When you are in the mood for fried rice from your favorite take out spot, try this healthy vegetable fried rice recipe. Leftover brown rice is combined with carrots, peas and corn plus the flavors of garlic and ginger to create a tasty and healthy side dish. This recipe comes together in minutes, and is a great way to use up leftover rice and veggies. Sub in your own veggies or add a protein for a complete meal.
All about healthy vegetable fried rice
Fried rice is such an easy recipe, and a great way to use up leftover rice or vegetables. When I developed this recipe, I had half a bag of frozen peas, a cup of leftover corn, and some baby carrots all on hand. Re-purposing those vegetables into a new recipe was satisfying, and even better, it turned out tasty! Using leftover rice for this recipe is not only an option, but it’s actually recommended. Leftover rice is the perfect texture to use for fried rice because of the starchiness. For this recipe, I used pre-cooked frozen brown rice from Trader Joe’s. I always have this product on hand in the freezer, so it made this recipe even easier to execute. This recipe serves 6 people at 2/3 cup serving each.
What makes this vegetable fried rice healthy?
For starters, this vegetable fried rice is made with brown rice, which in itself is a great alternative to white rice. It is packed with fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which makes it a great option to use in recipes as opposed to plain, white rice. This fried rice is also healthier because it is packed with vegetables, such as carrots, corn and peas. The ratio of vegetables to rice in this recipe favors the vegetables, which means that per serving, you are getting a healthy portion of vegetables in addition to rice. My healthy vegetable fried rice recipe also does not use any oil for cooking; instead I use light butter, and non-stick cooking spray. I use sesame oil in the sauce portion to flavor the recipe, but only 1 tablespoon, and I find that it’s plenty to flavor the entire dish.
What you will need to make healthy vegetable fried rice
- light butter
- scallions
- ginger
- I use fresh ginger root, which I peel and then mince. But you can also use ginger that comes in the squeeze tube (often found in the produce section of the grocery store).
- garlic
- carrots
- peas
- I use frozen peas..
- corn
- I use frozen corn, but made sure it was defrosted first to avoid extra liquid.
- cooked brown rice
- I used frozen, pre-cooked brown rice, which I always keep on hand.
- Leftover rice works best here, not freshly made.
- oyster sauce
- sesame oil
- reduced sodium soy sauce
- eggs
How to make healthy vegetable fried rice
To make this healthy fried rice, start off by mincing the garlic and ginger, and chopping the scallions. Melt the butter in the frying pan over medium high heat, and add the garlic, ginger and scallions. Cook them for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Next, add more cooking spray to the pan and add the carrots, peas and corn. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Then, add the cooked rice. Combine everything and cook it for a few minutes or until the bottom of the rice gets crispy in spots.
Next, crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them together. Form a well at the center of the pan with the rice and veggies, and add more cooking spray. Scramble the eggs in the well. You can also use a separate pan for this. Then, incorporate the cooked egg into the rice.
How-To Video
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Healthy Vegetable Fried Rice
Equipment
- large frying pan with deep sides
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp light butter , I use Land 'o Lakes light butter with canola
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- non-stick cooking spray
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup peas, frozen
- 1 cup corn, kernels, if frozen make sure defrosted
- 1.5 cups cooked brown rice, day-old is best
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Chop the scallions. Mince the garlic and ginger.
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan with deep sides over medium high heat.
- Add the scallions, garlic and ginger.
- Saute for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic and ginger are fragrant.
- Add cooking spray to the pan, and add the carrots, peas and corn.
- Cook for 5 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Add the cooked rice to the vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Let the rice stick to the bottom of the pan to get crispy in places, and then stir every so often.
- Combine the oyster sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl and pour it into the rice and vegetable mixture.
- Whisk the eggs in a small bowl.
- Create a well in the center of the rice and vegetable mixture and pour the whisked eggs in.
- Scramble the eggs (you can also do this in a separate small frying pan) and then combine them with the rice and vegetables.
- Garnish with more chopped scallions.
Notes
- 5 WW points (green plan)
- 3 WW points (blue plan)
- 2 WW points (purple plan)
Nutrition
You can pair this fried rice with: Asian Glazed Turkey Meatballs Crockpot Asian Pulled Pork Lightened-Up Sesame Chicken Lightened-Up Sweet and Sour Chicken
Bree says
If I could give 100000 stars I would!! First of al this recipe is INSANE, so classic yet unique and easy! With kids it’s so perfect and meal prep for work school and so much more!!!
Jessica says
This was AMAZING!! My husband a huge picky eater, he was a big fan!! THATS A BUG DEAL lol. But seriously I’m adding this into my menu!! And sooo easy!
Allie says
Holy cow! This was incredible! My 8 year olds told me this was now their favorite dinner and they want it for breakfast tomorrow (because of the eggs 😉).
Jodi says
Delicious! I modified with whatever veggies I had in the fridge and also added a bag cauliflower rice with the regular rice for more volume
Allie says
Better than take out!! I LOVE this recipe!
Shelleu says
Absolutely delicious!!! My daughter declared it a thousand times better than take out and promptly claimed the leftovers for her school lunches this week.
Susan Jackson says
I made this recipe last night for my husband and son. It was wonderful!! My husband had 2 servings. I actually cooked the brown rice in my pressure cooker for the first time, and it turned out perfect. I didn’t make it the day before, like you suggested, but will next time.
I added more rice than the recipe calls for and it was fine.
Thanks so much for all your hard work and great recipes. I am trying the Asian Beef tacos tonight!
Monica Sugar says
I love this recipe, it’s so easy to make and warms up easily. I made Stephanie’s Healthy Cashew Chicken and served this as a side.