Kale and Coconut Fried Rice
Vegetarian weeknight fried rice with sautéed kale, coconut flakes and rice. The dish is finished with Thai flavors like lime, cilantro and sriracha.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
I’m jet lagged from my trip to Greece, so I made one of my old favorites to share again! It’s comforting and packed with nutrients, which is just what I need right now.
In fact, I enjoy this recipe so much that it inspired a recipe in my cookbook, the colorful coconut fried rice with edamame on page 182. If you haven’t tried that one yet, you’ve really missed out.
This dish is a relatively quick weeknight meal and a fun alternative to my go-to extra vegetable fried rice. This recipe has some Thai flavors, including sriracha, lime and cilantro.
I added coconut flakes, too. The big, toasted coconut flakes are savory and remind me of bacon. We all know that bacon and eggs belong together, so today, I present to you a healthier, vegetarian option.
For some reason, when I shared this recipe four years ago, I called it a stir-fry. It’s fried rice, not a stir fry! This is a stir fry. Moving on.
Feel free to throw in any thinly sliced vegetables that you might have in the fridge, too. Red bell pepper is lovely, as are chopped Brussels sprouts. I bet thinly sliced carrots would be great, too.
I found the base recipe for this stir fry in an awesome cookbook that landed on my doorstep, courtesy of a PR rep. It is appropriately titled, Brassicas: Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables.
Brassicas are the cruciferous family of vegetables that include kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and other less trendy ingredients, like bok choy and turnips. Did you know that arugula is a brassica? That was news to me.
Brassicas help prevent cancer, reduce inflammation and promote liver detoxification, so needless to say, they are a worthy (and delicious) addition to your plate.
The book’s original recipe for spicy kale fried rice was really tasty, but I couldn’t help adding some complementary flavors. While I was savoring my first test run, I remembered how great lime and cilantro go with kale in my burritos. Then I recalled Heidi Swanson’s amazing kale and coconut flake salad. I added all of the above to my second try and loved it even more.
Hope you’ll take my word for it and try it! Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments.
Watch How to Make Spicy Kale and Coconut Fried Rice
Spicy Kale and Coconut Fried Rice
A vegetarian weeknight fried rice with sautéed kale, coconut flakes and rice. The dish is finished with Thai flavors like lime, cilantro and sriracha. For best results, cook your rice in advance and refrigerate until you’re ready to start cooking (see note). This dish comes together very quickly—be sure to have your ingredients prepped ahead of time and placed near the stove, along with a big empty bowl for the cooked components. Recipe yields 2 servings.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or quality high-heat oil such as avocado oil, divided
- 2 eggs, whisked together with a dash of salt
- 2 big cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¾ cup chopped green onions (about 1 bunch)
- Optional: 1 cup chopped vegetables, like bell pepper, carrot or Brussels sprouts
- 1 medium bunch kale (preferably Lacinato but curly green is good, too), ribs removed and leaves chopped
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup large, unsweetened coconut flakes* (not shredded coconut)
- 2 cups cooked and chilled brown rice**
- 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce or sriracha
- 1 lime, halved
- Handful fresh cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large (12-inch or wider) wok, cast iron skillet or non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles on contact, add 1 teaspoon oil and swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Pour in the eggs and cook, stirring frequently, until the eggs are scrambled and lightly set. Transfer the eggs to your empty bowl. Wipe out the pan if necessary with a paper towel (be careful, it’s hot!).
- Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and add the garlic, green onions and optional additional vegetables. Cook until fragrant or until the vegetables are tender, stirring frequently, for 30 seconds or longer. Add the kale and salt. Continue to cook until the kale is wilted and tender, stirring frequently, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the contents of the pan to your bowl of eggs.
- Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pan. Pour in the coconut flakes and cook, stirring frequently, until the flakes are lightly golden, about 30 seconds. Add the rice to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is hot, about 3 minutes.
- Pour the contents of the bowl back into the pan, breaking up the scrambled egg with your spatula or spoon. Once warmed, remove the pan from the heat.
- Add the tamari, chili garlic sauce and juice of ½ lime. Stir to combine. Taste, and if it’s not fantastic yet, add another teaspoon of tamari or a pinch of salt, as needed.
