Cabbage Fried Rice Recipe
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This cabbage fried rice takes less than 30 minutes and is a great way to use up left-over rice. It’s a breeze and has fabulous Asian-inspired flavor.
I almost did a cartwheel when I learned that RiceSelect™ picked me to review their Jasmati® rice. I thought long and hard about a recipe worthy of this post. Why is it so hard to come up with something when there’s a deadline?
I have several rice recipes posted already, but I wanted something new and amazing; something that would make you crave rice. We tested 4 different recipes and ate a lot of rice this week. But, at least we ate high quality jasmine (Jasmati) rice. This cabbage fried rice was actually the first recipe that my sisters recommended I make. I judged the recipe thinking it was too simple to be awesome. I was wrong. Thanks Tanya and Alla!
RiceSelect has several different products to choose from which is so nice because I’m always looking for ways to change things up in the kitchen to add variety and amazing flavor to our menu (wow that was a long sentence, but it worked; phew!). They also carry several organic and all-natural lines which gives me peace-of-mind. I feel so good about serving it to my family.
Check out the Rice Select Website to learn more about their products. You can purchase their products in the RiceSelect Amazon Store, but it’s also sold in grocery stores like Albertsons or Fred Meyer.
Ingredients for Cabbage Fried Rice
1 small or 1/2 large green cabbage, (about 8 cups), finely sliced
1 large carrot (1 cup) peeled and grated
1 medium onion (1 cup), finely diced
2 Tbsp cooking oil
3 cups leftover cooked RiceSelect Jasmati Rice
OR 1 cup uncooked RiceSelect Jasmati Rice with 1 Tbsp butter and 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp sesame oil (you’ll be glad you used it)
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste or no salt at all!)
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Creating amazing food starts with using the best ingredients, and with stir-fry, you need the best rice. This is the Jasmati rice sent to me by RiceSelect. Each of their products has its own distinct flavor, aroma and texture. Jasmati is a long grain American grown rice.
If possible, I try to buy foods grown in the U.S. Jasmati rice has soft snowy white grains and the same enticing aroma and sweet nutty flavor of exotic Thai jasmine rice. It’s so awesome that it needed its own moment in the spotlight:
How to Make Cabbage Fried Rice:
1. Rinse 1 cup rice about 4 times or until water runs almost clear; drain well and cook RiceSelect Jasmati Rice according to package instructions with 1 Tbsp butter and 1/2 tsp salt. I used my rice maker and it’s easy peasy. Once it’s cooked, remove from heat and set aside.
2. Finely slice the cabbage. Using a Mandolin is the fastest way to accomplish this.
3. Finely dice the onion and grate the carrot.
4. Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet or a Wok over very high heat. Once preheated, add 2 Tbsp cooking oil then toss in the sliced cabbage, carrot and onion. Sauté over very high heat for 7-10 minutes until cabbage is wilted and starting to turn a little golden.
Stir constantly so it doesn’t scorch to the bottom of the pan. The veggies fill and take over the pan at first but shrink down to about 1/3 or 1/2 of their original size.
5. Add in 2 Tbsp butter and 3 cups cooked rice (1 cup dry rice makes about 3 cups cooked rice just in case someone out there didn’t know). Stir to combine. Add 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, plus salt and pepper to taste (I didn’t use salt and sprinkled in 1/8 tsp pepper).
Note: don’t over-do it with the salt since soy sauce is naturally salty!). Stir well to combine and serve. Yum.
Serve over lettuce leaves to add a little pizzazz to your dinner table. I guess you could even eat the lettuce if you really wanted to.
Cabbage Fried Rice

Ingredients
- 1 small or 1/2 large green cabbage, (about 8 cups), finely sliced
- 1 large carrot, 1 cup peeled and grated
- 1 medium onion, 1 cup, finely diced
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil
- 3 cups cooked Jasmine rice, *
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil, this gives the rice an authentic Asian aroma & flavor
- 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste or no salt at all!
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Rinse 1 cup rice about 4 times or until water runs almost clear; drain well and cook rice according to package instructions with 1 Tbsp butter and 1/2 tsp salt. You can also use a rice maker. Once it's cooked, remove from heat and set aside.
- Finely slice the cabbage (a mandolin is the fastest way to slice cabbage)
- Fine dice the onion and grate the carrot.
- Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet or a Wok over very high heat. Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil then toss in the sliced cabbage, carrot and onion. Sauté over very high heat for 7-10 minutes until cabbage is wilted and starting to turn a little golden. Stir constantly so it doesn't scorch to the bottom of the pan. The veggies will shrink down to about 1/3 or 1/2 of their original size.
