Our Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice is loaded with flavor and the recipe is versatile. I love this vegan fried rice recipe because it’s packed with vegetables and easy to modify by adding in a protein like tofu, egg, or even chicken if you have carnivores in the house.

Using the Instant Pot to make our Instant Pot Fried Rice means you only have one dish to clean up at the end of meal time. I love to make fried rice in the Instant Pot, and it’s the only way I will make fried rice now!

Where’s the recipe?

To better serve my community of all levels of experience here at My Crazy Good Life, I’ve made a commitment to put a ton of helpful information in all of my posts. This includes healthy eating plan information, how to meal prep, and how to easily substitute ingredients. 

If you’d like to skip over the extra information, please simply scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will find the printable Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice recipe.

Ingredients in Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice:

• White Rice: There’s a long standing debate over whether white rice is healthy or not. While it does have some short comings, it also has some benefits.
• Stir-Fry Vegetables: Usually a mixture of frozen peas, carrots, and broccoli. Some contain water chestnuts and baby corn.
• Coconut Aminos: We love using coconut aminos in our Instant Pot fried rice recipe. We find it tastes less salty than using the traditional soy sauce.
• Roasted Sesame Oil: Sesame oil provides a light nutty flavor to this recipe. We choose roasted or toasted sesame oil, but you are welcome to use regular sesame oil too.
• Ginger: We love fresh ginger, but also understand that it can take a while to properly mince. When we are running short on time, we use the frozen ginger cubes.
• Garlic: Minced garlic is a must in this recipe. We prefer using it over garlic powder in all of our Asian food recipes.
• Rice Vinegar: The riced vinegar in the recipe helps balance out the slightly sweet tone of the coconut aminos – look for the one without the added flavorings and sugar.

How to make Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice:

1. Add the white rice and water to the Instant Pot.
2. Attach the lid and ensure the vent is in the “sealing” position.
3. Heat the Instant Pot using the Manual Pressure / Normal / High Pressure function and set the timer for 5 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure and will then begin counting down from 5. Turn off the “keep warm” button if you have one. This will help the rice release from the bottom of the pot as it cools.
4. Once the Instant Pot has finished cooking, release the pressure manually by switching the valve to the “venting” position. Be careful— the valve will steam and my splatter.
5. Turn the Instant Pot to the sauté function. Move the rice to one side of the Instant Pot. In the empty half, pour 1 tbsp roasted sesame oil. Let the sesame oil heat slightly, then add ginger and garlic. Sauté the ginger and garlic for one minute.
6. Add the frozen vegetables, coconut aminos. rice vinegar, and remaining sesame oil. Sauté the rice and vegetables, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes, or until the rice has started to crisp in some areas and the vegetables are hot and cooked through.
7. Top with chopped green onions and sesame seeds. Serve fried rice warm.

Recipe Tips:

• You can also make this recipe with jasmine rice. We prefer using jasmine rice in our Instant Pot Fried Rice recipe. Although we love using jasmine rice for for this recipe, you can also use basmati rice, brown rice, or long grain white rice. Brown rice has a different cooking time than white, this posts tells you How to Cook Brown Rice in the Instant Pot.
• Using the pressure cooker to cook your rice helps cut down on extra dishes to wash. The cooked rice in the instant pot comes out perfectly every time.
• You can use fresh vegetables for this recipe, but I don’t recommend canned. They tend to get mushy. We use frozen veggies for convenience and a variety of vegetables. We prefer the stir fry frozen vegetables, but you can also go for the classic mixed frozen vegetables.
• You can omit the sesame oil if you don’t have any, but I love the nutty flavor it gives.
• If you like eggs in your fried rice, remove the rice after it is finished cooking and scramble as many eggs as you prefer before adding back the rice and vegetables. You may also move the fried rice to one side of the Instant Pot, scramble the egg on the empty side, then mix together when the egg has cooked.
• This recipe can easily be modified to add additional protein. We love making chicken fried rice when we have any leftover chicken.
• This recipe is easy to customize to your preference. I love adding bell peppers, green beans, and onions to this rice recipe.
• Store leftover rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Our Instant Pot Fried Rice recipe will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Healthy Eating Plans:

Weight Watchers:

We calculated these points using the WW calculator. We use ingredients to calculate our points, not nutrition information.