- Slice the remaining ½ lime into wedges, then divide the fried rice into individual bowls. Garnish with wedges of lime and a sprinkling of torn cilantro leaves, with jars of tamari, chili garlic sauce and/or red pepper flakes on the side, for those who might want more.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Brassicas: Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables by Laura Russell.
*Where to buy coconut flakes: Look for them in the baking section at Whole Foods, health food stores or well-stocked grocery stores. The brands I see most often are “Let’s Do Organic” (green package) and Bob’s Red Mill.
**Rice notes: Stir fries always work best with chilled rice. You’ll need to cook about ⅔ cup dried rice to yield 2 cups cooked. If you’re in a hurry, spread the cooked rice on a rimmed baking sheet and place it in the fridge or freezer to cool. Here’s how to cook brown rice.
Make it vegan/egg free: Skip the eggs by heating the pan and then start cooking with step 2. For extra protein, you can stir in 1 cup defrosted frozen shelled edamame in step 4.
Make it gluten free: Make sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce, like tamari.
Storage suggestions: The dish tastes great the next day, whether reheated or served at room temperature.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Used a recipe for coconut rice because I didn’t have flakes and it worked out great!
Absolute perfection. I come back to this recipe often. It’s a great way to use leftover rice or random vegetables (though I usually stick to carrots, red peppers and kale). I always add a little bit of rice vinegar, coconut aminos, and a ton of gochujang sriracha. It’s so satisfying, it’s hard not to eat all of it at once!
Thanks for all of your beautiful recipes.
xx
We have made several recipes from your site. Each one has been a crowd pleaser, including this one. We fine chopped about 8 mushrooms, a red pepper, 1/2 c edamame, and 1/2 c fine chopped carrots. I also added some broiled shrimp for my meat-eater son. This was so yummy!
Thank you for sharing, Morgan!
So freakin good, my husband and I ate the whole pan ❤️
Great to hear, Rachel!
Sounds fantastic, easy and healthy. Can you say why its better to use cold cooked rice! Thanks!
I love coconut milk, but I’m not a huge fan of coconut in other ways. A little bit in granola is nice but I’m not a German chocolate cake gal. How strong is the coconut flavour in this dish? Do you think I’d still like it?
I like the additional flavor, but it’s apparent. If you don’t love coconut, you can omit or add less.
Made this last night! Delicious!
Made this last night! Delicious!
This recipe saved the day on a cold winter night when I was too lazy to drive to the grocery store in the snow. I scrounged through my cabinet and found i had enough ingredients to make a fried rice and remembered seeing this recipe. I even had some shredded coconut on hand so it was meant to be. I used spinach instead of kale and added a bell pepper. I didn’t have lime or green onions, but this recipe still blew my mind. I’m sure I will like even more when I have all the ingredients. This is a new favorite and I plan to make it all the time. I thought I had a go to fried rice recipe but this has replaced it. Thanks Kate!
Yum!!! I had to skip the chili sauce due to my husband’s dietary restrictions, but it really didn’t need the spice. So yummy!
I’m glad you were still able to enjoy it, Sara! Thanks for your review.
I’ve made this recipe a few times and it’s so good! I’m vegan and the first time I just omitted the egg but later I had the idea to sub with tofu scramble (with nutritional yeast for that eggy flavor). It’s a staple for when I want an easy but still healthy meal.
This was absolutely delicious. Also added capsicum, red cabbage, Chilli, ginger, turmeric, saffron and chopped coriander stalks. Will definitely become a favourite. Thank you!
Found this a bit disappointing in terms of producing fried rice. It was a good stir fry – i added red bell pepper and carrots- but it didn’t remind me in anyway of fried rice. I never cooked with coconut flakes before so maybe i messed up somehow, but the tasted of the coconut flakes were lost in the stir fry.
This recipe was AWESOME so tasty. I used carrots, pepper and snap peas. Also added more coconut. Will probably use more egg and less rice next time as I had more rice than needed. Can you email me the recipe?
I know this recipe was posted awhile ago but I just made it today and was so surprised with how awesome it is! So simple yet delicious. I added edamame and corn and made some of your crispy tofu with it. I’ve made your recipes for a few years now and this is definitely top five.
DELICIOUS!!
I made a few changes to the recipe for my family’s tastes ;-)
I added a large red pepper, half a courgette and extra spring onions.
I used Cauliflower rice.