- Add in 2 Tbsp butter and 3 cups cooked rice. Stir to combine. Add 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, plus salt and pepper to taste (I didn't use salt and sprinkled in 1/8 tsp pepper). Stir well to combine and serve.
Notes
I made this last night for dinner. My husband and I loved it. I used cauliflower rice and added turkey smoked sausage for a complete meal. I will definitely be making this again.
Yum! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Diana!
My mom taught me this recipe many many years ago. Everyone that I make it for just absolutely loves it. The only difference is I also brown hamburger and add with it and then when the whole dish is complete we scramble eggs into it… Delicious
This is by far the best fried rice I have ever made. It’s a staple in our house. LOVE IT!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Dianne!
This is soooo good, it has become a staple in our household. I add some scrambled egg and sometimes use brown rice and/or red cabbage (looks awesome). Quick to make, cheap, minimal number of ingredients maximum taste!
Those sound great to add! Thanks a lot for sharing your experience trying out this recipe.
This is so yummy. I substituted with brown rice and also used soy sauce that has less sodium. Very nice recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Abi!
FYI…You might want to check the HTML coding in this recipe. (Specifically on the ingredient line for cabbage.)
Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I have no idea why it was so weird, but I fixed it.
Thank you for this recipe Natasha! I make it all the time now. God bless your work. May you do all for His glory!
I’m so happy you love our recipes! Thank you so much for the fantastic review and your encouraging words. I am smiling big reading your comment
Hi, Good morning here in Pa, was wondering if i could use brown rice for your cabbage fried rice? Thank you for all your great recipes have made several and they are all great and your directions are great easy to follow.
Hi Denise, I haven’t tested this with brown rice, but a few of our readers have enjoyed it. If you happen to experiment, I would love to know how you like that.
Sooo good! And I used the leftovers in a grain bowl the next day.
Yum! That sounds amazing!
This is amazing! A great way to use up leftover rice. I added some scrambled egg and turkey bacon to have some protein and a bit of sriracha sauce cause we like spice. My husband could not get enough of this dish. I never review recipes online but had to comment on this one.
I’m glad you loved it! Thank you for taking the time to share your great comments and review with us, Lynn. We appreciate it!
This is a fast, easy, inexpensive meal. I add fresh ginger, garlic, and at the end rice wine vinegar. I’ve also added sriracha powder.
Nice addition to the recipe, thanks for sharing that with us, Heidi!
I loved this! Added soy curls, garlic and ginger.
Thanks
Great idea! Thank you for sharing that with me!
I made the Cabbage Fried Rice and put it into Egg Rolls was out of this world. This will be a go to Egg roll Dish Thanks I so enjoy your Videos
That is so awesome, Ann. Thank you for your great feedback!
Thank you
You are most welcome!
OMG that sounds so good !
I made this last night. I followed the recipe pretty closely. I used less cabbage than called for as I had an open bag of cole slaw mix which I used. I also used regular long grain white rice. I did add garlic and some ground ginger. I also added a half pound of finely diced ham. My picky eater said it was good. And while I would not say there was anything wrong with it, it just didn’t have that WOW factor for me. I am not knowledgeable enough on Chinese cooking to know what to try. But it just seemed to be missing something flavorwise to take it over the top. Maybe another reader can suggest something for me. It is fun fixing fried rice at home and nice not to be paying 5 or 6 bucks for a little carton of it. Thanks for posting!
Thank you for sharing that feedback with us Jimmy!
Hi Jimmy. Picky eaters can sometimes be the reason why there wasn’t the wow factor. I have one myself. The difference could be fresh ginger and there is not a lot of dairy in traditional Chinese so maybe no butter too. Try fried egg at the end and using leftover rice that has actually been cooled cooks up very differently than freshly made rice. Hope that helps.
Do you think it’s because you changed every bit about the recipe? Perhaps if you followed it completely it would’ve had that WOW factor you missed 🤷🏻♀️
I don’t think most people eat rice and cabbage for a WOW factor
I made my own twists like hubby’s home grown garlic (powder) and fresh ginger. No Soy here so I substituted Worcestershire..added unsalted cashew, frozen bag of stir fry veggies and a handful of craisins…so much food, so filling, so delicious, Great idea~thanks!
Awesome, thank you for sharing your substitutes, Theresa. That’s really helpful for others who would like to do the same.
I just made this and cant stop eating it .its so yummy
I added a few frozen peas for more colour also added nuttlelex instead of butter to make it a vegan dish my daughter is vegan and is going to love this
Hi Dorothy, that sounds awesome. I’m glad that you added some ingredients to make the recipe better. Thanks for sharing that with us!
