Quinoa Fried Rice can be ready in about 30 minutes. It’s easy to make, packed with protein, loaded with veggies and perfectly cooked eggs, and then tossed in a simple, delicious sauce.
Pair Quinoa Fried Rice with my Asian cucumber salad for a filling and veggie-packed meal.
Quinoa Fried “rice” is the perfect clean-out-the fridge meal. It’s great for using up leftovers and it’s so easy to customize! It’s also such a great nutritious meal that’s filling even without meat, thanks to all the fiber and protein in quinoa and the protein from the eggs.
I hope you love this fun variation on typical fried rice.
How to use fresh quinoa
Quinoa Fried Rice is best with cold, refrigerated, leftover quinoa. But if you’re in a pinch and want to make this recipe with fresh quinoa, here’s how you do it:
Variation ideas
- For more crunch: chop some cashews to top the Quinoa Fried Rice.
- Add meat: add in some cooked and diced meat like leftover leftover ham, chicken (or rotisserie chicken), or pork. You can also fry up some bacon alongside the veggies. Try cooked seafood (I recommend shrimp) too.
- Change up the veggies: really, any stir-fry-friendly veggie goes well in this vegetable fried rice recipe. I recommend using smallish frozen pieces. Simply cook the veggies until they’re thawed and the water from them has evaporated. Some other ideas: broccoli florets, edamame, sugar peas, snap peas, celery, and cabbage.
- Vegan fried quinoa: leave out the eggs and chicken bouillon powder, and replace the oyster sauce with a vegetarian version. You could also add in some cooked tofu.
- Cauliflower and quinoa fried rice: add in a cup of riced cauliflower with the veggies; you might also want to make a little more sauce.
How to make Quinoa Fried Rice
- Scramble the eggs (see photo collage above this one). Once scrambled, transfer them to a plate.
- Add oil and the onion to the skillet or wok. Sauté the onion with garlic and ginger until tender and fragrant.
- Next, add in the veggies: we use frozen (straight from the freezer — no need to thaw) and cook them until no longer frozen and the moisture has evaporated.
- Add in the cooked leftover quinoa and stir fry it with the…
- Sauce! This sauce needs just a few quick ingredients whisked together that go in with the quinoa. Mix to coat everything.
- Add the eggs back in, toss in fresh green onions, and your Quinoa Fried Rice is ready!
What can I add to quinoa for flavor?
We season Quinoa Fried Rice with a simple sauce. We use:
- Oyster sauce: This adds a great depth of flavor to the quinoa fried rice.
- Soy sauce: Every soy sauce is different, and everyone has different tolerances for sodium levels, so add this ingredient to your personal taste. I’ve listed how much we like in the recipe, but you may want slightly less or, alternatively…
- Sesame oil: This ingredient is a great flavor enhancer; it adds a nice nutty flavor to the meal.
- Chicken bouillon powder: While you don’t have to add this, I feel like it adds an extra layer of flavor to the dish.
- Rice vinegar: Every meal improves with acid, and rice vinegar is the perfect hit of acid for Quinoa Fried Rice.
More quinoa recipes:
- Quinoa Chili with sweet potatoes
- Roasted Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad with a lemon vinaigrette
- Quinoa Enchilada Bake vegetarian recipe
- Quinoa Salad reader favorite recipe!
- Kale and Quinoa Salad with a balsamic vinaigrette
Quinoa Fried Rice can be ready in about 30 minutes or less! It's easy to make, packed with protein, loaded with veggies and perfectly cooked eggs, and then tossed in a simple, delicious sauce.
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 large eggs whisked
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (~2 cloves)
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (~1/2 inch piece)
- 1 cup frozen diced carrots and peas
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup frozen broccoli florets, (give a quick coarse chop to the large pieces)
- 2 cups cooked day-old quinoa (from the fridge) Note 1
- 3/4 cup green onions, sliced
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper (or black pepper)
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil (or toasted sesame oil)
SAUCE: Start by whisking together all of the sauce ingredients except the sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside until needed. You might also want to prep all the veggies, too, because the cooking goes fast (dice onion, mince garlic, mince ginger).
EGGS: Add butter to a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. While the butter is melting, add all three eggs to a small bowl and whisk together. As soon as the butter is melted, pour the whisked egg mixture into the skillet. Swirl the skillet to get the eggs in one layer covering the bottom of the pan. Let stand for 30 seconds. Use a silicone spatula to fold the egg layer in half. Tilt the skillet to get any uncooked eggs to fill the empty section of the pan. Continue to press the eggs gently to the other side of the pan and tilt the pan to move any uncooked eggs to the cooking surface. Break up large clumps of egg with the spatula and then transfer to a plate and tent with foil.
FRIED QUINOA: Add the oil to the skillet and increase the heat to high. Add diced onion and stir for about 3-4 minutes or until beginning to turn translucent. Add garlic and ginger and stir for about 20 seconds. Add in the frozen peas, carrots, corn, and frozen broccoli. Stir and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until veggies are defrosted and the excess water has evaporated. Add in the cold cooked and sauce. Cook for 1 and 1/2 - 2 minutes or until the sauce coats all the ingredients.
SERVE: Add in the reserved cooked egg and the green onions. Drizzle in sesame oil. Stir together, taste and season with salt if needed. Remove from heat, and serve hot.
Note 1: If you want to make this recipe with fresh quinoa, spread freshly cooked quinoa out on a sheet pan (lined with parchment paper for quick cleanup). While it's still hot, let it stand for a few minutes and then place the pan in the fridge (or freezer) until chilled thoroughly.
Health FAQs
Is fried rice good for you?
Quinoa is very nutritious* —it’s full of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. From purely a calorie perspective, one cup of cooked quinoa has approximately 40 fewer calories than an equal amount of white rice. From a nutritional profile, white rice has almost 15 times more grams of carbohydrates while quinoa provides 5 more grams of fiber and double the protein.
Quinoa is a complete protein, which means it contains all the essential amino acids that the body can’t make (and needs to obtain from food). You can read more about the health benefits here.
Heather says
The best fried rice dish ever! And so easy to make. It’s the perfect weeknight dinner
Chelsea Lords says
Thank you!
Christina D says
Wow, I’ve been searching for YEARS for a way to use quinoa in my cooking. I’ve never been a fan, but this is pretty great. I used some marinated chicken breast in it and cooked in a large cast iron skillet. I waited until it was mostly done, moved everything to one side, and then scrambled the eggs in the skillet at the same time to cut out a step and another dirty dish!
Chelsea Lords says
So glad you found some quinoa success! 🙂 Chicken sounds amazing in this, thanks for the tips and you’re comment! 🙂