Weight Watchers has told us that this is the most accurate way to calculate points for a recipe since ingredient brands can vary so much. Points were figured following the recipe exactly as written and dividing into 4 servings.

Our Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice is 14 points per serving.

Ultimate Portion Fix:

White rice is not on the 21 Day Fix food list. If you swapped for brown rice, this would be a compliant recipe. The cooking time for brown rice is 20 minutes.

For the entire recipe, total counts are 8 yellow containers, 2 green containers, and 30 oil teaspoons. Per serving, 2 yellow containers, 1/2 green containers, 7 teaspoons.

Reducing the aminos and oil will reduce the teaspoons.

2B Mindset

This is a 2B Mindset lunch recipe.

Other Rice Recipes

• Stir Fry Bowls
• Brown Rice Risotto in the Instant Pot
• Crack Chicken & Rice Casserole

Print

Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice

This Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice is quick, easy, vegan, and egg free. It's seriously the best fried rice, and will crush your take-out cravings without the guilt.

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 403kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Ingredients

• 2 c white rice dry
• 2 c water
• 2 tbsp roasted sesame oil divided
• 2 tsp ginger minced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 c stir-fry vegetables frozen
• 1/4 c coconut aminos
• 1 tsp rice vinegar

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Add the white rice and water to the Instant Pot. Attach the lid and ensure the vent is in the “sealing” position. 2 c white rice, 2 c water
• Heat the Instant Pot using the Manual Pressure-Normal-High Pressure function and set the timer for 5 minutes.
• Once the Instant Pot has finished cooking, release the pressure manually.
• Turn the Instant Pot to the Sauté function. Move the rice to one side of the Instant Pot. In the empty half, pour 1 tbsp roasted sesame oil. Let the sesame oil heat slightly, then add ginger and garlic. Sauté the ginger and garlic for one minute. 2 tbsp roasted sesame oil, 2 tsp ginger, 2 cloves garlic
• Add the frozen vegetables, coconut aminos. rice vinegar, and remaining sesame oil. 2 c stir-fry vegetables , 1/4 c coconut aminos, 1 tsp rice vinegar
• Sauté the mixture stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes, or until the rice has started to crisp in some areas.
• Top with chopped green onions and sesame seeds. Serve fried rice warm.

Notes

• You can make this recipe with brown rice. This posts tells you How to Cook Brown Rice in the Instant Pot.
• You can use fresh vegetables for this recipe, but I don’t recommend canned. They tend to get mushy.
• You can omit the sesame oil if you don’t have any, but I love the nutty flavor it gives.
• If you like eggs in your fried rice, remove the rice after it is finished cooking and scramble as many eggs as you prefer before adding back the rice and vegetables.
• This recipe is easy to customize to your preference, I love adding bell peppers and onions. 

Weight Watchers: 
Our Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice is 14 2023 points per serving.

Ultimate Portion Fix:
 Per serving, 2 yellow containers, 1/2 green containers, 7 teaspoons.

 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 403kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 0.1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

A few years ago we were in the habit of ordering takeout from our favorite Asian restaurant a little too often. The food was delicious, but I knew we could make delicious and healthy Asian food in our own kitchen. My husband and I made it our goal to recreate some of our favorite stir fry recipes at home.

Now that we’re creating delicious Asian recipes at home, we’re saving money, and enjoying a healthier version of our favorites. We feel good about these healthy changes, and actually prefer our own recipes at home over the restaurant recipes we used to love.

One of our favorite creations, our Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe, is so simple and yet so damn delicious. It’s made with a flavorful stir fry sauce, lo mein noodles, and a variety of crunchy vegetables. It’s the perfect Vegetable Lo Mein recipe to satisfy your cravings without all the added sodium you’d get from a restaurant.

This easy recipe will be your new family favorite. An easy weeknight meal that is flavorful, without a lot of fuss.

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we love it when our readers feel successful in the kitchen. Eating healthy is so important, and we work hard to help our readers achieve all of their healthy eating goals.

In each recipe, we include detailed information, helpful tips and tricks, healthy eating plan point information, as well as nutritional information. If you are more experienced in the kitchen and ready for a more simplified version of this recipe, simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find our easy to print Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe.

