Vegan Unfried Rice

Are you looking for a simple, cheap, healthy vegan dish that you can make ahead of time and serve during the week? Vegan unfried is perfect. Instead of ordering take-out, you can easily make this vegan unfried rice. I love this oil free version of fried rice. It’s family friendly and my husband and son loved it.

Fried rice is usually loaded with oil and made with egg. In this vegan “Fried” rice version, I made the rice with no oil and substituted the egg with tofu. If you make the rice in advance, this meal can come together in about 10-15 minutes. Simple, cheap and versatile.

To make the dish even simpler, I used a frozen bag of peas and carrots. The only chopping required in this dish is for the onions and garlic glove.

Why cool the rice?

You want the rice to be cooled so it doesn’t become clumpy when you mix in with the vegetables. If you want to make the rice in advance, or use left over rice, that would be perfect for this recipe. If you want to make fresh rice, no problem! Just let the rice cool before using in this recipe, especially if you have the desire to make the dish.

Vegan Unfried Rice Ingredients:

• Rice (I like brown rice, you can use your favorite rice)
• Firm tofu
• Nutritional Yeast
• Turmeric
• Onion
• Frozen bag of carrots and peas
• Scallions or green onions
• Nut Butter Tamari Sauce
• You can also add in extra veggies on hand like broccoli, bell peppers, etc

Nut Butter Tamari Sauce

• Peanut Butter (substitute for almond butter, tahini or nut butter of choice)
• Maple syrup
• Sriracha Sauce (optional)
• Garlic Clove

You’re hungry, let’s make the dish:

Start with the rice.

If you make the rice in advance or have left over rice, this is really quick to make. In 10 to 15 minutes you’ll have this on the dinner table. You need about 3 cups of cooked rice. 

To be honest, this is what I would do. Make a batch of rice. 1 cup of uncooked rice and rinse the rice under cold water in a mesh strainer. Rinsing the rice removes excess starch and helps the rice from clumping together and removes any debris.

To a medium pot, add in the rice with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once the rice is boiling, turn the heat down to low, stir once and cover. Allow the rice to absorb the water for about 20-30 minutes. It depends on the type of rice you use, cooking time can vary. I love left over rice, I like making extra for quick meals. This yields about 3 cups.

Important Reminder: Let the rice cool slightly before adding to the sautéed vegetables. You don’t want clumpy rice.

Make the Sauce

To make the sauce in a small bowl add in the tamari, peanut butter, minced garlic, maple syrup, sriracha sauce and whisk together. Set aside.

Prep the tofu:

We’re going to be using firm tofu as an egg substitute for this vegan unfried rice. FYI, you don’t have to press the tofu before making this dish.

Remove the excess liquid from the tofu packaging. Crumble the tofu in medium bowl with your hands or you can use a fork. The texture is similar to scrambled eggs, or making tofu scramble. Add in the nutritional yeast, turmeric and salt and mix together.

Assemble the Dish:

1. To a large pan over medium heat add in the diced onion and a little water (1 to 2 tbsp of water) sauté for about 2-3 minutes.
2. Next, add in the frozen peas and carrots and stir together for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add in the tofu mix and stir together. Next add in the rice and mix together and heat for about 1 to 2 minutes until warm.
4. Pour in the sauce and mix together and let cook for about 1 to 2 minutes. Ready to serve and topped with some fresh green onions.
5. This dish comes together very quickly especially if you have some the ingredients preprepped like the rice and the sauce. When you are sauting the dish it is done in layers as you are adding in each of the pieces to create the vegan unfried rice.

Can you freeze Vegan Unfried Rice?

Yes, you can! If you want to freeze any leftovers or meal prep this dish in advance, go right ahead.

How to reheat left overs?

This rice is good in the refrigerator for about 4 days. It’s easy to reheat in the microwave for about 1 to 2 minutes.  For the stove top, add the rice mixture to a pan over medium heat and 1 to 2 tbsp of water and stir together until warm. You can add extra tamari if needed.

can be frozen