This Vegan Pineapple Fried Rice is fruity and tangy, full of flavour and made in one pot! The perfect healthy and satisfying plant-based dinner.
Why you'll love this Vegan Pineapple Fried Rice:
- it's fruity and tangy
- it's packed with veggies
- it's savoury and flavourful
- it's nutritious and healthy
- it's filling and satisfying
- it's easily customisable
- it's easy to make
- it's made in one pot!
How to make this Vegan Pineapple Fried Rice
First, let's discuss the pineapple. You can use tinned pineapple, or fresh ready-chopped pineapple, but if you want to use a whole fresh pineapple, the preparation can seem intimidating. So, let me show you how!
How to prepare and cut up a fresh pineapple in 5 simple steps:
- Cut off the spiky top
- Stand it on its bottom and use a knife to vertically cut off the skin on all sides
- Use a slightly smaller knife to carve out the brown holes that will still be on the surface
- Lay the peeled pineapple on its side and cut thick slices
- Cut each circular slice of pineapple into sixths - cut in half first, then each half into thirds. You can cut off the slightly hard 'core' in the middle if you like.
Now we've sorted out the pineapple, let's talk about how to make the recipe.
Whilst my Peanut Butter Fried Rice is a proper fried rice recipe where the rice is cooked first and then fried, I decided to make this Vegan Pineapple Fried Rice a super easy recipe by making it in one pot, in the way that a Biryani would be made.
There are a few different reasons why I decided to make this fried rice in one pot:
- It's so much quicker and easier
- You'll need to use less oil, which makes it healthier
- The juices that come out of the pineapple as it cooks get absorbed into the rice, which means the sweet, tangy, aromatic pineapple flavours get distributed throughout the dish
- The rice also soaks up all the other flavours much better this way!
So here's how to make it:
- Start by frying the spring onions, garlic, ginger, carrot and pineapple
- Add the rice and fry for a couple of minutes until translucent
- Add all the other ingredients like cashew nuts and green peas (which provide a good source of protein and fibre) and water
- Bring to the boil, keep a lid over it and cook for 15 minutes until all water is absorbed
- Turn off the heat and leave with the lid on for a further 5 minutes
- Fluff up the rice with a fork before serving
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (including ingredient measurements).
TIPS FOR MAKING THIS VEGAN PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE
- Whilst I usually recommend Thai Jasmine rice for fried rice, for this one-pot fried rice I recommend using Basmati rice, or any other long-grain rice. This is because long-grain rice such as Basmati stays supple and the grains remain separated even when cooked in this way without a lot of oil, whilst short-grain rice will become sticky and clump together in a way that won't resemble fried rice.
- Make sure to use a measuring jug to measure the amount of water exactly – too much and the rice will be uncooked and hard, too much and it will be watery and soupy.
- Cook in a deep frying pan or a pot with a lid until all the water has been absorbed.
- Once you’ve turned off the heat, leave the cooked rice in the pan with the lid on for a further 5 minutes.
How long does this Pineapple Fried Rice keep for?
This fried rice does taste best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days. Reheat it in the microwave or in a dry frying pan on the hob (stove) until piping hot.
More similar recipes:
- Orange Tofu
- Peanut Butter Fried Rice
- Crispy Taro Fritters
- Sweet and Sour Tofu
- Vegan "Crispy Duck" Lettuce Wraps
- Japanese-Style Mapo Tofu
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
One-Pot Vegan Pineapple Fried Rice (GF)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or sub vegetable or rapeseed oil)
- 3 spring onions , finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 cm (½ inch) fresh ginger , peeled and minced
- 1 carrot , peeled and diced
- 240 g (8.5 oz) pineapple , chopped into small pieces (you can use either fresh* or tinned)
- 255 g (2 ¼ cup) uncooked (Basmati) rice (or any other long-grain rice)
- 200 g (1 ⅓ cup) frozen green peas
- 75 g (½ cup) cashew nuts
- 2 tablespoons tamari to taste (or soy sauce if not gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Salt + pepper to taste
- 600 ml (2 ½ cup) water
Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a pan and once hot add the spring onion, garlic, ginger, carrot and pineapple
- Fry for 5 minutes until softened
- Add the rice and fry for another couple of minutes until it turns translucent
- Add the remaining ingredients, along with 600ml (2 ½ cups) water (or enough to roughly cover) and mix well
- Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and cook for 15 minutes with a lid over it, until all the water if absorbed
- Turn off the heat and keep the lid over the rice for a further 5 minutes
- Use a fork or spoon to 'fluff up' the rice before serving
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Danni
the pineapple is such a good idea, and so easy to make too - great!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!