Ingredients in Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe

• Tofu: We recommend extra firm tofu for this recipe. We’ve found it makes the best crispy tofu which is exactly what we need when we make lo mein.
• Brown Rice Chow Mein Noodles or Ramen Noodles: Lo mein noodles are so important in this veggie lo mein dish. We prefer using ramen noodles or chow mein noodles made out of brown rice. It’s a healthier alternative to traditional lo mein noodles.
• Green Cabbage: Cabbage is a superfood that’s packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. If you’re looking for a time saver, you could purchase a bag of pre shredded cabbage from the grocery store.
• Carrots: We love carrots in our vegetable lo mein dish. If you’re looking for a shortcut, you can always buy a bag of matchstick carrots from the grocery store. These are already julienned and the perfect size for a stir fry.
• Broccoli Slaw: We use prepackaged broccoli slaw for this recipe. You get the flavors of broccoli without the big florets. If you aren’t able to find broccoli slaw at your grocery store, feel free to sub in other vegetables like bok choy or bell peppers.
• Celery: We love the crunch of celery. It’s the perfect addition to our veggie lo mein.
• Snow Peas: Snow peas are thinner than snap peas. We prefer these in our lo mein, but if you aren’t able to find these in your local grocery store, feel free to sub in snap peas. The crunch of a snap pea sounds delicious.
• Garlic: Our easy vegetable lo mein recipe includes garlic. We prefer using fresh garlic over the prepackaged or dried kind.
• Ginger: We love freshly grated ginger for this recipe.
• Green Onions: The perfect garnish for a stir fry.

Delicious Lo Mein Sauce Ingredients

• Coconut aminos: We prefer to use coconut aminos over regular soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce in this delicious lo mein sauce. We love the flavor of the aminos, and find our dishes much less salty when we use this over soy sauce.
• Fish sauce: The fish sauce is an important ingredient in our vegetable lo mein sauce. You should be able to find fish sauce at your local grocery store in the Asian department, or at your local Asian market.
• Zhong sauce or Sichuan chili sauce or Sambal Oelek Chili Paste: If you haven’t tried Zhong sauce, I highly recommend it! It’s delicious and helps make the perfect stir fry sauce because of the depth of flavor it provides. If you aren’t able to locate Zhong sauce at your local grocery or on Amazon, feel free to track down the Sambal Oelek chili paste.
• Sesame oil: Any delicious stir fry sauce most likely includes sesame oil. We love putting it in our stir fry, and love the complex and nutty flavor it provides for our vegetable lo mein sauce. For this recipe I prefer regular sesame oil, though I do often recommend using toasted/roasted sesame oil in many recipes.
• Vegetable broth: The Vegetable broth helps create the vegetable lo mein sauce. We always buy low sodium broth.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch in a sauce is used to help thicken up all the sauce ingredients.

How to Make Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe

1. Drain the tofu and slice into small strips. Air fry or bake at 350º, turning after 5-7 minutes. In the oven, I like to put the tofu on parchment paper while it cooks. Cook until the tofu dries out a bit but not so much that it browns too much. Depending on the size of your air fryer, cook in small batches and set aside as it finishes. 
2. Boil water for your noodles, and cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse noodles with cold water when they’re finished cooking, then set them aside. 
3. Prepare your veggies: Shred the cabbage, peel and julienne the carrots, dice the celery, and trim the edges of the snow peas. Dice the onions and set them aside to use after your meal is finished cooking. 
4. To make the sauce combine all sauce ingredients, including cornstarch, and whisk to combine. Set aside. 
5. When the tofu is finished cooking, spray a large pan with nonstick cooking spray and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the garlic, ginger, cabbage, carrots, broccoli slaw, celery, and snow peas to the pan.  
6. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the cooked noodles and tofu to the pan. Turn the heat down to low-medium and mix everything together carefully. Cook for 3-5 minutes and allow the noodles and tofu to heat up a little.
7. Add the sauce to the pan and mix well. Cover the meal and turn the heat down to low and allow the food to cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes. 
8. Remove from heat and add chopped green onions to the top and serve warm. 

