VEGAN FRIED RICE

A quick, comforting vegan fried rice with tofu, veggies, and warm spices—ready in 25 minutes and perfect for make-ahead meals.

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A quick, comforting vegan fried rice with tofu, veggies, and warm spices—ready in 25 minutes and perfect for make-ahead meals.

Hello folks! It's Rita here. Today we're sharing what I think is the simplest recipe ever in the blog. We're well aware that many vegans, vegetarians and omnivores are interested in preparing wholesome, home-cooked meals more often. And we also hear they just can't find the time to invest in learning new techniques or shopping for particular ingredients. Truth is, this Vegan Fried Rice is just the type of meal we cook more often at our own home: simple ingredients, easy methods, very quick to prepare and completely comforting and filling. We always make big batches, whatever it is we're cooking, and this rice holds perfectly in the fridge for up to a week.

What's great about recipes such as this one is that you can easily adapt it to whatever is in your fridge. For instance, just swap the bell pepper for zucchini, onion for leeks, the tofu for mushrooms, the broccoli for kale leaves and the peas for lentils and you've got a totally different result. You can even use brown rice or quinoa instead of basmati rice and transform it just that tiny bit more. Every time we make this, it turns out a little different than it did the last time. But I must say, we gathered our absolute favourites for this rendition of our easy, vegan fried rice. It is so simple, yet so delicious. The key is to include a little bit of everything: warm spices, crisp veggies, soft legumes and some seeds for the crunchy texture. I'm pretty sure you guys will enjoy this too. Give it a go and let us know how this worked out for you. We love hearing from you guys! :) xo

Bowls and plates with cubed tofu, rice, sunflower seeds, spices and chopped vegetables ready for cooking.

Frying pan on a stovetop with carrots, broccoli and peppers being sautéed.

Freshly cooked rice being added to sautéed vegetables in a black frying pan.

Animated gif of freshly cooked rice being added to sautéed vegetables in a black frying pan.

Close-up shot of pan with colourful vegan fried rice with tofu, broccoli and vegetables on a white surface.

Overhead shot of a full pan of vegan fried rice with sunflower seeds on top.

Dark grey pot of vegan fried rice garnished with fresh coriander, served on a white table.

Two bowls filled with vegan fried rice and fresh coriander on a white background.

Single pot of vegan fried rice next to fresh coriander leaves in a bowl.

Overhead shot of vegan fried rice in a blue pot with a small bowl of chopped herbs.

Vegan Fried Rice

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Makes 4-6 portions

20 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin quarter slices
250 g firm tofu, drained, washed and chopped into little cubes
2 garlic cloves, central germ removed and finely chopped
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp ground ginger
½ head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
150 g frozen peas
450 g basmati rice
45 g sunflower seeds
lemon wedges
fresh cilantro or parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

Start by gathering, preparing and measuring all of the ingredients. This will improve your dynamic in the kitchen.

Heat the olive oil in a large, wide pan over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, bell pepper and carrot, and cook for 6 minutes or until the veggies are soft and the onion is translucent, but not brown.
Add the tofu and garlic and cook for 6 minutes, stirring often, or until the tofu is lightly toasted and crispy.
Add all of the spices and mix well to combine. Allow to cook the spices for 2 minutes.
Add the broccoli and peas and cook for two minutes.
Pour in the water, cover the pan and allow the veggies to steam for 3 minutes.
Uncover, mix well and continue to cook until all of the water evaporates.
Add the basmati rice, one cup at a time, and the sesame seeds and mix gently. Cook for a further 5 minutes in order to toast the rice.
Serve immediately, drizzled with fresh lemon juice and sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs.

This fried rice keeps well stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days.

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4 Comments

Jennifersays:

July 2nd, 2019

Sunflower seeds or sesame seeds? Doesn’t matter does it?

Jennifersays:

July 2nd, 2019

How much water? You state “pour in the water, cover the pan and allow the veggies to steam for three minutes’’.

Taj Foodssays:

July 10th, 2018

Fried Rice is the first choice of every rice lover. It was unique & delicious recipe of fried rice. I'm really exited to make this. Thank you for sharing vegan fried rice information.

Tim Allensays:

May 24th, 2018

It would help if you suggested how much water. Also, if your rice should be cooked, mention that also.

Rita Parentereplied:

May 24th, 2018

Hi Tim, thank you so much for stopping by! :) if you look closely where we list the rice in the ingredients list, it is actually a link to our tutorial on how to cook basmati rice. This fried rice recipe calls for rice that’s already been cooked. I’ll add that detail to the ingredients list :) xo