Mock fried rice jam packed with vegetables and made with quinoa. This healthful side dish (or meal) is easily adaptable and is full of essential nutrients.
Lately, I’ve been all about super simple skillet meals. I’ve just been chopping up vegetables and tossing them in the cast iron skillet (or wok) with whatever else sounds tasty in the moment – rice, chicken, ground beef, tahini, ginger, turmeric, pumpkin seeds, you name it, in the skillet it goes!
As a result, mealtimes have been full of flavor and color with the added benefit of being super quick and easy.
Recently I had the brilliant idea of making a dish that is actually thematic and familiar versus a random hodgepodge, which is how this vegetable quinoa fried “rice” came about. I know, I know..it’s not actual rice, but it has the same elements and pizzaz.
I ended up being so into this veggie-packed quinoa fried rice situation that the would-be side dish unintentionally turned into a full meal. I simply scrambled up some extra eggs to throw on top and called it dinner. And then I repeated the same behavior the next day, because: yum.
This isn’t the first time we’ve made fried “rice” on the blog. We’ve gone the traditional route with a classic Vegetable Fried Rice and have also gone grain-free with Cauliflower Fried Rice. We’ve even taken it exotic with Thai Cauliflower Fried Rice with Ginger Almond Dressing
We start by cooking our quinoa according to package instructions. I’ve been using sprouted quinoa to ensure I’m unlocking the full spectrum of nutrients. We can cook our veggies while the quinoa is steaming.
All we do is heat up some oil in a skillet (I like using avocado oil, algae oil, or coconut oil when I’m cooking at high temperatures), add in your choice of fresh seasonal vegetables, and saute them until they reach your desired level of done-ness (for fried rice, I like leaving mine a bit snappy).
Whisk up a few eggs to add to the fried rice, and you’re good to go!
If you don’t follow a low-FODMAP diet, feel free to toss some garlic in with the vegetables while you’re sauteeing, and add in some chopped green onion at the end of the cooking process. Doing so adds a ton of flavor, although I absolutely love this quinoa fried “rice” without the garlic and green onion as well.
Make it a side dish, make it dinner, throw in some animal protein like chicken or shrimp…you’ve got options here, m’dear!
Vegetable Quinoa Fried "Rice"
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 large carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 large crown broccoli chopped
- 1 medium zucchini squash chopped
- 1 cup red cabbage thinly sliced
- 2 tsp fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 3 Tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 Tbsp ghee or grass-fed butter
- 1/2 tsp sea salt to taste
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 3 large eggs beaten
Optional Add-ins:
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 stalks green onion chopped
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
- While quinoa is cooking, saute the vegetables. Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high. Add the vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables reach desired done-ness (note: for softer vegetables, lower the heat to medium and cover with a lid to allow them to steam), about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the fresh ginger, and cook another 2 minutes (note: if adding garlic, do so now).
- Add the cooked quinoa, coconut aminos, ghee, and sea salt and stir well to combine. Remove from heat.
- In a small skillet, scramble the eggs in a small amount of oil or butter. Once cooked, stir the scrambled eggs into the quinoa fried rice (note: if adding green onion, do so now).
- Serve with your favorite entree and enjoy).
I much prefer both the taste and nutrition of quinoa to rice; such a great idea! 🙂