Shirataki Rice substitute

Best substitute

Cauliflower Rice

Use the same amount by volume as the shirataki rice you are replacing

Best for stir-fries

Taste and texture differ

Cauliflower rice is the best all-round substitute for shirataki rice, used 1:1 by volume, and honestly most people prefer it because it tastes like food rather than like fibre. Riced broccoli or riced cabbage do the same job with more bite, and konjac noodles snipped into short lengths are the closest match if what you want is that specific slippery, bouncy texture. Understand what shirataki is doing first: it is not adding flavour, richness or starch, it is purely a low-carbohydrate bulking agent that carries sauce and fills the bowl. Nothing chewy and neutral is off limits, so long as it can be sauced.

Other shirataki rice substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Riced Broccoli or Broccoli Stems
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume
Broccoli, stalks included, chopped to rice size.
What changes
Best for
stir-fries, bowls, low-carb fried rice, casseroles
Firmer and greener-tasting than cauliflower, with a definite crunch that holds up under a heavy sauce where cauliflower can collapse. The green colour changes how the finished plate looks, which matters if you were making something that should read as white rice. Dry-fry it the same way to drive off moisture.
3Shirataki or Konjac Noodles, Snipped Short
Close match
Use the same amount by drained weight
The same konjac product in noodle form, cut into rice-length pieces with scissors.
What changes
Best for
stir-fries, soups, anywhere the slippery konjac texture is the point
This is the only substitute that actually is shirataki, so the texture and the near-zero carbohydrate count are identical. Rinse them hard under cold running water for a full minute to get rid of the faintly fishy smell of the packing liquid, then dry-fry in a hot dry pan for five minutes until they squeak. Snip in the colander, not on a board, or they slide everywhere.
4Riced Cabbage or Finely Shredded Cabbage
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume
Cabbage sliced very thinly or blitzed to rice-sized shreds.
What changes
Best for
stir-fries, fried rice, bowls, budget low-carb cooking
The cheapest option by a wide margin. It keeps a bit of crunch and turns faintly sweet as it cooks, and it takes soy sauce and sesame extremely well. It reads as cabbage rather than as rice, so it works in a stir-fry and looks wrong under a curry. Squeeze out excess water after cooking if the dish should be dry.
5Riced Hearts of Palm
Different taste
Use the same amount by volume
Tinned hearts of palm chopped small, sold ready-riced in some shops.
What changes
Best for
burrito bowls, cold rice salads, low-carb Mexican dishes
The closest of the vegetable options to shirataki's slightly springy, non-vegetal chew, and much lower in flavour than cauliflower. It does carry a mild brininess from the tin, so rinse well. Also expensive for the volume you get, which is why most people use it for one dish rather than every day.
6Regular Cooked Rice, If Carbs Are Not the Point
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by cooked volume
Plain short-grain or jasmine rice, the option worth naming honestly.
What changes
Best for
anyone using shirataki only because a recipe listed it, meals for mixed households
If you picked up a shirataki recipe without needing to avoid carbohydrate, plain rice is better in every sensory way and needs no special handling. Say it plainly: shirataki exists to remove carbohydrate, not to improve a dish. Cooking a small portion of real rice, or half rice and half cauliflower rice, is a legitimate answer that many people are happier with.

What is Shirataki Rice?

Shirataki Rice is Shirataki rice, also sold as konjac rice, miracle rice or low-carb rice, is rice-shaped pieces made from the glucomannan fibre of the konjac yam, packed wet in liquid and containing almost no digestible carbohydrate or calories.

Cooking tips

Be honest with yourself about what shirataki rice does, because that decides your substitute. It contributes no flavour, no starch, no creaminess and virtually no calories. Its entire job is to occupy the space rice would occupy and hold sauce while adding a springy, slightly slippery bite. Any bulky, neutral, low-carb thing can take that job, and choosing between them is really a choice about how much crunch and how much vegetable flavour you can live with.
Whatever you swap in, drive the water off first. Shirataki is packed wet and cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage all leak liquid when heated. Cook the substitute in a wide dry hot pan with no oil and no lid for three to five minutes before adding any sauce, or the finished bowl will be watery in a way real rice never is.
Shirataki tastes of nothing and neither do most of its substitutes, so the seasoning has to be deliberate. A splash of soy sauce or tamari, a little sesame oil, a knob of butter or a squeeze of lime is not optional garnish here, it is the reason the bowl tastes like a meal.
If you use the noodle form snipped short, rinse it for a good sixty seconds under cold running water. The faintly fishy or earthy note people complain about is entirely in the packing liquid and it rinses away.
Cauliflower rice and its relatives go from firm to soggy in about a minute, so cook them last, over high heat, and take the pan off before you think they are ready. Shirataki is forgiving in a way that fresh vegetables are not.
Frozen riced cauliflower and broccoli work as well as fresh here and often better, because the freezing has already broken down the cell walls. Cook it from frozen straight into the dry pan without thawing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the shirataki rice out?

You can, but you will be eating the topping without the base, which for most bowls and curries means a small, salty, unsatisfying plate. Since shirataki is only there to add bulk, the sensible move is to swap in any low-carb bulk you have, including riced cauliflower, shredded cabbage, courgette noodles or a big pile of wilted greens, rather than serving the sauce on its own.

Is there any substitute that tastes exactly like shirataki rice?

Yes, and it is the only real answer: shirataki or konjac noodles cut short, because that is the same product in a different shape. Everything else changes something. Cauliflower and broccoli add vegetable flavour, hearts of palm add brine, and real rice adds starch and carbohydrate. If your reason for using shirataki was the exact bouncy texture rather than the carb count, the noodle form is the one to buy.

Is cauliflower rice keto if shirataki was?

Both are low enough for most low-carbohydrate eating, but they are not equivalent. Shirataki rice is close to zero net carbohydrate because glucomannan fibre is not digested, while a cup of cauliflower rice has roughly 5g total carbohydrate, about 3g of it net. That is fine for most people on a keto diet as one component of a meal, but if you are counting tightly, it is a real difference worth logging.

Why does my shirataki rice smell odd out of the packet, and will substitutes do that?

The smell is from the calcium hydroxide solution the konjac is packed in, and it goes with a hard cold rinse and a few minutes in a dry pan. None of the vegetable substitutes have that problem, though cauliflower and cabbage develop their own sulphurous smell if you overcook them or cook them covered, so keep the lid off and the heat high.

Can I use shirataki rice in a rice pudding, risotto or sushi?

No, and neither can its substitutes. Those dishes depend on starch: risotto needs starch to go creamy, sushi needs it to make the grains stick, and pudding needs it to thicken the milk. Shirataki, cauliflower and konjac contain no starch at all, so the dish simply will not set or bind. For those recipes you need real short-grain rice.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Shirataki Rice substitute

Other shirataki rice substitutes

2Riced Broccoli or Broccoli Stems

3Shirataki or Konjac Noodles, Snipped Short

4Riced Cabbage or Finely Shredded Cabbage

5Riced Hearts of Palm

6Regular Cooked Rice, If Carbs Are Not the Point