Traditional Egg Fried Rice is cooked in a lot of oil, with minimal vegetables. We have given a classic Chinese side dish a healthier twist with our Healthy Fried Rice that has just 283 calories. Still all the flavour, but a little extra nutritional boost to go with your Friday night takeaway/fakeaway.
Our version of egg fried is packed with crunchy vegetables and the perfect lighter side for a homemade Chinese dish. You can even serve it up as the main dish, as it really does have it all. This is far from traditional, but it sure is delicious.
It's a no fuss side dish or main meal that is easy to adapt. A great way to use up leftovers, it's the ultimate throw it all in one pan and cook it up. You can adapt the vegetables in it, add different kinds of protein to suit your taste and even add a spicy kick to it.
If you want to try some other recipes that make rice a little more exciting, then why not try our Coconut Rice, Easy Greek Rice, Cilantro Lime Rice, Turmeric Rice, The Best Spanish Rice or Mediterranean Rice Salad?
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Why You Will Love It
- Easy to adapt, so a great fridge raid meal
- Only 283 calories per portion
- A delicious side dish for Chinese meals
- A great way to give a dish a veggie boost.
- Cooked in one pan
Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Sesame oil - this gives a lovely flavour to start off the dish with, however you could swap it for sunflower, vegetable or olive oil instead.
- Garlic cloves - save yourself some time and use a teaspoon of ready crushed garlic from a jar.
- Cooked rice - this recipe is made from already cooked rice. So, you can either cook it before you make this side dish, or use leftovers from the night before. You could even save yourself more time and use a couple of pouches of microwavable rice.
- Shallots - if you don't have shallots, then you can swap them for a small diced onion but it won't have the same sweet flavour.
- Baby corn - these add some crunch and colour to the dish however you can swap it for any crunchy vegetables.
- Ginger - did you know that you can freeze ginger and then grate it frozen straight in to the pan. You can also buy guys are grated lazy ginger to save some time.
- Chinese five spice - this is the key to the amazing flavour in this dish. You can find it with all the other herbs and spices in the supermarket, so there is no need to go to a specialist supermarket.
- Red pepper - you could swap this for any colour bell pepper.
- Courgette
- Bean sprouts
- Shredded cabbage - we used white cabbage, but a red cabbage would work and add lots more colour too.
- Carrot
- Eggs
- Soy sauce - try to use a low salt version to keep the salt levels down. You could also swap it for coconut aminos for a gluten free version of this dish.
More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
One:Heat sesame oil in new pan and add the shallots, garlic, ginger, cabbage, bean sprouts, baby corn, pepper, carrots and courgette and gently cook for 5 minutes.
Two:Stir in the 5 spice and cook for a further minute.
Three: Add the rice and soy sauce and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Four: Move the rice to one side of the pan and add the whisked eggs to the empty side. Scramble the eggs and then mix in to the rice and serve.
What Vegetables to Use?
The great thing about this healthy egg fried rice, is that it is so easy to adapt and you can use lots of different vegetables. It's a great fridge raid meal.
We have used cabbage, baby corn, pepper, carrots, courgette and beansprouts, but there are other options too. Try to go for quick cooking vegetables, so that they all cook at the same rate. Pak choi (bok choy) and frozen peas are a good addition, as they add a pop of green.
Extra Tips
- You can use frozen vegetables in this dish to make it even easier.
- You can also use frozen garlic and ginger.
- Want to make it gluten free? Just use tamari, which is a gluten free soy sauce alternative.
- You can make this with white or brown rice, or use other grains like quinoa, barley or farro.
- If you don't have time to cook rice, us a packed of microwavable rice.
- Give this dish a fresh twist by stirring in some fresh pineapple just before serving.
- Add some spice to this dish with a sprinkle of chilli flakes, or a drizzle or hot sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our version is! Regular egg fried rice has about 360 calories per portion, but our recipe is just 280 calories for a portion. It's a good source of fibre and protein and has plenty of vegetables too. We have also cut down on the oil, so it is lower in fat than the standard side dish.
Fried rice dishes are usually high in salt, which is why we have used a reduced salt soy sauce to keep the salt levels to a minimum.
