This vegetarian Quinoa Fried Rice is quick and easy to make and loaded with fluffy quinoa and tender veggies. This 20-minute recipe is perfect for a meatless weeknight dinner!
Hello friends and welcome to a new week!
Today's recipe for this easy vegetarian quinoa fried rice is actually a remake.
It was one of the earlier recipes I posted here on the blog and wow, it showed.
I had ZERO idea about how to photograph food. Or even use my DSLR camera - the photos weren't even in focus!
Luckily, I'm pretty sure this was one of the recipes I had posted before I ever even told anyone about my blog. I was still trying to figure out how to do everything and was trying to get some content up before I went public with it.
So thankfully, probably no one saw the previous version of this recipe. Or those wretched photos.
(And as I rewrote this post and added my new photos, I knew a couple of you would be curious and want to see those really bad old ones. I included one at the end of the post for your laughing pleasure. You are welcome.)
However, I do love this recipe and so I wanted to give it a refresh and share it with you again!
(It also goes with my other recent fried rice alternative: my quick and easy cauliflower fried rice with chicken.)
This vegetarian quinoa fried rice is also really quick and easy to make!
It's ready in 20 minutes and it is LOADED with veggies! We've got onion and red bell pepper, broccoli florets, mushrooms, and peas and carrots. Veggie lovers paradise!
It's also a gluten-free and dairy-free recipe and it can easily be made vegan.
So let’s get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below on how to make quinoa fried rice. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
- Quinoa: The quinoa here needs to be already cooked when you add it in. It takes 15 minutes to make, so if you don’t have some on hand already, just cook the quinoa while you're getting the veggies chopped and the stir fry started.
- Spicy: Feel free to adjust the heat on this recipe. I used my favorite Asian chili garlic sauce that's just got a bit of heat. You can add more to make this spicy, or serve it with some sriracha drizzled on top.
- I've also made this with sriracha in place of the chili garlic sauce. It doesn't have quite the same depth of flavor but it works if you don't have any of the sauce.
- Eggs: You can omit the eggs in this fried rice if you want this recipe to be vegan.
- And if you're gluten free, just substitute tamari for the soy sauce.
- Not vegetarian? You could definitely add some cooked chicken, pork or shrimp to this recipe if you'd like.
Or if you want to add another vegetarian-friendly protein, crispy soy marinated tofu would be a great addition.
Homemade fried rice, even when it’s really quinoa, is so much easier, faster, more delicious and healthier than takeout.
Get to cooking and make this colorful, flavorful dinner!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Quinoa Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups cooked quinoa, from about 1 cup uncooked
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 cup onion, chopped small
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped small
- 1 small head broccoli, cut into very small florets, about 2 cups
- 1 cup peas and carrots, I use a frozen mix
- 1 cup mushrooms, chopped small (white button or cremini work well)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Asian chili garlic sauce, see notes
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Sesame seeds, to garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large wok or sauté pan over medium-high heat and add canola oil.
- Add onions and red pepper and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until slightly softened.
- Add broccoli and mushrooms and sauté for another 2-3 minutes, until veggies are beginning to get tender.
- Add frozen peas and carrots cook for another minute or two, until warmed through.
- Move the veggies aside and crack the eggs into the pan. Stir to scramble, cook and then mix in with the veggies.
- Add the quinoa and mix everything together well.
- Add soy sauce and chili garlic sauce and stir to combine.
- Turn off the heat, add the sesame oil and stir to combine.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired, and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Here's one of the older photos I promised you. Feel free to laugh at me!
The Clever Carrot
Love anything quinoa and especially this recipe since it's so fast and looks delicious! A winner. Thanks for sharing. Emilie
Kathryn
Thanks Emilie! It's such a yummy, easy weeknight dinner! Hope you'll give it a try and let me know how you like it! XO
Gabriela
What's the Asian chili garlic sauce & where do I get it?
Kathryn Doherty
It's a jarred sauce that's great in fried rice, stir fries and other Asian dishes. You can find it in the international aisle of most grocery stores, near the other Asian condiments like soy sauce and sriracha. Here it is on Amazon also for reference: https://amzn.to/2TRHcoz Hope that helps!
Samantha
loved this recipe!! i didn’t have a few ingredients so i loved that you could really personalize it!
Kathryn Doherty
Yay, I'm so happy to hear you loved it Samantha! And yes, being able to customize a recipe is so helpful - especially right now. 😊