Easy Vegetable Fried Rice

This vegetable fried rice turns cold cooked rice, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, and eggs into a quick skillet dinner. Preparing measured vegetable portions ahead makes it easier to cook a fresh batch without chopping everything after work.

Our original Stash Proof photos show separately packed ingredients, not a finished fried rice dish. The salmon and other produce visible in the packing photos are examples of separate meal-prep portions; they are not all ingredients in this vegetarian recipe.

Jump to recipe · Prep your vegetable portions · Rice storage and reheating

Easy vegetable fried rice

Ingredients

• 4 cups cold cooked white rice, safely chilled and refrigerated
• 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil, divided
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup finely diced carrots
• 1 cup diced bell pepper
• 1 cup sliced button mushrooms
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Equipment: a large wok or wide skillet, spatula, and food thermometer. Contains eggs, soy, sesame, and usually wheat in the soy sauce.

Start with rice that has been handled safely

Cold rice separates more easily than a freshly cooked, steaming batch. If cooking it ahead, spread it into shallow portions, cool quickly, and refrigerate within one hour. Use it within 24 hours. Do not leave cooked rice on the counter overnight or in the rice cooker to cool. Cooking and chilling rice from scratch takes additional time beyond the 25-minute recipe.

How to make vegetable fried rice

1. Get everything ready. Break up the cold rice with a clean spoon. Cut the carrots into small, even dice so they cook quickly. Set the measured vegetables and sauces beside the stove.
2. Scramble the eggs. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in the wok over medium-high heat. Add the eggs and stir until fully set. Transfer them to a clean plate.
3. Cook the vegetables. Add the remaining oil. Stir-fry the carrots for about 2 minutes. Add the pepper and mushrooms and cook for another 3–4 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and excess moisture has evaporated.
4. Add the aromatics. Stir in the peas, scallion whites, garlic, and ginger. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring continuously.
5. Fry the rice. Add the rice, soy sauce, and pepper. Toss for about 3–4 minutes until the grains separate and the rice is steaming hot throughout, reaching 165°F (74°C). Use two batches if your skillet is too small to move the food easily.
6. Finish. Return the cooked eggs to the pan and stir until hot. Turn off the heat, drizzle with the sesame oil, and add the scallion greens. Taste before adding any extra soy sauce, then serve immediately.

Prep vegetable portions with Stash Proof

Organize the ingredients by when they enter the pan. Carrots take longer than peppers and mushrooms; garlic and ginger need only a brief cook. Packing them separately preserves that flexibility.

For freezer portions, prepare each vegetable according to its own freezing directions before packing. Carrots and mushrooms need different pretreatments; a mixed pouch does not remove those differences. Our vegetable freezer guide explains the sequence of preparing, blanching where needed, cooling, draining, and freezing.

Once the prepared ingredients are frozen firm, portion them into Stash Proof 8 × 12-inch black-and-clear vacuum seal bags when they fit with the required sealing allowance. The clear front helps identify the food. Check your machine's compatibility with the bag's embossed, 5.5 mil film, and keep the sealing area dry and flat.

Label each pack with the vegetable, amount, preparation, and date—for example, “Carrot dice · blanched · 1 cup · packed [date].” Keep it frozen at 0°F (−18°C) or below. Use frozen prepared vegetables directly in the pan when suitable, allowing extra time for moisture to evaporate and checking tenderness. The photos show ingredient packing; they do not establish that the pictured produce has received a particular freezer pretreatment.

For this recipe, use a shallow container for promptly chilled rice rather than vacuum packing warm rice. Vacuum sealing cannot correct rice that cooled too slowly or make it safe for pantry storage.

Serving and leftovers

This recipe reheats previously cooked rice, so make a batch you can eat immediately. Reheat rice only once. Do not cool and reheat the finished fried rice again. If you want to plan more dinners, store measured vegetable portions and prepare only the rice you need for each batch.

Fried rice questions

Can I leave out the eggs?

Yes. Skip the egg step and use the oil for the vegetables. For a vegan version, also check the ingredients in your sauces.

Can I use a frozen vegetable mix?

Yes. Replace the carrots, peppers, mushrooms, and peas with about 3½ cups of a suitable mix. Follow its cooking directions and cook away excess moisture before adding rice. Larger pieces can need more time.

Why is my fried rice wet?

Common causes are wet vegetables, warm rice, too much sauce, or a crowded pan. Drain prepared vegetables well, use safely chilled rice, and cook in batches when needed.

Explore more Culinary Tips recipes and compare Stash Proof vacuum seal bag formats for your meal-prep routine.

Photography: original Stash Proof ingredient-preparation photos. No AI-generated images are used in this article.