Create a delicious Vegan Fried Rice in no time, utilizing staples from your pantry and freezer. Customize it with your favorite veggies and enjoy a favorite takeout dish made easily at home.
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Our family always enjoys Chinese food, and no matter what other Chinese dishes we decide upon, one of the dishes we almost always choose is fried rice.
It can be difficult to find vegan fried rice in restaurants, though, so making it yourself is your best option. Making fried rice from leftover rice and frozen vegetables takes almost no time.
Instead of the egg that is usually in traditional fried rice, this recipe has an option of including some tofu scramble. This addition of tofu makes this dish a more complete meal with protein, carbs, and veggies.
Ingredients
My fried rice recipe is made with just a few easy ingredients. It’s important to prep your ingredients in advance, because this recipe goes together quickly.
- Firm Tofu – for the tofu scramble
- Tofu Scramble Seasonings – nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, and black salt.
- Yellow Onion
- Sesame Oil, just a little for flavor (This is optional – for oil free use vegetable broth)
- Minced Garlic – fresh or jarred minced garlic.
- Frozen Vegetables – you can use fresh vegetables, but be sure to dice them to similar size so they cook evenly. Use the vegetables you like best!
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce or Gluten Free Tamari
- Cooked Rice – use any variety you like, but long grain rice works better than short grain rice. You can also use brown rice. Be sure to chill the rice before making this recipe.
- Green Onions – for garnish
How to Make Vegan Fried Rice
It is best to use cold rice for fried rice, so cook it the day before or at least 3 to 4 hours in advance. And be careful not to over cook it. Using freshly cooked rice causes the grains of rice to stick together. The precooked and cooled rice will give you nice, separate grains of rice.
If you forget to cook the rice ahead of time, you can cool your rice by spreading it out on a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerating for a few hours.
I used a large nonstick wok to cook my fried rice. Heat the wok over medium heat.
Begin by cooking the tofu scramble. Squeeze the excess liquid out of the tofu, and then crumble it into the heated wok. Add the nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, and black salt and stir to combine. Break up any large clumps of tofu as you stir.
Transfer the cooked tofu to a plate or bowl and set aside.
Add the onions and the sesame oil or vegetable broth to the hot wok and cook until the onions start to become translucent.
Add in the minced garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.
Then add in the frozen vegetables and and soy sauce and cook until the vegetables begin to thaw.
Add the rice and stir it well to combine it all. Cook until it is thoroughly heated. I like to allow the rice sit in the pan for a few minutes to develop some nice crispy bits.
Serving suggestions
Enjoy this dish as a side with any other Asian entree. It would be a wonderful side served with my Cashew Veggie Stir Fry or my Tofu Veggie Kabobs.
Storing
This rice freezes well in an airtight container. It should keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days or in the freezer for several months.
If you like this recipe, you might also like these delicious Asian recipes:
Are you new to oil free cooking? Check out my Oil Free Cooking Tips to learn more about oil free baking, roasting, sauteing, and more!
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Easy Vegan Fried Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Tofu Scramble
- ½ block firm or extra firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon black salt
For the Fried Rice
- 4 cups cooked rice
- 1 yellow onion diced
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil optional
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 cups fresh or frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 or 3 green onions sliced
Instructions
Make the Tofu Scramble
- Preheat the wok over medium heat.
- Squeeze the excess water out of the tofu and crumble it into the wok.
- Add the tofu seasonings and stir them into the tofu, breaking up any chunks of tofu as you stir.
- Transfer the tofu scramble to a plate or bowl and set aside.
Make the Fried Rice
- Cook the rice and refrigerate it the day before you make this recipe, or at least 3 or 4 hours before.
- Heat the oil, water, or vegetable broth in a large nonstick wok or large sauté skillet. Add the diced onion and stir fry until it is translucent. If the onions starts to stick use water or vegetable broth to deglaze the pan.
- Add the garlic and cook for about two minutes.
- Add the soy sauce and vegetables to the pan and cook until they begin to thaw.
- Add the rice and cook until everything is heated through.
- Stir in the tofu scramble. I like to let the rice cook a little bit in the pan without stirring it to allow it to crisp up a bit.
- Garnish with sliced green onions.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional calculations are approximate.
