Learn how to make this 30-minute Vegetable Egg Fried Rice! Perfect midweek dinner packed full of vegetables & super easy to make. If you are catering for carnivores it's super easy to adapt too! Forget ordering take-away and get cooking!
Do you like egg fried rice? I do! It's such a simple yet filling and comforting bowl of goodness. As much as I love it though, I wanted something similar in flavour yet substantial and nutritious enough to constitute full-blown family dinner. Oh and I wanted it to be quick to make too, perfect as a midweek meal. Have I achieved it? Yes to all of these baby!
My 30-minute Vegetable Egg Fried Rice is:
- Full of flavour
- Packed to the brim with vegetables
- Ready and on your table in 30 minutes
- Super versatile and easily adaptable
- Loved by fussy with veggie kids especially if you get them involved in preparations (peeling and cutting the veg), although if you do that it will definitely take longer that 30 minutes for your dinner to end up on the table, but it might be worth it! Throw eating with chopsticks challenge into the equation and your kids might forget that they are eating tons of veggies (my boys still moved their peppers subtly to the sides of their plates, you win some and you lose some).
Ingredients you will need to make this Vegetable Egg Fried Rice:
- Vegetables (green onions, carrots, red pepper, courgette (zucchini), optional broccoli stalk, frozen peas and/or sweetcorn) - the world is your oyster! I wanted this dish to be packed with variety of veggies hence I really went to town here but you can go for as many or as few as you please, you're in charge here!
- Garlic and ginger (flavour powerhouses) - don't skip them if you can help it. These fellows add so much flavour to this dish, subtly but powerfully. I've opted for approx. ½ tablespoon of grated fresh ginger but you might want to go up to 1 full tablespoon to add that extra pep into your dish.
- Soy Sauce or Gluten-Free Tamari* - salty deliciousness that really shines here. I tend to use very little if any salt in this veggie egg fried rice as we all find it salty enough because of the soy sauce plus you can always take some more to the table and sprinkle over your individual portion if need be.
- Sesame oil* - bags of flavour, don't skip if you don't have to!
- Eggs - I use large free-range eggs
- Rice - I use wholegrain (brown) rice to bump up the fibre but you can use regular white rice if you want to. One thing to remember is that the rice should be cold! Freshly cooked rice won't work well here. To make this dish in 30 minutes you would need rice to be cooked ahead of time or you can always use cooked rice pouches which are great to have on stand-by for quick and easy midweek meals! If you are cooking the rice at home you will need approx. 250g (1 cup) of raw rice to get 500g (4 cups) of cooked.
- Sweet chilli sauce* - From me to you, a serving suggestion! I absolutely love it drizzled over my portion!
Do I need a wok to make this Vegetable Egg Fried Rice?
Absolutely not! I don't own one and make this rice all the time! Sure, if you've got one then you might as well use it but by no means is not having one a deal breaker. I use my heavy duty shallow casserole which I love but you could also use a really large non-stick frying pan. The only thing with that is you might struggle with keeping all the rice and veggies in so a pan/pot/wok with higher sides would be preferable!
How can I adapt Vegetable Egg Fried Rice?
The fantastic this about this dish is that it is super versatile and so easily adaptable!
- Carnivores - If you have some leftover roast chicken (or any other type of roast meat - pork, beef) from your Sunday lunch simply add it (chopped up) at the same time as your rice.
- Pescatarians - Some lovely cooked prawns would go really nicely here too! Add them at the very last minute just to warm them through. If you are using cooked but frozen prawns add them at the same time as your frozen peas.
- Vegans - Omit the eggs and perhaps substitute them with some crumbled pieces of tofu (firm variety) which you would add at the same time as frozen peas. Alternatively, try marinating some tofu pieces in soy sauce or Tamari for at least half an hour and pan fry them separately for the lovely topping on your finished veggie fried rice!
Storing and freezing Vegetable Egg Fried Rice!
If you have any leftovers make sure you chill and refrigerate them in an airtight container as soon as possible. This way you can store them for up to 2 days. When reheating, make sure the rice is piping hot throughout before serving.
Similarly, you can freeze it for later in freezer friendly plastic bag or container for up to 6 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat thoroughly until piping hot throughout!
How to make 30-minute Vegetable Egg Fried Rice - Step-By-Step!
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Start with preparing all your vegetables as per above. Feel free to cut them into small chunks instead of matchsticks (julienne cut), whatever works for you! I like to julienne mine as they are easier to pick up with chopsticks and kiddos are more likely to go for them however the smaller chunks will cook quicker.
