Extra Vegetable Fried Rice
Learn how to make vegetable fried rice—it's a simple and satisfying dinner! This recipe features extra vegetables and brown rice. Vegetarian/gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
I set out to create a more interesting take on greasy take-out vegetable fried rice. Here it is in full glory, and it’s as flavorful as it is colorful. Hooray!
I used brown rice, naturally, and even threw in a handful of greens, which offer even more health bonus points. (The greens are optional.)
I also played around with a variety of vegetables, and all of them worked well as long as they were cut into very small pieces.
This is exactly what you should make when you have leftover rice and some random raw vegetables in your fridge. You’re going to love it!
The Best Vegetable Fried Rice
I designed this recipe to work well in a regular skillet (preferably cast iron), since most of us don’t have woks at home.
The only tricky part, which really isn’t so difficult, is to cook the eggs, vegetables and rice separately, and combine them all at the end.
That way, each component will be cooked just right, and the vegetables and rice will get a chance to develop those delicious golden edges.
Delicious veggie fried rice, coming up! As always, please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments. I’m always so eager for your feedback.
Craving more? Check out my Thai pineapple fried rice. If you’re looking for more versatile recipes to use up the last of your vegetables, don’t miss this roundup.
Watch How to Make Vegetable Fried Rice
Extra Vegetable Fried Rice
Learn how to make vegetable fried rice—it’s a simple and satisfying dinner! This vegetarian recipe features extra vegetables and brown rice. Recipe yields 2 large or 3 moderate servings (I think you could double it if you have a large enough skillet, but you might not get as much caramelization on the edges of the veggies and rice).
Ingredients
- 1 ½ teaspoons + 2 tablespoons avocado oil or safflower oil, divided
- 2 eggs, whisked together
- 1 small white onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium carrots, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
- 2 cups additional veggies, cut into very small pieces for quick cooking (see photos for size reference; options include snow peas, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, bell pepper, and/or fresh or frozen peas—no need to thaw first)
- ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon grated or finely minced fresh ginger
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (*see notes!)
- 1 cup greens (optional), such as spinach, baby kale or tatsoi
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce**
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Chili-garlic sauce or sriracha, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- This recipe comes together quickly. Before you get started, make sure that all of your ingredients are prepped and within an arm’s reach from the stove. Also have an empty bowl nearby for holding the cooked eggs and veggies. I’m suggesting that you start over medium-high heat, but if at any point you catch a whiff of oil or food burning, reduce the heat to medium.
- Warm a large cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat until a few drops of water evaporate within a couple of seconds. Immediately add 1 ½ teaspoons of oil and swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Add the scrambled eggs and swirl the pan so they cover the bottom. Cook until they are just lightly set, flipping or stirring along the way. Transfer the eggs to a bowl and wipe out the pan with a heat-proof spatula.
- Return the pan to heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining veggies and salt. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally (don’t stir too often, or the veggies won’t have a chance to turn golden on the edges), until the veggies are cooked through and turning golden, about 3 to 5 more minutes. In the meantime, use the edge of your spatula or a spoon to break up the scrambled eggs into smaller pieces.
- Use a big spatula or spoon to transfer the contents of the pan to the bowl with the cooked eggs. Return the pan to heat and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 30 seconds. Add the rice and mix it all together. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is hot and starting to turn golden on the edges, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the greens (if using) and green onions, and stir to combine. Add the cooked veggies and eggs and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the tamari and sesame oil. Taste, and add a little more tamari if you’d like more soy flavor (don’t overdo it or it will drown out the other flavors) or salt, if the dish needs an extra boost of overall flavor.
- Divide into bowls and serve immediately. I usually serve mine with chili-garlic sauce or sriracha on the side. Leftovers store well in the refrigerator, covered, for 3 to 4 days (if you used purple cabbage, it might stain your scrambled eggs a funny blue color, but it’s fine to eat).
Notes
*Rice notes: You’ll need to cook about 1 cup dry rice to yield enough for this recipe; be sure not to over-cook it or it will stick to the pan. I prefer short-grain brown rice since it’s a little chewy, but medium-grain or jasmine rice will work, too. Here’s how I cook brown rice. You can use freshly cooked rice if you spread it onto a large tray and let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes first (this gives it a chance to dry out a bit so it doesn’t steam itself in the pan). Day-old leftover, refrigerator rice is great, too. Just break up any clumps of rice before you add it to the pan. Credit goes to Serious Eats for the rice tips!
**Make it gluten free: Be sure to use gluten-free tamari, not regular soy sauce.
Make it vegan: Omit the eggs and the 1 ½ teaspoons oil that goes with them. For extra protein, you could mix in 1 cup edamame (thawed if necessary) or a batch of my crispy baked tofu with the cooked veggies at the end.
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.
