Spicy Peanut Fried Rice! Looking for a bold take-out style dish? We’ve got a fabulous fried rice studded with gems of crunchy peanuts and veggies.
Packed with a little heat and peanut goodness, this oil-free Spicy Peanut Fried Rice is totally addicting and makes for a great side dish. This Asian inspired fried rice dish is super easy to make and brimming with flavor. You’ll want it on rotation for a quick and fast weeknight meal and pairs perfectly with roasted/steamed veggies and tofu – yum!
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
We absolutely loved this Asian inspired fried rice dish. It’s sooo delicious! I literally could have eaten the entire dish myself. Mom loved it! Yasmeen devoured it! Poor Dad, every time we made it, he was scrapping for leftovers, which there were just a few grains of rice.
You gotta give this one a try!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This fried rice is filled with spicy Asian flavors and peanuts. The chipotle powder adds some heat.
- Cooked and Refrigerated Rice: Cooked and refrigerated rice works best when making this dish. If you use recently cooked rice, it will be too gummy and sticky. Using cooked and refrigerated rice (preferably made the day before or earlier in the day) allows the rice to dry out enough to showcase distinct individual grains of rice making a better textured dish.
- Veggies Tender/Crisp: Most Asian recipes call for tender crisp or crisp veggies. Make sure the onions, carrots, and bell peppers have reached the desired tenderness before moving to the next step as the recipe comes together very quickly after this point.
- Carrots: You can use matchstick carrots, typically sold at most large grocery stores. We used a vegetable julienne peeler to cut the carrots into long thin strips, then cut those into small pieces. We tested grated carrots in previous kitchen tests, and while grated carrots work perfectly in this recipe, we really enjoyed the texture of the peeled julienne carrots. Diced carrots are just a tad too crunchy. We suggest matchstick, julienned, or grated carrots. For those interested, we used a Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler.
- Maple Syrup: We had family members completely divided over the sweetness or rather the lack thereof. We landed on 1 Tablespoon to keep the sweetness at a minimum.
- Rice Vinegar: We had family members completed divided over how much rice vinegar this recipe needed. We landed on 3 Tablespoons to give this recipe some slight acidity to balance the maple syrup and peanuts.
- Chipotle Powder: You would normally think that chipotle powder wouldn’t work very well since the flavor profile is typically Southwestern; however, it works great with this recipe and adds an unexpected dimension to this spicy rice dish.
- Vegetables: You can pretty much add your favorite veggies in this fried rice skillet. Just make sure the veggies reach the desired tenderness before moving to Step 3 and potentially reduce the amount of rice used to avoid a dry dish.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered container. Reheating can be done on the stovetop or in the microwave.
This dish can be frozen.
Pantry Products Used:
- 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.
Kitchen Products Used:
- Large ceramic/enamel-lined skillet, non-stick skillet, or large skillet
If you try this flavorful fried rice, 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.
PrintSpicy Peanut Fried Rice
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes
- Total Time: 25 Minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Side
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian Inspired
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Packed with heat and peanut goodness, this oil-free Spicy Peanut Fried Rice is totally addicting and makes for a great side dish.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 1 red bell pepper, small dice
- 1 cup matchstick carrots *
Sauce Ingredients:
- 3 Tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari *
- 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar (+/-) *
- 1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon tahini – optional
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 Tablespoon organic maple syrup (+) *
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chipotle powder *
- Pinch to ¼ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
- 1/8 teaspoon cornstarch (or arrowroot powder) – optional
Other Ingredients:
- 4 cups refrigerated cooked brown rice (or rice of choice) *
- ¼ to 2/3 cup unsalted roasted peanuts (+/-)
Optional Topping Ingredients:
- Sliced green onions
- Chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Place the Sauce Ingredients in a bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In a large ceramic/enamel lined skillet, Dutch oven, or non-stick skillet, add the diced onions, red bell peppers, and carrots. Sauté over medium-high heat for approximately 7 to 9 minutes to soften or until the veggies reach the desired tender/crisp stage. Add a splash of water if the veggies start to stick or burn.
- Stir in the peanuts, stirring constantly for 1 minute, then stir in the cooked and refrigerated rice, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the Sauce Mixture, stirring constantly until everything is heated through, approximately 2 to 4 minutes.
- Serve immediately, topped with sliced green onions and/or cilantro.
Notes
*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Servings: 4
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Looks so yummy!
Have you tried using the sauce for dipping or drizzling over soba noodles?
Hi there Christa,
Thank you for your question. We actually have a Spicy Peanut Noodles recipe: https://monkeyandmekitchenadventures.com/spicy-peanut-noodles/
-Ameera and Robin