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Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large pan or wok and pour in your whisked eggs as you would if making scrambled eggs. Once cooked take them out onto a plate.
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Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in the same pan and add your carrot and broccoli stalk sticks (if using) and fry them for approx. 5 minutes. These veggies take the longest to become tender hence we give them some head start here.
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Add remaining vegetables including garlic and ginger but no frozen peas/sweetcorn as of yet and cook for another 5-10 minutes depending on how tender or crunchy you'd like your veggies to be. You might need to add a touch more oil.
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Once you are happy with tenderness of your veg add frozen peas and/or sweetcorn followed immediately by rice, soy sauce/tamari and sesame oil. Give everything a good mix and cook for few minutes to warm everything through.
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Add your cooked eggs and stir them in. Taste and season with salt or touch more soy sauce/tamari for that salty flavour and serve!
📋 Recipe
30-minute Vegetable Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 small courgette (zucchini) left unpeeled washed and julienned (cut into matchsticks)
- 1 broccoli stalk optional (cleaned and peeled and cut into matchsticks)
- 1 carrot peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 romano pepper or regular red pepper deseeded and cut into matchsticks
- 2 large green (spring) onions both green and white part thinly sliced
- 100 g frozen peas or sweetcorn or both
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and grated/minced
- 10 g fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- 3 tablespoon sesame oil
- 500 g wholegrain rice cooked and well chilled (see notes)
- 4 large eggs whisked lightly
- 2 tablespoon olive oil/rapeseed oil
To serve
- more green onions
- extra soy sauce/tamari
- sweet chilli sauce
Instructions
- Start with preparing all your vegetables as per above. Feel free to cut them into small chunks instead of matchsticks, whatever works for you!
- Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large pan or wok and pour in your whisked eggs as you would if making scrambled eggs. Once cooked take them out onto a plate.
- Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in the same pan and add your carrot and broccoli stalk sticks (if using) and fry them for approx. 5 minutes. These veggies take the longest to become tender hence we give them some head start here.
- Add remaining vegetables including garlic and ginger but no frozen peas/sweetcorn as of yet and cook for another 5-10 minutes depending on how tender or crunchy you'd like your veggies to be. You might need to add a touch more oil.
- Once you are happy with tenderness of your veg add frozen peas and/or sweetcorn followed immediately by rice, soy sauce/tamari and sesame oil. Give everything a good mix and cook for few minutes to warm everything through.
- Add your cooked eggs and stir them in. Taste and season with salt or touch more soy sauce/tamari for that salty flavour and serve!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate and should be treated as a guideline only.
- Feel free to cut your veggies into small chunks instead. The smaller the pieces the quicker they will cook.
- You can use wholegrain or white rice if you prefer. For 500g (4 cups) cooked rice you will need approx 250g (1 cup) of uncooked rice. Alternatively, use pouches of ready cooked rice. If you cook your own rice, let it chill in the fridge first (day old rice is the best here)!
- For dietary alternatives see above.
Nutrition
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Balvinder says
I am seriously a fan of fried rice recipes!Yours look great- so easy and delicious
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Balvinder! I do love how quick and easy fried rice is and so versatile too!
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
I just love fried rice for using up all the vegetables that I haven't gotten to during the week. I absolutely second the use of sesame oil: it adds so much flavor!!
joskitchenlarder says
Oh absolutely! It's so easy to swap and change veggies as per what you need to use up! Sesame oil definitely makes this rice for me!
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
What a yummy and healthy midweek dinner!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Kat! 🙂 Perfect for those days when 30 minutes is all you've got energy for in the kitchen but still want something delicious and healthy.
Anna | Once Upon A Food Blog says
My youngest absolutely loves fried rice. It's an absolute given that that's what she'll order if we get a Chinese, so she'll love this.
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
wow looks super tasty Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
Corina Blum says
It sounds delicious! I know i should definitely try and make it more often and it's a great idea using one of those ready cooked pouches. Probably the reason I don't make it more is that I just don't have enough rice left over!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Corina! Rice pouches have been my saviour more than once I must admit, although I have been really good of late when it comes to planning ahead and making some rice the night before. Long may it last I say! 🙂
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
I don't make fried rice anywhere near as much as I should! Yours looks so vibrant and colourful. I could definitely do with a bowl of that right now!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Cat! 🙂 It's been one of our favourite midweek meals of late on the days when we are busy with kids and their after school activities! It is perfect!
Jenny Paulin says
This looks so colourful and tasty Jo. a perfect mid week meal. xx
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Jenny! 🙂 xx