Try swapping out traditional rice for quinoa in this easy quinoa fried “rice” recipe! It’s amazingly flavorful and delicious, and only takes about 15 minutes to make.
A year ago I shared my hands-down, all-time, better-than-the-restaurant, finally-perfected, FAVORITE fried rice recipe. Readers have made it hundreds of time since and love it. I have made it countless times ever since and love it. Let’s be real — the world loves some good fried rice.
But last week when a cold and stressful day hit and all I was craving a bowl of rice, a tiny problem popped up: no rice in the casa.
Argh. So I scavenged my pantry and decided to try subbing in the next closest thing: quinoa.
Game changer.
Quinoa Fried Rice Recipe | 1-Minute Video
I probably shouldn’t have been surprised by this one. I regularly sub in rice and farro for quinoa in recipes that call for rice, and know that it is usually a great swap. But this was fried rice that we’re talkin’ about here. The holy grail of rice dishes, in my book. Very, very rice-ish.
Still, it was rainy out and I didn’t want to traipse across the neighborhood to my Chinese restaurant. So quinoa it was.
I whipped up a batch of quinoa, made using veggie stock (my favorite). Then in order to speed up the chilling process (essential for making fried rice), I spread it out on a baking sheet and popped it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I chopped and sauteed my veggies and garlic, and got things rolling. Then finally added in the chilled quinoa and the remainder of the ingredients, sauteed in lots of butter over high heat (my secret to fried rice).
The result?!
Well, honestly, the result was the best compliment I could pay to this dish:
It tasted just like fried rice!!!
Again, this probably should not have come as any sort of surprise. But after finally landing on my perfected recipe for fried rice, I was a little shocked that quinoa could swoop in so stealthily and carry the dish. But it did! And it was just as delicious and comforting and satisfying as the original, but made a bit healthier with the addition of protein-packed quinoa.
Win = win.
Look out rice, I’m totally making this again.
Quinoa Fried "Rice"
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper
- 4 cups cooked and chilled quinoa (*see instructions here for how to cook quinoa)
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce, or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add egg, and cook until scrambled, stirring occasionally. Remove egg, and transfer to a separate plate.
- Add an additional 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add carrots, onion, peas and garlic, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes or until the onion and carrots are soft. Increase heat to high, add in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and stir until melted. Immediately add the cooked quinoa, green onions, soy sauce and oyster sauce (if using), and stir until combined. Continue stirring for an additional 3 minutes to fry the quinoa. Then add in the eggs and stir to combine. Add the sesame oil, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
- Serve warm.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Very nice to sub out the rice to quinoa! We’ll be doing this often — thanks for the yummy recipe!
You’re very welcome, Cindy, we’re glad you enjoy this!
I made this tonight and it was a HUGE hit.
I was curious if anyone knew the caloric value?
Definitely might be our new fav recipe!
Thank youuuuuu!!
We’re so happy you guys loved it, Ashley — we appreciate you giving it a try! :) As for the calories though, we’re sorry but we are aren’t sure. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
Thanks so much for this very scrumptious recipe. I added some capsicum (peppers), corn and mushrooms as well as chilli flakes and fish sauce. It was the best fried rice I ever made. I prefer this to regular fried rice and can’t wait to make it again.
You’re very welcome, Donna — we’re happy you enjoyed it!
What are the directions to use rice instead? Thanks!
Hi Diane! We actually have a fried rice recipe as well. :)
This is not gluten free soy sauce has gluten
You’re absolutely right, Olivia — thank you for catching that! These should not have been tagged “gluten-free.” Fixing now.
They have gluten free soy sauce now days!
Could you email me the nutritional information. Please.
Hi Donnakay! Unfortunately we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
Any substitutions for the butter? Can you use EVOO instead?
Hi Pam! We think butter works better in this recipe, and olive oil may clash with the sesame oil, so we would actually recommend a more neutral oil (such as vegetable/canola, grapeseed or safflower oil). We hope this helps!
This looks so yummy! What could I make to go with this dish?
Thanks Heidi — we hope you enjoy it! And we love it as a side to Asian salmon, steak, chicken, etc. or as a main (we’ll just add chicken to it and have it with some wok-sautéed veggies. We hope that helps!
Made this for dinner tonight at it was AMAZING! Exceeded all my expectations. I added chicken for a little bit extra, but would definitely make again :)
We’re so happy to hear that Claire! :D
This is such a good recipe! I was in the middle of cooking when I realized I was out of soy sauce so I used Bragg’s amino acids and it was amazing!
Thanks Kimberly — we’re so glad you enjoyed it, and that’s good to know it worked well with Bragg’s amino acids!
I’m allergic to soy and will try this instead! Thanks Kimberly