Natasha, God Bless you & your Family & thank you so much, for all your great recipes, mostly old style, old country. All loved by Ukrainian, Polish, Slavish & Hungarian(which I am) ! I just got all your fried rice recipes & can’t wait to make them ! I can already taste them !!! you make a 78 yr. old man happy. My wife passed away almost 15 yrs. ago & since then, i got a love for cooking. Again, Thank You……
Hi Bill, thank you so much for writing in. It is a pleasure to meet you and I hope you love every recipe you try!
Very good and easy to make!
I held off on the sesame oil at the end because it felt a bit heavy (may have added a wee bit too much butter though…)
What I also changed was that after about 10 minutes of cooking the vegetables, I added some grated garlic (2 smaller cloves) and fresh ginger (about a 1 inch piece). Stirred that in and cooked for about 1 minute and afterwards added the rice, butter and soy sauce. It really made the dish lovely fragrant.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Lucia!
Delicious! I fried diced bacon and then sautéed the cabbage mix in the bacon crease.This was a side to my coconut curry chicken.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me Valerie!
Thanks for this tip- 1 cup dry rice makes about 3 cups cooked rice just in case someone out there didn’t know
i am the someone who doesn’t know that 🙂 Would love for such tips in all recipes.
Thank you for that feedback! 🙂
I used this recipe however additionally sauteed diced red and green peppers with a diced red onion along with the flavors together with the additional ingredients was really yummy. Thank you
Hi Melanie! That is a great idea. I can imagine it tastes that much better with these additions! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Hi Natasha, I love your recipes!!I Last night I made this recipe, soooo gooood!!! I added chicken and garlic, I cut the chicken in small pieces, I minced the garlic, I cook both in a frying pan separate, I added pepper and a little salt. When the rice and cabbage was ready, I added the chicken. Was delicious!!!! And I use brown rice leftover from the day before. Thanks again!!!!! Blessings for you and your beautiful family!
Hello Cristina! I’m happy to hear how much you’re enjoying the recipes. Thanks for following and sharing your fantastic review with other readers!
Can you freeze this?
Hi Diane, I honestly haven’t tried freezing but I think it might work.
Just made it, very good !!! Thank you for great recipe.
You’re welcome Barbara! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy the recipe!
Love the cabbage recipe,delicious meal
Thank you Daniel 😁.
I had left over rice, chicken and a ton of cabbage I needed to use and I happened to stumble upon this recipe. I didn’t have carrots but did have bean sprouts so I added those to your recipe. Once again I enjoyed another one of your wonderful recipes. This was so yummy! I had leftovers for lunch toady and it was just as good. Will make this again!
I love the ideas of adding chicken and sprouts! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Hi Natasha, love your website 👍
I have made this yummy food before but today I made it with a mix of brown rice and quinoa and it was just as delicious!!!
Oh my goodness that does sound so yummy and healthy! Thank yo for sharing! 🙂
Absolutely delicious! My husband and my 16 month old grandson loved it as well! Thank-you so much for this recipe. I would rate it a 10 if I could.
That is awesome!! Thank you so much Ann 🙂
I love this dish! I’ve made it several times and it went really fast in my house every time. The last time I sautéed two chicken breasts cut into pieces, tossed with some herbs and then added to the rice. It turned out soo delicious. I love meat so I felt like this dish was missing it. Now it’s perfect and a favorite at home!
Thank you so much for sharing your modifications with me! Now I have to try your version 🙂
Hi Natasha,
thank you for posting this recipe and other delicious recipes. I added everything besides sesame oil, but added chicken thighs and white rice, not the RiceSelect Jasmati Rice. Whoever tried tried your recipe I made, they liked it.
Have a wonderful day during the nice weather. God bless you and your family.
Tanya, thank you for the great review and great job on improvising :).
Thank you for this recipe I really liked it! I actually added two cloves of garlic for a little more flavor and it turned out delicious!! Sooo excited about this recipe 🙂
I love the idea of adding garlic – it has a way of making savory foods better! 🙂
The best recipe love it:)
I’m so glad to hear that 🙂 Thanks Liliya!
Quick and Yummy recipe! I used purple cabbage and topped it with some toasted sesame seeds! 🙂
Спасибо вам за рецепт! Я сегодня приготовила капусту с рисом очень вкусно получилось, спасибо за рецепт, это блюдо будет у меня теперь очень часто в моем меню
Svetlana, I’m so happy that you liked the recipe and that it’s going into your regular rotation! Thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
Was so fast an easy to make and tasted great! Thanks!
It’s a great way to get more veggies in! 😉 I’m so glad you liked it.