I used the zest and juice of a whole lemon.
I didn’t add the chili garlic sauce but added chili flakes.
Thank you – ALL your recipes are awesome. This is the first time I’ve written a review but they’re all so good!
This is another great way to use kale. This time I did not have coconut flakes and used shredded coconut (unsweetened)… nevertheless was very good…
This was so so delicious. The man LOVED it, the boy liked it – I loved it too. I used sliced Brussels sprouts, carrots, kale, onions and everything else. Totally delicious. Thank you!
Amazing! My boyfriend and I loved this. And it’s so quick to make! 30 min from start to sitting down to eat. We used collards instead of kale, and added carrots and mushrooms for the veggies. Would also love to use this coconut rice method as a base for other things. We will definitely be making this one again!
I made this and it was great . Next time I will add pan fried tofu and mung bean sprouts. I passed it on to several friends.
Thank you!
Wow, this was amazing! Just so delicious, I could turn around and make it again today. I might have to hide the leftovers from my husband.
This is the second amazing recipe I have made from your site, so I am ordering your book today!
This is a very good recipe. Definitely a repeat! For some reason, the tamarind itself didn’t lend as much flavor as I had wanted so I sprinkled Eden’s Ume Plum Vinegar and that did the trick! Everyone in my family loved it!
Nicest new recipe I’ve cooked in a while. I substituted scramble tofu to make vegan. And used spinach and dessicated coconut as was what I had. But honestly this was so bloody delicious and packed with flavour. Definitely adding this to the dinner rotas
Who could have imagined that adding coconut flakes to fried rice would be so delicious? The whole family, picky eater included, gobbled it down. Thanks Kate (and Cookie)!
Right! It truly makes it amazing. Thank you for your review, Wendy.
I love this recipe! I made it vegan and also added peanuts to it which made it extra delicious!!!
Thanks and I love your blog. I make at least 1-2 of your recipes each week!
And another one!! I have tried three recipes from this site and all 3 have been amazing! Like eat seconds and thirds in one sitting amazing! Buying the cookbook NOW!!!
Thank you, Ciara! I hope you love my cookbook. I appreciate your review and support!
This is now one of my favorite recipes! I doubled the recipe, added some mushrooms and chopped cauliflower, and served it with crispy tofu. My family loved it, as well! Can’t wait to make it again! I look forward to trying some of your other recipes! I like the versatility of the recipe; you can easily veganize it, or make it oil-free, without losing the flavors.
Holy. Moly. I ate the whole thing myself in one sitting. Sooooo good!! Thanks for the amazing recipe!!
Made this with carrot, bell pepper, green onion and kale. Instead of brown rice I used cauliflower rice and OMG definitely my favorite recipe since my cooking extravaganza kicked off!!!
I added about a tablespoon of ginger paste to the sauce and fried the cauliflower rice last with salt and cilantro. It was excellent!!! Thank you!!
Could you substitute the kale with spinach? Kale is not a family favorite.
Sure, that can work too.
I had some kale that needed to be used and happened to see this recipe posted on Facebook so I knew I need to make this! I really enjoyed this one. I used the unsweetened coconut flakes from Trader Joe’s and added in shredded carrots and celery for the supplemental veggies. I also made more rice than the recipe called for, but went ahead and tossed that in too. Would definitely add more kale and a third egg next time. In all, a very easy and very filling dinner that should keep nicely for tomorrow’s lunch.
OH. MY. GOSH. This is one of the most delicious things I’ve EVER made. I followed your brown rice instructions (came out perfect & slightly chewy), threw it in the fridge to chill. Used curly kale, bell pepper, carrots. It was yummers on its own, but I kicked it up a notch with spicy grilled shrimp. Had a satisfying Thai dish feel, the spice balanced with lime and sweetness of coconut (I used Trader Joe’s flakes). Soooooo good! Thank you <3
I do agree with you! It’s so delicious, Hana. I appreciate you taking the time to review!
We loved this recipe! It was so quick and easy since we made the rice in bulk at the beginning of the week and only had to heat it for this recipe. Delicious and I love that each person can customize their own spice level! Thank you!
