This recipe for veggie fried rice is chock full of colorful vegetables and is ready in just 20 minutes! This vegetarian fried rice is the perfect quick and easy side dish that the whole family will love.
You can never go wrong with Asian food recipes at home. My family always requests that I make sweet and sour chicken, fried rice and beef broccoli stir fry. This vegetable fried rice is the very best accompaniment to a variety of Asian dishes, and it’s so simple to make.
Lately I’ve really been embracing the “cook once, eat twice” motto – basically you cook enough food the first night to use all or some of the components in the second night’s dinner. It’s been a major time saver! This veggie fried rice is the very best way to take your leftovers and turn them into something special.
Table of Contents
Veggie Fried Rice Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need cooked rice, vegetable oil, onion, carrots, red bell pepper, peas, garlic, eggs, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, salt, pepper and green onions.
How Do You Make Veggie Fried Rice?
Heat some of the vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet. Add the onion and carrot to the pan, and cook until tender. Stir in the red bell pepper and cook for a few more minutes, then add the garlic. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste, then remove the veggies from the pan and cover to keep warm. Add the rest of the vegetable oil, and scramble the eggs in the pan. Season the eggs, then add the rice, cooked veggies and peas to the pan. Stir in the soy sauce an sesame oil, then cook for another 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the green onions over the top, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- Frozen peas work perfectly in this fried rice, no need to look for fresh peas. That being said, I don’t recommend canned peas as they don’t have as nice of a color or texture as the frozen version.
- Fried rice works best with cold rice, so this is the perfect way to use up leftover rice from the fridge. With cold rice that’s had a trip through the refrigerator, the grains are all separated and firm, and you’ll get a better texture than you would with freshly cooked rice. Fried rice made with just-cooked rice will be softer and won’t have those crispy little bits.
- Be sure to cut your vegetables into uniformly sized pieces so that they’ll cook at the same rate.
Quick Tip
Leftovers will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Recipe FAQs
The secret to good fried rice is to use cold leftover rice, cook the dish in a very hot pan. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan when you cook the vegetables. You want the vegetables to have enough room for the hot air to circulate so that they will sear instead of steam.
You can add a variety of ingredients to fried rice to enhance the flavors. Some great options include seasonings such as oyster sauce, hoisin sauce or sriracha. You can also add protein such as bacon or chicken. Another great option is to add more vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage or mushrooms.
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Flavor Variations
There are so many different ingredients you can add to your fried rice to customize it to your tastes.
- Protein: You can add protein such as tofu, or even chicken, pork beef, ham or shrimp if you’re not a vegetarian.
- Vegetables: I like to add other vegetables that I may have on hand such as edamame, broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, snow peas, zucchini, cauliflower mushrooms, corn or green beans.
- Seasonings: You can add other seasonings such as sesame seeds, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, sriracha sauce for a little kick, or freshly grated ginger.
- Grains: This recipe also works well with brown rice, or a blend of rice with quinoa.
Everyone is sure to be impressed with this fried rice. It’s full of flavor, color and texture with minimal work involved!
More Asian Food Favorites
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Chicken Lettuce Wraps
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Chinese Lemon Chicken
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Love This Recipe?
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Veggie Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked white rice leftover rice is perfect!
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil divided use
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional: sliced green onions for garnish
Instructions
- In a large wok or skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil over medium high heat.
- Add the onion and carrot to the pan, cook 3-5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the red bell pepper; cook 2-3 minutes more. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the vegetables from the pan, place them on a plate and cover to keep warm.
- Pour the remaining teaspoon of oil into the pan; add the eggs and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up with a spatula until the eggs are scrambled and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the rice, reserved cooked veggies and frozen peas to the pan. Stir in the soy sauce and sesame oil and mix gently until everything is thoroughly combined and warmed through, 3-4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add more soy sauce if desired.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with sliced green onions if desired.
Notes
- Fried rice works best with cold rice, so this is the perfect way to use up leftover rice. With cold rice, the grains are all separated and firm, and you’ll get a better texture than you would with freshly cooked rice. Fried rice made with just-cooked rice will be softer and won’t have those crispy little bits.
- Be sure to cut your vegetables into uniformly sized pieces so that they’ll cook at the same rate.
Exceptional! I’ve tried literally dozens of fried rice recipes, from those with a simple ingredient list to extremely complex. And THIS is the recipe we’ve been looking for! Definitely restaurant quality, as in American Chinese restaurant quality. LOVE LOVE LOVE and thank you for such a good, simple and fantastic recipe. I added some shredded cabbage and didn’t have peas. Rave reviews!