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 Chinese food at home, my family always requests that I make sweet and sour chicken and beef broccoli stir fry. This 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.
How do you make veggie fried rice?
This recipe starts with a blend of vegetable including onion, carrots, red bell peppers and garlic. Everything is cooked until tender, and then the eggs are scrambled in the pan. Cooked rice goes into the mix, along with soy sauce and sesame oil for seasoning. Stir fry everything together and dinner is served!
Tips for veggie fried rice
- 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. 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.
IS VEGETARIAN FRIED RICE BAD FOR YOU?
This fried rice does contain some oil, but other than that, the basic ingredients of vegetables, eggs and rice are wholesome and packed with nutrients and protein. If you’re looking for ways to make your fried rice healthier, you can use half the amount of vegetable oil, substitute brown rice for white rice, and add even more veggies to the mix.
VEGETABLE FRIED RICE 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 or shrimp if you’re not a vegetarian.
- Vegetables: I like to add other vegetables that I may have on hand such as broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms or green beans.
- Seasonings: You can add other seasonings such as sesame seeds, sriracha sauce for a little kick, or freshly grated ginger.
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
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.
sally says
I served the green onions on the side so the kids would eat it. It was really flavorful and easy to make.
Patzy says
Made exactly as in recipe! Excellent, will definitely make it again!
Linda says
This was very good and I added chicken to make a full 1 pan meal.
Hannah says
This was wonderful. Thank you for sharing this recipe! ❤️
Edith says
I made this for dinner this week and served it with your salmon and homemade teriyaki sauce recipe. It was a great combination. I used brown rice and didn’t change anything else. My husband also gave it thumbs up and was sorry there wasn’t more. Oh well, we’ll know for next time.
Dani says
I used this one as general guidelines for measurements and order of prep.
Used a frozen stir-fry medley to cut the prep time, used garlic and ginger (as suggested), added sesame seeds and teriyaki sauce after plating the rice.
LO loved it and asked for more 🙂 That’s a 5 star in my book.
Krista says
This was delicious! I was out of peas so used corn lol. For some reason I’ve never used sesame oil in fried rice, but wow! Made it taste like restaurant quality. Will definitely make this again.
Katie says
So good! The magic of this recipe is how flexible it is. I omitted the carrots & peas & egg, subbed avocado oil for vegetable oil (wonderful buttery flavor & healthier than vegetable oil), & added in chicken, parsley, ginger, red pepper flakes, & onion powder. I always need more oil & soy sauce than the recipe calls for, but that’s just my taste.
chicook13 says
I’m typing with one hand while eating this delicious meal! I did add some zucchini, snow peas and Sriracha (we like our food spicy). I used toasted sesame oil since it was what I had. I made short grain brown rice in my Instant Pot. It was perfect! My teenager ate a big bowl and he loved it! We will certainly be making this again soon.
Sara says
So glad you enjoyed it, thank you for reporting back!
TJ says
Thanks for great recipe! My husband and I had this on Monday for dinner and he ate it for lunch on Tuesday! This recipe is a keeper. We wanted to keep the meal meatless so I had veggie gyoza from Trader Joe’s. I didn’t like them as much as my husband. Any suggestions on a great veggie dumpling? P.S. My stomach and I are totally distracted (in a good way) by the cooking videos playing as a type this!
Sara says
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! Costco sells some great dumplings in the freezer area!
Bea says
Those dumplings from PF Changs really look good! I’m thinking tomorrow night to try this!
Debbie says
Love PF Changs and good to know it’s sold in grocery stores now
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert says
We have always loved vegetable fried rice and yours looks better than anything I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Those dumplings look great too! Yummy meal 🙂
Sam says
My household would really enjoy this meal!
Nancy says
I am confused about the vegetable oil. Is it Tsp or Tbs? 3 TBS in the ingredients but 3 Tsp in the instructions
Sara says
There is 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil which is the same as 3 teaspoons. I’m not sure where you see 3 tablespoons, there is 3 tablespoons of soy sauce?
Greg says
Love the veggie fried rice! It looks great. Dumplings and veggie fried rice would be a perfect weeknight dinner.
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
My family loves fried rice and such a great way to get all the veggies in 🙂 Those dumplings look delicious, too!