Healthy Vegetable Fried Rice

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Healthy Vegetable Fried Rice is a medley of scrumptious veggies, scrambled eggs, and umami seasoning. It's easy to make, customizable, and perfect for sharing with family and friends!

Healthy vegetable fried rice made with Japanese short grain rice, asparagus, carrots, zucchini, garlic, celery, spinach, scallions, garlic, eggs, and furikake in a bowl with chopsticks.

This is one of our favorite ways to prepare fried rice. We often make a big batch for brunch then enjoy it for dinner and breakfast over the next couple days. The best part is that this rice is easily customizable, especially if your stomach is sensitive.

Enjoy it with extra veggies like kimchi or green onion or with proteins like chicken, soyrizo, or fried eggs. You can also enjoy it for dinner with Crispy Salmon Bites or or Healthy Meatballs.

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About Healthy Vegetable Fried Rice
Ingredients
Substitutions/Variations
Instructions
Storage
Cooking Tips
Recipe FAQs
Related Recipes
Did You Like This Recipe?
Healthy Vegetable Fried Rice

About Healthy Vegetable Fried Rice

Taste - The veggies, rice, and seasoning combine to create a robust flavor combination.
Texture - The rice is soft and chewy while the veggies are crunchy.
Effort - Making this fried rice is simple. All you need to do is cook the rice, cook the veggies, then cook the eggs.
Time - This quick rice only takes about 40 minutes to make (depending on how you cook the rice). Save time by chopping and cooking the veggies and eggs while the rice cooks.

Ingredients

Rice - We use Japanese rice because it is perfectly sticky and starchy.
Cooking oil - Use a neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point for frying like avocado, grapeseed, or canola oil.
Carrot - Carrots are a sweet and crunchy veggie.
Celery - Celery provides a mild crunch.
Asparagus - Asparagus has a distinct earthy flavor.
Spinach - Spinach is a mild sweet green.
Zucchini - Zucchini is a lightly sweet squash.
Scallions -Scallions are sweet, savory, and pungent.
Garlic - Garlic adds the quintessential aromatic flavor.
Soy sauce - Soy sauce (shoyu) provides a uniquely savory element.
Sesame oil - Sesame oil adds a toasty nutty flavor.
Furikake - Furikake is Japanese seaweed seasoning. It is typically made of dried nori, or seaweed, sesame seeds, and salt.
Eggs - We like to scramble eggs into the rice but you can also make them with a runny yolk with sunny side up, over easy or soft boiled eggs.

See recipe card for quantities.

Substitutions/Variations

Protein - If you’d like to add protein like shrimp, chicken, or steak, cook the protein and remove it from the pan before you cook the vegetables. Add the protein back into the rice when you mix in the eggs in the final steps.
Egg substitute - Leave the eggs out or replace with plant-based eggs, like JustEgg, to make the recipe vegan.
Vegetables - Mix in any of your favorite vegetables. Just make sure they are cut to be around the same size so they cook evenly. You can also use frozen vegetables, like peas, chopped spinach, corn, and more.
Gluten-free - Make this recipe completely gluten-free by using tamari or gluten-free soy sauce.
Brown rice - Use brown rice to make the rice healthier or if you just prefer the taste and texture to Japanese white rice. We recommend Koda Farm's Whole Grain Brown Kokuho Rose, which is a tasty Japanese brown rice.
Kimchi and Kimchi Juice - Kimchi Fried Rice has a pungent and pickled spice.
Green onion - Add green onion for a bright garnish.
Freshly Ground Black Pepper - Sprinkle some white or black pepper for a little spice.

Instructions

Rice

Rice Cooker Instructions - Place rice in the electric rice cooker pot and rinse the rice in the sink until the water runs clear, then drain. Combine rice and filtered water in the pot and cook per the rice cooker directions. (Photo 1 and 2)
Stovetop Instructions - Place rice in a saucepan and rinse the rice in the sink until the water runs clear, then drain. Combine washed rice and filtered water in a medium saucepan. Bring the rice to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Then remove from the heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.
Optional: once the rice is finished cooking, transfer to a sheet pan and let it dry out while you start the next steps.

Fried Rice

Cook vegetables - Add 1 tablespoon avocado oil to a large heavy-bottomed skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add carrots, celery, and zucchini and cook until the carrots begin to soften, occasionally stirring every minute. After about 3 minutes, stir in asparagus and spinach and cook for an additional 3 minutes. (Photo 3 and 4)

Cook aromatics - Turn the heat to medium-low and stir in garlic and scallions. (Photo 5)
Cook rice - Once the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute, turn the heat back to medium-high and add in the freshly cooked rice one cup at a time, folding the ingredients into the rice. Then pour the soy sauce and sesame oil over the rice and fold the ingredients until all of the rice is evenly coated. (Photo 6)
Cook eggs - Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Turn down the heat to medium-low. Push the rice to one side of the pan and the remaining 1 tablespoon of avocado oil to the empty side of the pan. Then add the eggs and stir them in a circular motion with a rubber spatula until they just set and form a soft scramble. (Photo 7 and 8)

Steps to make healthy vegetable fried rice, fold in eggs and furikake into the rice.

Finish dish - Stir the eggs and furikake into the rice and use a wooden spoon to scrape some of the fond (the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan) and mix it into the rice. Serve in bowls and enjoy. (Photo 9 and 10)

Pro tip - Don't use too much water when you initially cook your rice. You want the rice a little drier to soak up all the fried rice juices.

Storage

Store leftover fried rice in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can reheat leftover rice in a pan on the stove over low heat or in a microwave in a microwave safe container until warm.

Cooking Tips

Use day-old rice if possible because it soaks up the soy sauce and ingredient juices better without the risk of the rice becoming mushy. If unavailable, allow the rice to dry out while you cook the vegetables.
If you are using a rice cooker and the outside of the rice gets hard or crispy, use a fork to fluff the rice and add moisture back into those crispy parts.

Recipe FAQs

Is vegetable fried rice healthy?

Yes, this rice is full of healthy veggies and made with light Japanese seasoning.

What are some good sources of lean protein for fried rice?

You can add eggs, chicken, steak, or tofu for lean protein sources.

What kind of rice is best for vegetable fried rice?

We prefer Japanese white rice because it is perfectly chewy and sticky when fried.

Can I make vegetable fried rice with day-old rice?

Yes, this is a great way to ensure the rice is perfectly dried out for frying.

Healthy customizable veggie fried rice made with vegetables of choice, soy sauce, Japanese rice, and eggs.

Did You Like This Recipe?

Love this vegetable fried rice recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below & leave a comment below. If you are looking for other flare-friendly breakfast recipes, check out our oat flour banana pancakes!

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