Who needs take out when you can make Chinese restaurant-style vegetarian fried rice in your own home in 10 minutes? This rice has the best, crispy texture, tender, fluffy eggs, colourful vegetables, and packed with flavour. Plus, it's fully customizable so you can throw in whatever vegetables and protein you have on hand.

Fried rice is one of our favourite dishes, that we eat almost every week. It's Danny's specialty and it's one of the first dishes that he ever cooked when he moved to Canada on his own. Over the years, he has honed his skills and has really elevated his rice game. So today, he is sharing all his tips for creating restaurant-quality fried rice at home. Bye take-out!
What is in Vegetarian Fried Rice
- vegetable oil
- eggs
- white rice - freshly cooked is best, but you can use leftover rice. You will just need to add some water to soften the rice.
- vegetables - fresh or frozen carrots, green peas, and sweet corn. Carrots and peas are essentials in fried rice. You can get creative with your other vegetable options and use whatever you have on hand. Broccoli and cauliflower are good options. You can even add peanuts or edamame beans.
- seasonings - sesame oil, salt, Italiano seasoning (optional). Another popular seasoning that can be used is cumin, but use sparingly.
- green onions - can be substituted with cilantro (but if using cilantro, it must be added at the end as a topping, as it will wilt under the heat).
- maggi sauce - can be substituted with teriyaki sauce for a sweeter taste, satay sauce or fish sauce for more of a seafood taste, or curry sauce for a Thai-style fried rice.
- roasted black sesame seeds
How to Cook the Best Vegetarian Fried Rice
- Make the eggs: Scramble eggs over medium high heat.
- Add rice: Add the rice and turn the heat up to high. If using leftover rice, add water to soften the rice.
- Add vegetables: Add carrots, sweet corn, and peas to the pan. Continuously stir to cook and evenly distribute them.
- Add seasoning: Add sesame oil, salt, and Italiano seasoning (optional), and continuously stir stirring. Add maggi sauce and green onions and stir to combine.
- Serve: Serve hot and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Tips for Making Fried Rice
- Continuously stir. You will need to continuously stir throughout the cooking process to ensure even distribution of heat across the dish, and even cooking. Fried rice is about uniformity. The rice is supposed to be evenly cooked and all the pieces should have the exact same flavour and texture. I often use 2 spatulas for cooking this dish.
- Cook eggs until tender. Cook the eggs on medium high heat until cooked through, yet tender. You don't want the eggs to get to a very dry stage early on. You want them to be springy and bright in colour.
- Cook fried rice over high heat. Cook fried rice over high heat to achieve the best mix of texture and flavours. Asian fried rice is supposed to be cooked quickly, so cooking over high heat speeds up the cooking process.
Different Types of Fried Rice
There are so many different ways to make fried rice, whether it be vegetarian, meat or seafood. You can mix together an endless variety of ingredients to keep changing it up. Some common combinations are:
- Beef with broccoli
- Shrimp with cauliflower and broccoli
- Chicken with chopped green beans with curry sauce
- Chicken with peanuts with a black bean sauce
Tofu can also be added to this vegetarian fried rice. Just cut it up into small cubes, similar in size to frozen peas and corns, as all the pieces in the dish should look uniform.
More Rice Recipes
- 10-Minute Seafood Fried Rice
- Teriyaki Grilled Salmon Rice Bowl
- One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice
- Easy Coconut Rice
- One Pot Rice Pilaf with Carrots
Did you make this recipe? I would greatly appreciate a comment and rating below, letting me know what you thought of the recipe. You can also snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @aheadofthyme or share it on the Pinterest pin so that I can follow along.
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Recipe
Vegetarian Fried Rice
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 servings
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Make flavourful, Chinese restaurant-style vegetarian fried rice at home in 10 minutes, with fully customizable ingredients, and say good-bye to take-out!
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3 cups freshly cooked white rice (can use leftover rice)
- ½ cup carrots, diced
- ½ cup frozen green peas
- ½ cup frozen sweet corn
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Italiano seasoning (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon green onions (approximately 1 full stem), chopped
- 1 teaspoon maggi sauce
- 1 teaspoon roasted black sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large wok or skillet over medium high heat for one minute. Add beaten eggs, and stir until scrambled and cooked through, yet still tender.
- Add the rice and turn the heat up to high. It's very important to cook fried rice over high heat to achieve the best texture. If you are using leftover rice, add up to ¼ cup of water to soften the rice.
- Add carrots, sweet corn, and peas to the pan. Continuously stir for 2 minutes to cook and evenly mix and distribute the ingredients.
- Add sesame oil, salt, and Italiano seasoning, and keep stirring, for about 1 minute. Add maggie sauce and green onions at the end and stir to combine.
- Serve hot and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Notes
You will need to continuously stir throughout the cooking process to ensure even distribution of heat across the dish, and even cooking. Fried rice is about uniformity. The rice is supposed to be evenly cooked and all the pieces should have the exact same flavour and texture.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Rice
- Method: Stir Fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
Keywords: fried rice, rice, vegetarian fried rice, chinese fried rice, weeknight dinner
Farah says
Just made it, results are top! I used parboiled rice but it still turned out great. Such a great recipe for the little ones too because of the veggies and eggs.Thank you so much for sharing, Sam.
★★★★★
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much for your review Farah! So happy you and the little ones enjoyed the recipe 🙂
georgie says
this looks absolutely heavenly! I am always looking for more vegetarian dishes, this looks hearty and healthy!
★★★★★
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you! It's SO easy to make. Let me know if you try it 🙂
Veena Azmanov says
Easy, quick, healthy and delicious option. My kids to love it. Perfect for a Happy Meal planning.
★★★★★
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you for your comment! So happy the kids like it 🙂