Vegetable Fried Quinoa

I never really knew I liked fried rice. Since I’m not an egg fan, I rarely ordered it. When I did, I would pick out the eggs, and wasn’t able to fully focus on the yums.

I know, my food aversions are strange, but they’re REAL.

Fortunately, I found a way to make my own version at home, and now I want to eat it with all the things.

Last week I made a batch of my baked cream cheese jalapeño wontons, sweet and sour sauce for dipping, and a side of this vegetable fried quinoa. It turned out to be one of our favorite dinners of the summer.

I like substituting quinoa for rice in this dish because 1) whole grains! 2) SO quick to cook (1/3 the time of brown rice), 3) complete vegetarian protein.

So many good things wrapped up in one little seed with tons of texture.

Speaking of texture, for a little extra crunch I like sprinkling some crushed and roasted peanuts on top.

I love this quinoa as a side dish, but it could also be a full meal with a bit of this crispy sesame tofu. DO IT. do it.

Print Recipe

Vegetable Fried Quinoa

Standard fried rice made healthier and higher protein with superfood quinoa.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 3 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
• 3 tablespoons low sodium tamari
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions:

1. Heat the peanut oil in a medium-large skillet over medium heat. Add the green onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, until the onion is softened.
2. Pour in the red and green bell pepper, carrot, and frozen green peas. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. The vegetables should soften in this time.
3. Stir in the quinoa, and drizzle on the tamari, and sesame oil. Cook until heated through and incorporated.
4. Serve hot, topped with additional green onions and crushed peanuts, if desired.

3 cups cooked quinoa is the amount that results from cooking one cup dry quinoa. If you cook the quinoa the same day, just make sure you let the quinoa cool before stirring it into the vegetables, as that will help the texture of the dish.

If you like eggs in your fried rice, you can scramble 2 when you add the bell pepper, carrots, and green peas.