Recipe Tips

• You could use soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce for this recipe, however when we were recipe testing this recipe, we found the result to be much too salty. We recommend swapping out the soy sauce and sticking with coconut aminos.
• If you aren’t able to find ramen noodles or chow mein noodles, feel free to sub in udon noodles, soba noodles, or whole wheat spaghetti noodles. These choices won’t quite be the same, but will do in a pinch. We prefer using the brown rice noodles when possible.
• If you are in a bind, you could use frozen veggies.
• This stir fry is versatile. We love that you can include all the veggies! Feel free to swap in any other lo mein vegetables you have at home such as bell pepper, zucchini, or asparagus.
• I try to always toss my cubed tofu in cornstarch before cooking it. It’s not necessary, but it really helps the tofu not stick together.

Healthy Eating Plan Points

21 Day Fix

This 21 Day Fix Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe is packed full of fresh vegetables. It has a lot of teaspoons, though – I’d reduce the coconut aminos and sesame oil where I could and make sure to drink extra water to flush out the sodium from all of the teaspoon ingredients.

Entire recipe: 1 1/2 red containers, 3 yellow containers, 7 1/2 green containers, 36 teaspoons

Per serving: 1/4 red container, 1/2 yellow container, 1 1/4 green containers, 6 teaspoons

Weight Watchers

10 2023 Plan Points – reducing the coconut aminos and sesame oil in this recipe will help you reduce those points.

Looking for more healthy Asian dinner cuisine recipes?

• Healthy Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta
• Healthy Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
• Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry Bowls with Coconut Rice
• Instant Pot Ramen Stir Fry with Chicken
• Healthy Drunken Noodles Recipe

Print

Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe

This easy vegetable lo mein recipe will be your new family favorite. An easy weeknight meal that is flavorful, without a lot of fuss.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 495kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Toaster, Oven, or Air Fryer
• Kitchen Knife
• Cutting Board

Ingredients

Lo Mein Ingredients

• 14 oz extra firm tofu drained and lightly air fried with no seasoning or sauce
• 12 oz brown rice chow mein noodles or brown rice ramen
• 1.5 cups shredded green cabbage
• 2 carrots large, julienne cut
• 1 cup broccoli slaw
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1 cup snow peas ends cut off
• 2 tsp fresh garlic minced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger minced
• 1 bunch green onions diced

Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut aminos
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Zhong sauce or sichuan chili sauce or sambal oelek chili paste
• 3 tbsp light sesame oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

• Drain the tofu and slice into small strips/cubes. Air fry or bake at 350º, turning after 5-7 minutes. Cook until the tofu dries out a bit but not so much that it browns.  14 oz extra firm tofu
• Boil water for your noodles, and cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse noodles with cold water when they're finished cooking, then set them aside. 12 oz brown rice chow mein noodles
• Shred the cabbage, peel and julienne the carrots, dice the celery, and trim the edges of the snow peas. Dice the onions and set them aside to use after your meal is finished cooking. 
• Combine all sauce ingredients into a medium bowl, including cornstarch, and whisk to combine. Set aside. 1/2 cup coconut aminos 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp Zhong sauce 3 tbsp light sesame oil 1/2 cup vegetable broth 1 tbsp cornstarch
• When the tofu is finished cooking, spray a large pan with nonstick cooking spray and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the garlic, ginger, cabbage, carrots, broccoli slaw, celery, and snow peas to the pan.  2 tsp fresh garlic 1 tsp fresh ginger 1.5 cups shredded green cabbage 2 carrots 1 cup broccoli slaw 2 celery stalks 1 cup snow peas
• Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the cooked noodles and tofu to the pan. Turn the heat down to low-medium and mix everything together carefully. Cook for 3-5 minutes and allow the noodles and tofu to heat up a little.
• Add the sauce to the pan and mix well. Cover the meal and turn the heat down to low and allow the food to cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes. 
• Remove from heat and add chopped green onions to the top and serve.  1 bunch green onions

Notes

21 Day Fix

Entire recipe: 1 1/2 red containers, 3 yellow containers, 7 1/2 green containers, 36 teaspoons

Per serving: 1/4 red container, 1/2 yellow container, 1 1/4 green containers, 6 teaspoons

Weight Watchers

10  2023 Plan Points 

Nutrition

Calories: 495kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3.8g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 561mg | Potassium: 428mg | Fiber: 7.6g | Sugar: 5.4g | Calcium: 121mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Vegetable Lo Mein Recipe appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

I love making guacamole to go with tortilla chips or to use on top of tacos, enchiladas or burrito bowls.