Tried this for dinner today with red cabbage and turned out to be a favorite! Thanks Natasha 🙂
It’s great to know it works well with red cabbage! Thanks Alice 🙂
I just made this recipe for my family, we had leftover rice and a cabbage that really needed to be used. This was perfect! I added 2 tbsp garlic, 3 eggs, and four slices of smoked turkey for protein (teens need their protein!!). Thank you for posting, this is a dish we will be eating regularly now. Everyone loved it- even the picky eaters!
You are welcome Marco, I love to hear a good report and great job on improvising :).
I made this today and it was delicious. Hubs loved it too! Question: is there such thing as over-cooked rice? The rice was a mush once I combined everything together. Could it be over-cooked rice? Or maybe I over mixed the whole thing? Any advise? I used basmati rice and yes, I did rinse it well.
It shouldn’t have been sticky. Was your rice cold when you added it? If it was and you rinsed it well, it could have been overcooked. Did it seem that way to you?
There’s absolutely such a thing as overcooked rice, and if it was mushy that’s what the problem was. Basmati and jasmine rice in particular should not get mushy or sticky (whereas with short grain and standard white rice a little tackiness is sometimes what you want, especially for onigiri) so just play with your cook times.
Also, whether you rinse rice or not shouldn’t affect this.
I have a rice cooker I got at a thrift store for $6 and it’s got me making rice meals all the time. It always comes out perfect and you literally put the rice and water or broth in, turn it on, and walk away. I suggest this if you want to take the hassle out of it.
But next time you do get mushy rice, you can save it for rice porridge or even put it in soup or rice pudding.
Thanks for the recipe! I tried it today with quinoa instead of white rice and it came out beautifully! You were right about soy sauce, it does add quite a bit of sodium. I’ll use the low-sodium version next time.
But I wanted a little “zest” in it & added a few cloves of minced garlic. It turned out SO good!! Will be making this again for sure.
Oooh that’s brilliant. Garlic makes most things way better! 🙂
Natasha,
Made this tonight, turned out so good. My husband also could not stop eating it
I just made this for dinner (exceptions: I’m out of onion and carrot [how does that happen?!]) and it’s delicious despite my exceptions. I sauteed garlic just before adding the cabbage and used reduced sodium soy sauce. The sesame oil is definitely worth it. This is a great dinner for a busy night, and uses minimal dishes.
I’m glad it was still great despite not having onion or carrot. That’s what I loved about it too; I’m very mindful of the dish factor 🙂 If you liked this, make sure to check out my shrimp fried rice!
Rice Select would be great in my stir fry.
Tweeted
https://twitter.com/disneyfan40/status/334863195070140416
I would love to use this when making stir fry or Spanish rice
This would be great to add to all different kinds of meat to stretch the meals to go further!
freebiegoddess03@aol.com
https://twitter.com/LAMusing/status/334825367040831488
I’d make teriyaki chicken over rice. Yum.
Rice and fish is always good!
tweeted
https://twitter.com/daveshir2005/status/334818266654597120
I would make chicken stir fry over rice
https://twitter.com/thomasmurphy40/status/334795185370316800
I would use it to make a chicken and veggie stirfry
Tweeted
I’d use it to make sushi rice.
I’d use it in a veggie stir fry.
It would bring a variety because it’s new and I love to try new things.
I would use it to make chicken and rice.
https://twitter.com/tlcfromtn/status/334742451975778304
I would incorporate it into more of my dishes and use it instead of potatoes or pasta
https://twitter.com/aes529/status/334731850067103744
I would make a stir-fry!
I would use the riceselect to bring variety to our meals with the texmati and kasmati, they would be nice additions to our current meal menus!
I tweeted https://twitter.com/FloydSara/status/334708008133206016
I would use rice select because it is so versatile and can be used in many different dishes
i’d use it in a stir fry
https://twitter.com/klp1965/status/334669631874809856
I would make Shrimp & Chicken With Rice
http://www.food.com/recipe/shrimp-chicken-with-rice-211924
I’d use the rice to make stuffed cabbage.
I would use it to introduce foods that are unfamiliar to the family. I often hide mushrooms or peppers in rice. However I love the taste. Little ones not so much. I would perhaps make a stir fry or stuffed cabbage this has inspired me to do!
I’d add variety by making rice pudding.
https://twitter.com/CaroleIngram4/status/334520930657263616 cfingram @ gmail
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to learn how to make stuffed cabbage rolls with rice, however my husband doesn’t like cabbage 🙁 but I do crave it sooooooo soooooo badly!! cfingram @ gmail
I’d make rice pilaf!
I Tweeted: https://twitter.com/lisalmg/status/334484653941596162
lisalmg25 at gmail dot com
I would use Rice Selects to change up my current Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe.
lisalmg25 at gmail dot com