Okay so this was really great when I initially made this recipe. TONS of layers of flavour so bravo! BUT what I did with the leftovers had me SHOOK. I put the leftovers in the oven and covered it with aged cheddar cheese and Parmesan, baked it at 350 for 15 minutes and broiled on high for 5. This was UNREAL as a leftover cheesy baked bowl of goodness! Thank you again!
I haven’t tried the recipe yet but I’m doing this with the full batch as soon as I’m finished making it! Sounds amazing.
Thanks so much for the recipe! It was a hit in a family of picky eaters!
You’re welcome, Maureen!
Made this for dinner tonight. It was great! The whole family loved it. Thanks for the great recipe!
You’re welcome, Christina! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Hello! Can I use minute brown rice for the rice?
Sure! You can use those if that’s all you have on hand.
Every recipe that we have tried are delicious, especially the chili.
Oh this is the truth! That’s how I found cookie and Kate some years ago, her chili recipe is epic!!!!
Wow! This was so good and packed with nutritious veggies! For his “cook in the kitchen” night, hubby made this. Dee-licious!
Thank you for sharing, Cindy!
The whole family enjoyed this recipe! The best thing about it is that you can use just about any veggies you have on hand.
I agree! Great recipe to use vegetables in your refrigerator already. Thank you for your review, Stacey!
Absolutely perfect. Thank you!
Loved this. We’re trying to do more Vego dishes and this is a winner. I added some crushed peanuts as a garnish and pre roasted some eggplant so it didn’t go soggy.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have never been able to cook a decent fried rice. This recipe is perfect. I love everything about it. Great to be meat free also.
I’m happy you loved it, Wendy!
I made this for my vegetarian, new mom, daughter. I used about 5 cups of vegetables instead of 2 but left the rice at 2 cups because we wanted more vegetables and less rice. I used red cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, and red bell peppers. It was delicious! I especially liked the ginger flavor. Next time I will add more ginger and little more of the red pepper flakes. Thanks so much for the recipe.
This is the best fried rice ever!!!! I have added chicken and beef as well. So easy and delicious. Definitely one of my favorite recipes.
I love this recipe!! I’m a beginner at cooking and it’s super easy to cook :)
I made this for dinner last Monday, and my husband loved it. He ate left overs, AND here we are Monday a week later. He asked me to make it again tonight! We have a winner indeed!
Thank you!
Looooooved this! Best I’ve ever had!
I made this rice the other night and my husband said it was spectacular!! I also added a crispy fried egg on which was so good too.
This is a go to recipe for us. I add even more vegetables! Love it.
Made this for dinner tonight! It was delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Cathy!
We made the recipe with asparagus, snow peas, red bell pepper, and broccoli. It was delicious! I’ll have to hunt for chili-garlic sauce to kick up the flavor, but it was quite delicious without it. The garlic and ginger added a nice touch of flavor, and I thank you for this recipe!
That sounds like a great combination, Leslie! Thanks for your review.
This was the best fried rice I’ve made yet, thank you Kate! I’ve made fried rice many times but wasn’t happy with the way it would turn out. I combined this recipe with your baked tofu recipe and it was a winner. I heated up the leftovers and added a fried egg on top – so, so good, especially with the addition of the chili garlic sauce.
Thank you for letting me know you loved it, Tova! I love the idea of a fired egg on leftovers.
My all time favourite fried rice recipe.
Yum this is delicious! I love veggies and fried rice so it’s the best of both worlds. Very easy and tasty.
Great, Glenice!
So yummy! Thank you! I didnt change much other than add less rice as we have a diabetic in the family:)
I tried this recipe, modified a lil bit by adding chicken. Its tasting amazing!
Thank you!
Thank you! This was a great way to layer flavors, flexible for whatever produce is lying around, healthy, hearty and kid friendly. The colorful photos were a nice bright spot on an otherwise grueling day. This will be in rotation AFTER this whole mess is over too….and it will be! Hope this finds you safe at home. xo
I am a very experienced cook, I make delicious meals for my family everyday; this recipe, however, is extremely long and complicated. I was surprised that no one else commented on the length and complexity. It is a tasty dish but I would not recommend unless you have an afternoon to prepare it; approximately 2 straight hours.
Wow! That’s ages. It took me about 20 minutes from start to finish – quite a bit of clean up though with the extra bowls. You must be a perfectionist with your dicing Christina ;)
The dish came out great. I always look for ways to add more vegetables, thank you. I should always read the directions through first. I did make a mistake by keeping the vegetables in the pan when I should have removed them. It still came out good.
You’re welcome, Karen! I’m sorry you had a mishap, but I’m happy it still turnout for you. I appreciate your review!
This is my favorite meal to cook. During this time, twice I have made a big pan of it and shared it with my 83 year old mother and my friend who can’t really cook and they both love it as well. I have made this recipe many, many times and it is always delicious and I have never gotten tired of it. I sometimes add a few peanuts to it which I think adds something and I often use more eggs, but otherwise I pretty do the recipe as shown above. I just told my other friends where they could find it as it really is the most delicious thing ever and they will be glad they made it! Thank you Kate!