Guacamole is a good source of vitamins C, E, and K, as well as fiber and healthy fats. Homemade guacamole is a delicious recipe that’s gluten and dairy free.

My signature simple guacamole recipe is heavy on cilantro, and includes only 5 ingredients. It’s an easy recipe to customize to your taste preferences, and I know you will love all the flavors of this homemade guacamole recipe!

Where’s the recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we have readers of all comfort levels in the kitchen. To better serve everyone who visits our site, we make our recipes simple and easy to follow.

If you would like to skip past the ingredient information, detailed instructions, recipe tips, and healthy eating plan calculations, you can scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find our printable recipe card for this Simple Guacamole Recipe.

Ingredients in Simple Guacamole Recipe

• Avocados: Avocados are very nutritious. They’re great sources of folate, potassium, and healthy fats, as well as vitamins K, C, and E. They also contain small amounts of B vitamins and minerals, such as copper, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, iron, and zinc. You will want to be sure to use ripe avocados to make good guacamole. If the avocado yields to firm gentle pressure, you’ll know it’s ripe and ready to eat.
• Cilantro: Fresh cilantro has a fragrant, refreshing and citrusy taste and aroma, though not everyone agrees. Some people may have a specific genetic trait where cilantro tastes like soap. I am not one of those people and I feel strongly that cilantro is essential in authentic guacamole recipes.
• Onion: I use white diced onion when I make guacamole, but you can also use red onions or even onion powder if you’re in a pinch, though not suggested.
• Tomato: I use roma tomatoes for this guacamole recipe. If you don’t like chopped tomato in your homemade guacamole, you can omit the roma tomato.
• Salt: I use just a pinch of salt when I make guacamole. I know everyone’s tastes are different so I suggest adding a little salt, then tasting the guacamole until you get the perfect guacamole flavor.
• Optional: Some other ideas to add to your homemade guacamole are fresh lime juice, jalapeno pepper or serrano pepper (if you like spicy guacamole), fresh garlic, or even grilled corn.

How to Make the Best Guacamole Recipe

1. Start by chopping the vegetables. Bigger is better in my opinion.
2. Then, in a medium bowl, gently mash the avocado with a fork or potato masher, but don’t smash too much. The best guacamole is chunky guacamole!
3. Mix the chopped onion, chopped cilantro, and chopped tomatoes together with the salt. This is called pico, and is an excellent topping for tacos, pulled pork, and enchiladas!
4. Finally, mash the avocados together with the chopped vegetables. Taste test your guacamole and adjust seasonings as needed.
5. Serve immediately and enjoy the fresh flavor of this homemade guacamole recipe!

Recipe Tips

• Guacamole is really best when it’s served fresh. If you must store leftover guacamole, it might help to add lime juice or lemon juice to keep your guac from turning brown. Simply squeeze the extra lime juice or lemon juice on top of the guacamole, and then cover with plastic wrap (laying plastic wrap directly on top of the guac, and pressing out any air bubbles.) Store guacamole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for one to three days.
• This is a basic guacamole recipe that is so easy to adjust to your preferences. You can omit or add to this simple guacamole recipe and it will still be delicious!

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Simple Guacamole Recipe

The entire guacamole recipe is 8 Blue Containers and 1 Green Container.

Per serving, this simple guacamole is 1.25 Blue Containers and less than 1/4 of a Green Container.

Weight Watchers Simple Guacamole Recipe

5 2023 Plan Points

Looking for recipes to go with this simple guacamole recipe?

