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!
This recipe knocked our socks off. Thank you!
Christie
Yay!! So glad to hear it!
Vegan-ised this for tonight’s teriyaki tofu! I had some for lunch; it’s so amazing and i cant believe I’ve never thought of using quinoa like this before!
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed it!
This is THE BEST thing ever. I made the fried rice recipe after a few times making it with quinoa and honestly, I like the quinoa better! There are also few things I love more than onions sautéed in butter so I added more onions than probably necessary but ugh, was it good. Thank you again for another simply amazing recipe that is so quick and simple to make. The number one reason I love this blog is I can always count on it for a simple and more importantly quick meal that always tastes great!
Yum! Eating it now! I am positive that the recipe is perfect as is, but I made a couple of changes to work with what I had on hand. I subbed olive oil for the butter to make it dairy free. I used a frozen vegetable blend that included limas, corn and carrots with the peas. I also added some left over roasted, chopped french green beans. Lastly instead of adding the soy sauce, oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil and garlic, I used a stir-fry sauce that I keep on hand for quick meal prep https://www.tasteslovely.com/best-stir-fry-sauce ….It is excellent as well and makes stir-fry quick!
Thanks for sharing, Kim! We’re glad you were able to make some adaptations to this, and that you enjoyed it! :)
I haven’t even tried it but your description of it was so fabulous that I have no doubt that just about any recipe that calls for rice is going to turn out really really good. Great job on this – I got a chuckle out of it and some inspiration, so call that a two-fer. Thank you!
Thanks, Jim, we hope you enjoy!
This is a staple in my house! I come back to this recipe time and time again. When I am in a pinch, I use frozen veggies. I also add shrimp! Such a flavorful and healthy dish!
Thank you, Liz, we’re so happy you’re a fan! :)
I love this recipe. I added grilled chicken and cook my Quinoa in Chicken stock and add a bullion cube. I also add small dice celery. Preferred is all.
For a salad room temp dish it holds up and I add avocado.
There is so much you can work with. I have never worked with Quinoa before and wow did this dish completely change that. The entire family loves it. And as a Asian woman I know fried rice. I’m super impressed that this is better. Thanks so much for helping me kick up my cooking skills.
Thank you for sharing with us, Sophia, we’re so glad you enjoy it, and we love that you added some celery! :)
I’m just getting into cooking. What kind of pan do you suggest for this? Like how big, deep, and coating? I think my frying pan would be too small for this and the eggs would stick to the bottom. Thanks!
Hi Jill! It doesn’t need to be too deep, but it should be pretty big (we used a 12-inch skillet). It ccan be a nonstick but doesn’t have to be. We hope this helps!
Can you give me any idea what oyster sauce taste like?
Hi Samantha! Oyster sauce doesn’t taste fishy. It taste like a thick, savory brown sauce (similar to soy sauce). We hope this helps!
Hi There! Just wondering if leftovers can never frozen? Thanks!
Hi there! You can definitely freeze this, but we’d leave the egg out if you plan on doing this (it won’t hold up well in the freezer, though you can always add fresh scrambled eggs to your reheated leftovers). Just let the cooked quinoa cool down completely, then transfer it to a an airtight, freezer-safe container, or a resealable plastic bag. If using the bag, press all the air out before sealing, then pat the quinoa into an even layer before freezing. We hope this helps!