Hi Robin, I’m so glad to hear it! Thank you for letting me know and stay well. :)
Made this tonight and we loved it! Easy to make and delicious! Thank you so much!
Best Fried Rice I’ve ever had! Will be making for the rest of my life now.. Thank you!
This came out so absolutely delicious, I couldn’t believe how authentic the taste was to my favorite carry out order. Very flavorful. Love this recipe, will be making again!!!
So good!! A family favorite!!
I LOVE THIS RECIPE! Its a go to in our house when we have alot of random veggies and want something tasty! So customizable and comes out amazing every time!
I made this recipe to use up some leftover purple cabbage. Loved how this turned out. It was so beautiful and colourful and healthy! Takeout fried rice without the MSG :) thanks Kate!
I love your recipes Kate! This is so yummy, I usually do half brown rice and half riced cauliflower, and throw in edamame. Turns out great every time!
I love your creativity, Bridget. Thank you for sharing!
Very good. My husband doesn’t love veggies but he thought it tasted like a restaurant dish. I excluded the eggs and used a combination of butter and Avocado oil. Thanks for the recipe.
Super quick, easy, and delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
I used white rice, it was what I had. This was so yummy. I switched to a wok because all the ingredients would not fit in my cast iron skillet. Next time, I will double the recipe or 1 1/2 it, I love leftovers and with 2 boys I didn’t have any.
I’m happy you were able to make it with what you had and loved it!
Wow!!! So delicious!!! I used coconut basmati rice and I think it really added to the flavor mix. My veggies were onion, celery, carrotts, red cabbage and kale. So colorful, quick and tasty! Next time I’ll use even more ginger. Thanks for this gem :)
I love how your recipe turned out! It has really great combination and taste!
Here’s my personal, you should really try this out too!
I didn’t have either of the onions but it turned out wonderful. Both of my teenagers enjoyed as well. I love how you can change it up with variety of veggies.
Great to hear, Katie! Thank you so much for sharing.
This might sound a little odd with fried rice, but with the leftovers, I melted some shredded cheese on top of this and it tasted SO GOOD.
Delicious!!! Lotta prep, but so worth it. We topped ours with some wonton strips for a little crunch. And, there’s enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thank you!
SUCH a great formula for a flexible and completely irresistible dindin! Two of us took care of it all a little too easily:). Leftovers?? Ha, as if. Many thanks, Kate!
I love it, Susan! Thank you for sharing.
I agree! Great recipe to use vegetables in your refrigerator already. Thank you for your review, Stacey!
This was so good!Beautiful and delicious.
Thanks for sharing!
I wasn’t sure if my family would even try this dish, but it sounded so good to me I made it anyway. Much to my surprise, my veggie-averse17-year-old LOVES it! He even asked me to make it again to have on hand in the refrigerator for an easy midnight snack! In addition to carrots, I used a variety of bell peppers (green, red, yellow) and added edamame. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Barb! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Hello,
I felt I had to leave a comment here. I’m a husband and father of two who, until recently, rarely ever cooks for the family. My business has been reduced while my wife’s has exploded, thankfully. Due to her lack of available time, she has asked me to do more around the house with homeschooling, laundry, and yes, cooking. So I consulted the almighty search engine for “easy vegetarian dinners” and I found you. Thank God I did!
For my first from scratch home cooked meal I chose “Extra Vegetable Fried Rice” because it looked easy enough that even I couldn’t screw it up. And I cannot believe how good it turned out! My wife, who is also a very good cook, exclaimed, “This is the best fried rice I’ve ever had.” OMG. Thank you, Thank you , Thank you for your website and for sharing your recipe’s with us plebs. I have printed off about 20 of your other recipes and I’m excited to continuing cooking delicious meals for my family. BTW, my two boys are quite picky when it comes to vegetables and these kids practically inhaled this meal. The only complaint they had was I didn’t make enough for seconds. :)
This is now our favorite meal and is so flexible, since I can use up any vegetables I have on hand. I always double the recipe. Last night I slowly sauteed mushrooms using vegetable stock as needed in place of oil, and then removed it from my skillet. I then stir fried asparagus, red onion and orange bell pepper slices in a small amount of olive oil, adding veggie stock as needed, and removed these from my pan after nicely charred yet still slightly crunchy. Lastly I sauteed some finely diced red onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic, then added in the rice, which I “fried” in 2 batches, and then threw everything back into my skillet. We try to eat plant based/low sodium as often as possible, so I left off the egg and subbed Bragg’s Amino for soy sauce. This is a meal I would definitely feel proud to serve to my carnivorous friends. My husband said it is restaurant quality, and I have to agree!
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! We all love fried rice but this is really outstanding. Added baby bok choy but otherwise followed the recipe. Everyone loved it!