Leftover Pork Tenderloin Cauliflower Fried Rice

Wondering what to do with leftover pork tenderloin? This BBQ fried cauliflower rice is a lower carb option that comes together in about 20 minutes and brings leftovers back to life in a major way. And if you have pork tenderloin with a non-BBQ seasoning, don’t worry. We use this recipe for all different types of leftover protein options.

BBQ Pork Tenderloin Cauliflower Fried Rice Ingredients

The beauty of fried rice is that you can use anything to create your own spin. Here’s everything you’ll need for our version, but every ingredient can be substituted for:

• frozen cauliflower rice (ideally a stir fry medley with peas, carrots, and other veggies)
• olive oil
• eggs
• Japanese BBQ sauce (or a mix of your favorite BBQ sauce and soy sauce)
• BBQ spice rub (optional)
• leftover pork tenderloin (or your choice of protein)
• scallions

The cauliflower rice stir fry blends are perfect, but you can also make your own with plain cauliflower rice with frozen peas and carrots. Trader Joe’s also sells a great cauliflower stir fry blend that’s seasoned with sesame oil. (We like to make air fried cauliflower rice with it.)

If you want to use freshly riced cauliflower, that’s fine. Simply reduce the cook time.

And if you’re using the real deal, you’ll want cooked and chilled rice. The 10 oz bag of frozen cauliflower rice this recipe calls for is a rough equivalent to 1 1/2 cups of rice. Our leftover brisket fried rice calls for 2 cups of rice for 8 oz of brisket, for comparison.

I’ll cover the Japanese BBQ sauce and other non-BBQ flavor combos for your fried cauliflower rice below.

How to Make BBQ Fried Rice with Frozen Cauliflower Rice

If you’re a fried rice pro, feel free to jump down to the recipe card. I’ve provided a visual walkthrough with photos of what to look for at each step of the recipe between here and there in case you need a little assistance.

Step 1: Fry a bag of frozen cauliflower rice in olive oil for 8-10 minutes until it begins to slightly brown.

Don’t over stir the rice once it’s in the pan. Make sure it’s broken apart and no big frozen chunks remain. But you’re at that point, let it ride and develop some color.

If you’re going with BBQ pork tenderloin or a BBQ flavored protein, I like adding a little BBQ spice rub to the rice. If you’re going with a different flavor profile, you can change the seasoning to fit that. Ground ginger and granulated garlic are almost always a good idea. You can also omit the seasoning altogether.

Step 2: Push the rice to the sides of the pan, creating a well for scrambling two beaten eggs in the center. Stir everything together with Japanese BBQ sauce.

The pan will be hot by the time the egg goes in, so you’ll want to stir the whole time it’s in the center well. The eggs will cook in about 30 seconds.

If it’s easier, you can always scramble the eggs on their own and set aside before the rice goes in. Then just mix them in at the end.

The Japanese BBQ sauce will go great with other types of protein options. But you could use other sauces like sriracha or chili garlic sauce, sweet chili, or even hot sauce for a Tex-Mex style option like the brisket fried rice I mentioned above.

What is Japanese BBQ sauce?

Come for the great branding, stay for the flavor. We’ve been hooked on Bachan’s Original Japanese BBQ sauce (not sponsored). It’s a blend of soy sauce, mirin, tomato paste, toasted sesame oil, green onion, ginger, garlic, and other goodies.

I mention in the notes that you can substitute a 1:1 blend of your favorite BBQ sauce and soy sauce in a pinch, but the flavor profile of this sauce is worth picking up a bottle to try. They also make a hot and spicy version, and you can use it to make our BBQ chicken fried rice and chicken jerky recipes as well.

You can also make other homemade sauce options like our firecracker or honey ginger sauces.

Step 3: Push the fried cauliflower rice to one side and fry the leftover pork tenderloin in olive oil on the other side of the pan for 30-60 seconds.

You only want to reheat and crisp up your leftover pork just a bit, not turn it to rubber. About a minute in a little hot oil should do the trick.

I’ve linked to the smoked pork tenderloin we used, but any BBQ pork tenderloin will work for this recipe. You can also use other diced protein options like chicken and beef or veggie options like tofu.

Step 4: Stir in a thinly sliced scallion before turning off the heat.

I like slicing 2-3 scallions and stirring half into the BBQ fried rice and using the other half as a garnish. But remember, this is your fried rice and you can do whatever you want.

You can also add an additional BBQ drizzle, chili oil or a chili crisp, sesame seeds, or any other of your favorite garnishes. The S&B chili oil with crunchy garlic (pictured below) is my JAM!

Now, you can pretty much call yourself a leftover fried rice master at this point. If you have any additional questions, drop it in the comments below. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy your leftover pork tenderloin fried cauliflower rice!