This nod to the Southern Ham and Lima Bean Fried Rice is a healthy, delicious, vegan twist that is an easy one-skillet wonder and packed with comfort food goodness.  Zesty Onions, sweet carrots, nourishing zucchini and yellow squash, earthy garlic, hearty lima beans and chewy rice come together to create an amazingly tasty Country Lima Bean Fried Rice dish that is savory and delicious.

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We are always looking for ways to convert classic dishes into healthy Whole Food Plant Based dishes. A lot of our readers request conversions from us. We try to accommodate as many as we can. Some dishes are easier to convert than others.

This request comes from Jack who grew up in the South. His mom made one of his favorite dishes, Southern Ham and Lima Bean Fried Rice.  Jack’s mom has since passed, and he has been focusing on improving his health. He shared with us that he has been struggling to find a great tasting WFPB version.

He recently found us and sent us an email to let us know that our recipes taste like “real” food. Thank you Jack!  He requested this dish, and we hope we delivered.

WFPB Conversion

When Mom and I sat down to figure out a conversion of this dish, we knew we had our work cut out for us. The traditional dish is pretty much flavored by ham and oil.

We knew we could use liquid smoke and tamari to get that savory “ham” flavor without using ham, of course, but we wanted to make this dish as healthy and veggie packed as we could.

We did a number of kitchen tests and landed on a favorite. The liquid smoke, hot sauce, and apple cider vinegar gives this dish a pop of flavor and tang. We hope you try it.

I’ll let Mom tell you more!

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.

Hi!  Robin here!

Loved this recipe!  It is mighty tasty, packed with veggies and just the right amount of savory deliciousness with hints of hot sauce and vinegar! I love using up left-over rice, and this dish was perfect for just that.

We hope you give this recipe a try, we would love to hear from you.

If you try this delicious dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Looking For More Southern Favorites?

• Southern Collard Green Potato Stew
• Southern Kale and Butter Beans
• Southern Collard Greens 
• Vegan “Ham” Green Bean Potato Soup 
• Jalapeno Corn Muffins

Products Used:

• Ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven, nonstick deep skillet, or similar large stock pot

Country Lima Bean Fried Rice

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook Time: 15 Minutes
• Total Time: 30 Minutes
• Yield: 4 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner, Sides
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Southern

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Description

This nod to the Southern Ham and Lima Bean Fried Rice is a healthy, delicious, vegan twist that is an easy one-skillet wonder and packed with comfort food goodness.  Zesty Onions, sweet carrots, nourishing zucchini and yellow squash, earthy garlic, hearty lima beans and chewy rice come together to create an amazingly tasty Country Lima Bean Fried Rice dish that is savory and delicious.

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup yellow onions, finely diced
• ½ cup carrots, cut into very fine matchsticks *
• 1 cup zucchini, small cubes
• 1 cup yellow squash, small cubes
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced
• 3 Tablespoons low sodium tamari *
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke *
• ½ teaspoon organic maple syrup
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable broth *
• ½ teaspoon hot sauce *
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 – [ 15 oz. cans ] lima beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups cooked and refrigerated brown rice (or rice of choice) *

Herb/Spices Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon dried crushed thyme leaves *
• ½ teaspoon dried parsley
• Pinch dried crushed rosemary
• ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Optional Toppings:

• Hot sauce
• Chopped fresh parsley

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Instructions

1. Place the Herb/Spice Ingredients into a small bowl, mix to combine, set aside.
2. In a large ceramic/enamel-lined Dutch oven, skillet or similar stock pot, add the diced onions, carrots, squash and zucchini, sauté over medium heat until they are tender, approximately 7 to 9 minutes. Add a tablespoon or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
3. Add the minced garlic, sauté for 30 seconds, then add the Herb/Spice mix, sauté for 30 seconds, then add the cooked and refrigerated rice, and dry sauté for a few minutes. Then add all the remaining ingredients and sauté until everything is heated through. Serve with a generous drizzle of hot sauce and a tiny sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley.

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Notes

*Cooked and Refrigerated Rice:  Cooked and refrigerated rice works best when making a stir fry.  If you use warm/hot cooked rice without refrigeration, the dish will be too gummy, sticky, and just not a pleasant texture. Using cooked refrigerated rice (preferably made the day before) allows the rice to dry out enough to showcase distinct individual grains of rice making a better textured dish.

*Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.  Note:  This is a stir-fry, if you wish to add a few more tablespoons of vegetable broth after the dish is done to moisten it up, do so at the end, then heat through and serve.

*Dried Thyme Leaves:  We use Penzeys French Thyme.  It has amazing flavor.  If you can’t find dried thyme leaves, you can use ground thyme, but use half the amount.

*Hot Sauce:  We used Frank’s RedHot Original Hot Sauce.

*Liquid Smoke:  Liquid Smoke is WFPB compliant; however, if you can’t find it or do not want to use it, you can try substituting with smoked paprika.  We haven’t tried it as a substitution but believe it can work. You may need to ramp up other spices.

*Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium.  You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.

*Carrots:  We used a vegetable julienne peeler to cut the carrots into long thin strips, then cut those into small pieces.  If you don’t have a julienne peeler, you can use grated carrots.  We suggest grated or julienned carrots.  For those interested, we used a Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Makes:  4 servings

*Storage:  Refrigerate, use within 5 days.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.