Awesome! I went with sriracha (full 2 tsp plus another drizzle) and shrimp in place of eggs, and the husband said “I’d eat that again.” (He eats just about anything, so unsolicited positive comments are high praise indeed!) I had baby kale from the CSA that was already washed; it was about 4 or 5 cups chopped — is that about what a bunch is? Googling isn’t much help. Just want to get a sense for roughly how many veggies went in so I can just use this as my catch-all dish for random produce!
Hi Sadye, so glad to hear this was a hit! Yes, that sounds like about the right amount. Bunches of kale vary by weight, I’ve found, which is strange, but they’re generally around 5 ounces. Typically, one cup of roughly chopped or packed greens weighs about one ounce.
Easy, nutritious and delicious.
Also a great way to use any veggies needed to be used. Love love it
This was really delicious. I added broccoli, red peppers, snow peas, and tofu to make it a full meal. This will definitely go into our meal rotation.
This is so good. I used cauliflower, red pepper, mushrooms and carrots. This is a keeper of a recipe and can be adapted in so many ways. Next time I am adding fresh chillies and will serve it with avocado. My non vegan husband cooked a tuna steak to go with his whilst I piled on edamame beans. Super tasty
Sounds like a great way to change it up! Thank you for taking the time to review, Adrienne.
I love your recipes and have used many of them. Do you have a substitute for eggs? I’m allergic and don’t always know in Asian cooking what substitutes the egg.
Hi Claire! It depends on the recipe. You can omit, you add in my crispy baked tofu if you wan extra protein.
Delicious! I made this and paired it with your Kung pao brussel sprouts and added some tofu. Thanks for always having such yummy recipes!!
Made this and the coconut flakes went really well with the coconut oil and gave the fried rice an extra dimension. I didn’t have chilli garlic sauce, so I mixed in sambal instead, which I think didn’t bring the dish together. I really love the fried rice base though and will definitely keep this as part of a go-to easy meal recipe!
Thank you, Faye for your comment and review!
Made this with wild rice and it was fantastic! Thank you for the great recipes.
So.Delicious. Super inspired and fresh. I eat plant-based for health reasons and cannot count the number of times I flip to you first for meal planning. I never leave comments but I made an exception tonight. I don’t ever need to adjust your seasonings and because of your flavourful vegetarian and vegan options my 14-year-old is slowly coming over to our side, Kate! Thank you from the bottom of my healthy heart that no longer needs to consider blood pressure or cholesterol medication – thanks again.
You’re welcome! I’m delighted things are going better for your family, Lorianne.
Could I use frozen kale instead of fresh? I have tons in my freezer!
Sure! That should work. I hope you love it.
I’ve been following your blog for some years. Today, I decided to try this fried rice. It was absolutely delish, very forgiving, and so easy to put together. I agree with other reviewers – the coconut flakes takes it to the next level. If you don’t have it, I would encourage you to get the larger coconut flakes. It really is worth the trouble. My insanely picky 10 year old is not complaining about Kale and Zucchini in the rice, and agreed it is delicious :). I added Brussels, Red capsicum, Zucchini and subbed tofu for eggs. Definitely will be saving this one for the archives.
Thank you for following along for so many years and trying this one! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
Outstanding! I used cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, carrots, red bell peppers, Brussel sprouts for my veggies. Used baby spinach leaves bc it was all I had. The flavors are amazing. Can’t wait to make again with kale. Thank you!
Hi Kate, the recipe looks gorgeous… I was not able to find coconut flakes in my supermarket, would shredded coconut do in a pinch? Thanks!!
Hi! You can always admit. Shredded might be too much.
This recipe is delicious! I love coconut, and when it’s toasted in the pan it takes on a rich nutty flavor. I broke the rules and used coconut flakes and it was still really delicious.
That’s great to hear, Barbara! I appreciate your review.
Hello Kate ! I couldn’t find this kind of kale, but instead portuguese kale and also if the coconut flakes are sweet, is there a problem?
Best regards,
Camila
Hi! That kale should work just find too. You can omit the coconut flakes, if you like.
Great stuff! We didn’t have cilantro, so I subbed finely diced ginger, and sweet-salt Indonesian Ketjap Manis instead of tamarind. The coconut flakes give it a lot of flavour! My new comfort food – thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Karina! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Crowd Pleaser!!! The spice together with the coconut creates an amazing balance. Plus you can easily prep in advance. Make all the veggies and then pull it all together with the sauce before serving to a crowd.