This easy vegan fried rice is quick and simple to make. It uses frozen vegetables and prepared rice and has all the traditional flavors and textures of fried rice.
This recipe can be made 100% oil-free, or add in an (optional) egg replacer, use Just Egg to lend an authentic element to this quick and easy vegan dish.
I do love fried rice! Fried rice is packed full of healthy vegetables and flavors. It is a perfect side dish with my Vegan Orange “Chicken” or Vegan Teriyaki Bowls – or even just by itself as a main dish.
While I’ve always loved fried rice, I’ve never enjoyed the “fried” element of it. I try to avoid unnecessary oils; and once I started eating vegan, any fried rice with egg in it was also definitely off the table. I make this delicious version of egg-free and oil-free vegan fried rice for my family.
I saute the vegetables and rice in vegetable broth and it tastes great! And because we are accustomed to eating oil-free, we find that we really didn’t miss the oil. It still has all of the great Asian flavors without the added oils and extra calories.
I will confess though, that when I make this dish for people outside of the family, I sometimes use a little avocado oil rather than saute in the vegetable broth. It’s a personal choice.
Enter the Just Egg- Egg Replacer!
I have newly discovered Just Egg, and it has been a game-changer in some of my previous egg dishes like my Vegan Breakfast Casserole. No, it is not a whole food -definitely processed. BUT I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s okay sometimes… This dish will still taste amazing without the Just Egg, but adding an egg replacer coats the rice and gives it a more authentic texture.
OR for a scrambled egg texture rather than a coated rice texture, scramble the JUST Egg in a separate pan and add it to the cooked rice at the end.
FAQs for Easy Vegan Fried Rice Recipe:
Read through the FAQ section so that your Easy Vegan Fried Rice will turn out as delicious as mine!
- To make this fried rice quick and easy, I use frozen vegetables. That means that besides the green onions, there is no chopping or prepping. My frozen vegetable of choice is petite mixed vegetables including peas, carrots, corn, and green beans.
- Green Onions – I was never sure which part of the green onion I was supposed to use. The green stem part? The white bulb part? Nate from Spiced “N Diced broke it down for me. “I make use of both ends. They lend different flavors and textures. The greens are better raw as a topping or garnish and the whites cook well.” So there you go! We slice the whites to saute and use the greens for topping and garnish.
For quick preparation, I use pre-cooked rice I buy at the store. I’ve used both white and brown rice and enjoy both. Sometimes I even mix them. But what I don’t do it steam the rice myself. I do not notice a flavor difference when I do.
- Would you believe I’m also okay with buying pre-mince garlic in a jar? For this type of recipe in which the garlic is sauteed with so many different ingredients, I really don’t notice a difference between this bottled garlic or the fresh garlic.
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Easy Vegan Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 bunch green onions (the white bulb part) a generous 1/3 cup
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic see note
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth more if necessary
- 16 ounce mixed vegetables (frozen) I like petite mixed (see note)
- 3 cups rice cooked (see note)
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup Just Egg (egg replacer) optional (see note)
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds can sub cashew or peanuts
- green onions (the green stem) for garnish
Instructions
- Slice the white bulb part of 1 whole bunch of green onions (about 1/3 cup). Reserve the green stem part for garnish.
- MInce 2 cloves of garlic (about 2 teaspoons).
- Line a non-stick pan with 1/2 vegetable broth. Saute onions and garlic for about 2 minutes. Watch the bottom of the pan in case the liquid dries up. Add a little more if necessary.
- Add in frozen vegetables and continue to saute until the vegetables thaw. Again, watch the bottom of the pan and add more broth if it dries up.
- Add in the low sodium soy sauce, coconut sugar, almonds, and cooked rice. Continue stirring for a minute until the rice has softened (if using prepared rice).
- Optional - but kinda tasty, pour the Just Egg on top and stir while it coats the rice and vegetables and cooks. This will take about 2 minutes. The Just Egg tends to stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Top with more almonds and sliced green onions.
Notes
- I saute in vegetable broth. I don't like to add unnecessary oil. If you prefer to use oil, then use up to 2 tablespoons and leave out the broth.
- Green onions - you will be slicing and sauteing the white bulb end, but reserve the green stem end and slice that for garnish.
- Minced garlic - I use garlic that is pre-minced and comes in a jar. Two teaspoons is equivalent to two bulbs. Use more if you are a garlic lover.
- I buy frozen mixed vegetables. The variety I prefer is called "petite mixed" and includes peas, carrots, corn, and green beans. There is no need to thaw, but I do set the bag on my counter for a few minutes while I am getting the other ingredients together.
- To make this fried rice quick and easy, I use pre-cooked rice of choice. I have used various types of white rice and brown rice. I have even mixed them. Your choice.
- Just Egg egg replacer can be found in the refrigerated section near the liquid eggs in your grocery store. I have made this recipe for years without the Just Egg and it was fine. The Just Egg gives the rice a coating but will not give puffy scrambled egg pieces. If you want that then you'll need to scramble the JUST Egg separately and add it to the cooked rice mixture.
Nutrition
Can I use maple syrup in place of the sugar?
Oh that’s a really good question. I will often use maple syrup or make a date syrup to sub for sugar in recipes depending on how healthy I am feeling. I cannot personally vouch for that in this recipe though as I haven’t tried it. I will definitely try though the next time I make it. In the meantime what I would do is make the recipe without the sugar. (You might not even need or want it if you are accustomed to cooking without sugar.) Start with the tiniest amount- say 1/4 teaspoon and taste. Then add by the quarter teaspoon up to one teaspoon. And PLEASE let me know how it turned out. Feel free to email me cindy @veggiefunkitchen.com (remove the space after cindy). And thanks for the question. I am really curious now myself.
We made this, but adding Just Egg at the end did not work very well & it certainly didn’t cook in 2 minutes. It made everything completely mushy, even after letting it cook for an additional 20 minutes.
Hello Mallory, I’m sorry that this recipe did not work out for you, and actually sounds like it did not work out at all. JUST egg acts as an egg substitute but don’e not behave exactly like a chicken egg would. With chicken eggs in fried rice recipes eggs can be prepared in various ways. They can be scrambled and cooked in larger chunks or diced into smaller pieces, creating distinct egg portions throughout the rice. Alternatively, the eggs can be beaten and poured over the rice, coating it more evenly in a thin layer (which is actually the same as for spaghetti carbonara). The method used often depends on the recipe and personal preference. Some variations of fried rice may even incorporate both techniques, offering a combination of chunky and coating-style egg distribution for added texture and flavor. I think that the scramble and add later is more what you were looking for.