Yes certainly can, and it is actually recommended because freshly cooked rice can be a bit too moist. Just make sure the rice has been cooled safely and stored and then you are good to go. Don't have time to cook rice before making this or don't have any leftovers to use? Open up a packed of microwaveable rice and fry that up in this dish.
To make a low carb version of this egg fried rice, then swap half the rice for shredded cauliflower. You could even use just cauliflower, but you won't get the same flavour.
We kept this version vegetarian (it can be vegan if you leave out the egg), but you can add meat or fish. Got leftover chicken? Shred it up and throw it in. You could even finely dice a chicken breast and cook it first before adding everything else. For some extra vegan protein, add some tofu.
Love fish? Some prawns or shredded grilled salmon would be good with this, or some scallops if you are feeling fancy.
If you are ordering a Chinese takeaway, why not save yourself some money and calories and make the side dishes yourself, starting with this fried rice. Or, make your own healthier fakeaway night with some of our Asian inspired recipes. Why not try our Sweet and Sour Meatballs or our 10 Minutes Vegetable Teriyaki?
More Side Dish Recipes
If you’ve tried this egg fried rice recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Healthy Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Sesame oil
- 2 Garlic clove
- 400 g (2.5 cups) Cooked rice
- 4 Shallots - diced
- 60 g (0.5 cups) Baby corn
- 30 g (1 oz) Fresh ginger - grated
- 1 tablespoon Chinese five spice
- 1 Red bell pepper - diced
- 1 Courgette (zucchini) - diced
- 100 g (1 cups) Beansprouts
- 100 g (1.5 cups) Cabbage - shredded
- 1 Carrot - diced
- 4 Eggs
- 3 tablespoon Soy sauce
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon Sesame oil in a pan and add 4 Shallots, 2 Garlic clove, 30 g Fresh ginger, 100 g Cabbage, 100 g Beansprouts, 60 g Baby corn, 1 Red bell pepper, 1 Carrot and 1 Courgette (zucchini). Stir fry for 5 minutes.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon Chinese five spice and cook for a further minute.
- Add 400 g Cooked rice and 3 tablespoon Soy sauce and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Move the rice to one side of the pan and add 4 Eggs to the empty side. Scramble the eggs and then mix into the rice and serve.
Recipe Tips
- You can use frozen vegetables in this dish to make it even easier.
- You can also use frozen garlic and ginger.
- Want to make it gluten free? Just use tamari, which is a gluten free soy sauce alternative.
- You can make this with white or brown rice, or use other grains like quinoa, barley or farro.
- If you don't have time to cook rice, us a packed of microwavable rice.
- Give this dish a fresh twist by stirring in some fresh pineapple just before serving.
- Add some spice to this dish with a sprinkle of chilli flakes, or a drizzle or hot sauce.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Louisa says
Lovely super-healthy recipe Dannii, love your brown rice and cauli substitutions. I've started using brown rice much more lately and really appreciate it's delicious nutty taste and texture. And the kids like it too so that's always handy! Take away egg fried rice is usually yak, I always make my own too.
Ren Behan says
Looks delicious - it's Friday night and I'm hungry! A nice lot of spring onions there, too.
Nayna Kanabar says
I love this recipe ,I recently posted egg fried rice on my blog too.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I don't make rice very often, but this is seriously tempting me. Nice recipe Dannii
Janice Pattie (@FarmersgirlCook) says
I've seen MySupermarket but it wouldn't really work for me because in the country you really don't have the choice of supermarkets to visit. The egg fried rice looks lovely though.
Sylvia @ Happiness is homemade says
Very versatile dish, love your healthier version. Thanks for sharing ;)
Patricia says
Thank you for this. I can change the dish just by different spices like indian curry spices. Its very versatile. Thanks. Looking forward to more chinese recipes.
Choclette says
Love your idea of adding cauliflower into this. It sounds like a very tasty as well as healthy dish. Brown rice is one of my staples. I really like the nuttiness as well as the nutrients it contains.
Dannii says
Yes, the nuttiness is definitely part of the appeal.
lauraagarwilson (keepinghealthygettingstylish) says
This looks delicious, I love chinese food especially a healthy 5 spice pork stir fry I make. Definitely need to get some sesame oil too!
Dannii says
oooh, that sounds good.
Ellie says
Do you not find it too salty with the soy sauce?
Dannii says
No, as there is only a little bit between 4 people.