Looking for a few ideas to cook one of the most popular dishes? In this post I share with you five quick and easy ways to make eggless vegan fried rice at home with whole food, plant-based ingredients. Healthy fried rice is a great meal for making with leftover cooked rice, as well as including in your meal prep routine.
What is fried vegan rice?
Also known as vegan fried rice, this dish is basically sautéed cooked rice with vegetables, sauces and other foods such as tofu, tempeh, peanuts, or mushrooms. Vegan fried rice does not include animal products such as eggs or meat.The basic ingredients of fried vegan rice recipes usually include:
- Diced onions
- Diced carrots
- Green peas
- Cooked short grain brown rice
- Soy sauce, tamari sauce or liquid aminos
- Rice vinegar
- Sesame oil (optional)
These are the basic ingredients for making fried rice using WFPB ingredients.
Why use short grain brown rice?
Short grain rice is the idea rice for making fried rice. This is because it is slightly sticky and the kernals are short which helps prevent fried rice that has broke rice throughout. If you do not have short grain brown rice, that’s ok, you can substitute brown jasmine rice.
For those who are concerned about arsenic in brown rice, I recommend using Lundberg rice which is grown in California.
Where to buy organic short grain brown rice online
Shop for Lundberg organic short grain brown rice online:
How to make vegan oil-free fried rice
To make fried rice without oil simply use water to sauté your vegetables and rice instead of oil. Simply heat your pan, add vegetables and sauté until tender on medium heat. If needed, add 1-3 tablespoons of water during cooking to help prevent burning. Then add the cooked rice and sauté for another 3-5 minutes, or until desired consistency. Add soy sauce and rice vinegar and toss to coat fried rice.
How to saute without oil (dry sauteing)
Easy vegan fried rice sauce
Here’s a quick and easy basic fried sauce recipe. This recipe is for one serving, multiply it by the number of servings you plan to make. Simply whisk together the ingredients for this sauce and add to your fried rice near the end of cooking:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, tamari or liquid aminos
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or sweetener (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
11 ways to make fried vegan rice
Here’s five plant-based fried rice variations that you can make with leftovers. Use the basic fried rice recipe and add the variation ingredients when you add the rice.
Tofu fried rice
Tofu is packed with plant-based protein and is a great addition to this type of dish. You can add tofu that has been prepared a variety of ways, including:
- Baked tofu
- Air-fried tofu
- Raw tofu
- Scrambled tofu
Mushroom fried rice
Mushrooms are so delicious and have a very meaty texture, which makes them a great addition to this type of dish. Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of mushrooms per serving. Saute mushrooms prior to adding if you want them well cooked.
Veggie loaded fried rice
Pack your dish with a variety of veggies. Here’s some ideas:
- Onion
- Garlic
- Carrot
- Corn
- Green peas
- Bok choy
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
Vegan kimchi fried rice
If you’re a fan of kimchi, try topping your dish with this fermented condiment. Or, add the kimchi when you add the cooked rice to your skillet and saute it.
Fried rice with scrambled tofu
Scrambled tofu resembles scrambled eggs and is a great addition to this dish. Add 1/2 cup of scrambled tofu to each serving.
Fried rice with Just Egg
If you’re a fan of the Just Egg, try adding it to your dish for an extra eggy eggless fried rice.
Quinoa fried rice
Instead of using cooked rice to make this dish, substitute cooked quinoa instead in equal measure. This is a great way to use leftover quinoa.
Pineapple fried rice
If you’re a fan of sweet and savory, adding pineapple to fried rice is a great idea. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of diced pineapple when you saute the vegetables.
Mexican fried rice
Fried rice doesn’t have to have Asian ingredients like soy sauce and rice vinegar. Instead, substitute Mexican spices such as cayenne, oregano, chili powder, cumin and coriander. Instead of topping your fried rice with Sriracha sauce, use your favorite Mexican hot sauce.
Cauliflower fried rice
There are two ways to make cauliflower fried rice. One is by substituting “riced cauliflower” for the cooked rice in fried rice in equal measure. The other is to add cauliflower to the basic recipe. Both are great ways to include this healthy cruciferous vegetable.
Broccoli fried rice
Broccoli is so delicious in fried rice. Some ways to cook the broccoli before adding to fried rice include:
- Air-fried broccoli
- Roasted broccoli
- Steamed broccoli
- Raw small diced broccoli
Add the broccoli when you add the rice to the dish if it is already cooked. If using raw broccoli, add it when you are sautéing the vegetables.
Further reading:
- Easy Vegan Lunch: Tofu Kale Scramble, Garlic Toast & Peanut Cabbage Slaw
- Meal prep equipment: Complete guide to stocking your prep kitchen
- Follow the Daily Dozen with me!
Save this post on Pinterest:
