia
That looks delicious! I just bought my air fryer today, been meaning to make cauliflower fried rice since forever cause it's definitely one of the things I do miss on a keto woe, can't wait to try it, thanks!!!
Becky Striepe
Enjoy it, Cynthia!
Dianne
This is so clever, Becky! I can't wait to try it.
Mary Ellen @ VNutrition
Oooh, you always come up with great ideas, I don't know how you do it. This looks simply delicious!
Becky Striepe
Thank you so much, Mary Ellen!
Jenn
I wish I had an air fryer because I would totally make this for lunch today. It looks and sounds fabulous! Love all the veggies packed in there!
Becky Striepe
Aw, thank you, Jenn!
Linda @ Veganosity
I NEED an air-fryer so I can make this amazing looking fried rice. It sounds incredible, and I'm all for a healthier fried rice.
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Linda! You can convert it to a stovetop recipe pretty easily, I think. You might need more oil, since round 1 doesn't use any in the air fryer.
Wendy
I just got my AF a few days ago and would love to try this, I love Cauliflower fried rice! I have the ninja foodi max, so I'm wondering when you say very little falls through the holes is it a different AF? I'd prefer to let the air circulate
Becky Striepe
It was a different one, but the holes are pretty big in mine, as well. You shouldn't need to do parchment paper.