• Steak Fajita Bowl
• Healthy Carne Asada Enchiladas
• Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
• Easy Carnitas Taco Recipe
• Healthy Veggie Quesadillas

Print

Simple Guacamole Recipe

This easy guacamole recipe is so delicious and the perfect dip for tortilla chips!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Easy Guacamole

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 211kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Cutting Board
• Kitchen Knife
• Mixing Bowls

Ingredients

• 2-3 ripe avocados
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1/2 onion
• 1 tomato
• pinch of salt

Instructions

• Chop the veggies. Bigger is better in my opinion. 1 bunch cilantro 1/2 onion 1 tomato
• Smash the avocado with a fork, but don't smash too much. The best guacamole is chunky guacamole! 2-3 ripe avocados
• Mix your veggies together and add a pinch of salt. This is called pico, and is an excellent topping for tacos, pulled pork, and enchiladas! pinch of salt
• Mix in your avocados, then dip and enjoy.

Notes

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Easy Guacamole Recipe

The entire easy guacamole recipe is 8 Blue Containers and 1 Green Container.

Per serving, this easy guacamole recipe is 1.25 Blue Containers and less than 1/4 of a Green Container.

Weight Watchers Easy Guacamole Recipe

Per serving: 5 2023 Plan Points

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 9.9g | Protein: 2.1g | Fat: 19.6g | Saturated Fat: 4.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 58mg | Potassium: 529mg | Fiber: 7.1g | Sugar: 1.2g | Calcium: 160mg | Iron: 0.2mg

The post Simple Guacamole Recipe appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Traditional lasagna is filled with delicious cheesy goodness of ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese. Balanced out with the rich flavors of marinara sauce and noodles, it’s a fan favorite. I find that when I eat traditional lasagna, it sometimes feels too heavy. Our lasagna recipe fits in perfect for those times when you’re craving lasagna, but also wanting something a little lighter.

Here at My Crazy Good Life, I’m always trying to make healthy changes to classic dishes. With our Spaghetti Squash Lasagna recipe, we promise you will love it just as much as traditional lasagna. It’s still filled with the delicious cheesy goodness through cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and mozzarella.

Our secret weapon to a healthier version is spaghetti squash. If you haven’t had a chance to cook with spaghetti squash yet, trust me. Spaghetti squash has a spaghetti noodle like consistency with a slightly sweet flavor. It pairs perfectly in this vegetarian spaghetti squash lasagna recipe with the cheese mixture and marinara sauce.

And, I mean – have you ever eaten lasagna out of an actual spaghetti squash? That’s just one less dish to wash. I call that a win.

Where’s the Recipe?

At My Crazy Good Life, we write our recipes to help all of our readers be empowered and successful in the kitchen. We realize that all of our readers have a variety of levels of confidence when cooking.

Each recipe post is full of detailed ingredient information and recipe instructions, tips and tricks, healthy eating plan points, and nutritional information. If you’re comfortable in the kitchen, you might want to skip the detailed instructions and scroll down to the bottom of the page where you’ll find our easy to print Spaghetti Squash Lasagna recipe.

Ingredients in Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

• Spaghetti Squash: This is the real MVP of the dish. It’s the noodle replacement of the the classic lasagna dish, and we guarantee you won’t miss the noodles in this recipe. When cutting the spaghetti squash in half, you’ll want to be sure to cut the spaghetti squash lengthwise. This will give you bigger squash boats to work with. Need more help with this vegetable? Read this article for how to cook, cut, and eat a spaghetti squash.
• Cauliflower: I love adding cauliflower to recipes because it takes on the flavors of the ingredients served with it. The cauliflower also helps the sauce and cheese fillings bulk up a bit.
• Cottage cheese: We prefer using the 2% fat cottage cheese when making our spaghetti squash lasagna.
• Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt offers a lot of extra protein to this recipe. We prefer to use the 2% fat Greek yogurt.
• Garlic: Is it even considered a lasagna if it doesn’t have the delicious flavors of fresh garlic included? I prefer fresh minced garlic for this recipe.
• Basil: If you have fresh basil on hand, that’d be perfect, however you can also use dried basil for this recipe.
• Oregano: Dried oregano is a classic spice of all things comfort. Often times oregano is found in Italian seasoning, however we opted to use oregano alone for our spaghetti squash lasagna boats.
• Parsley: If you have fresh parsley on hand, great. If not, dried parsley will work perfectly for this. We love recipes that don’t require 3-4 fresh herbs every time you make a recipe.
• Pasta sauce: Look for a spaghetti sauce with no added sugar. You’ll only need a little bit for this recipe, but did you know that you can freeze extra pasta sauce in ice cube trays? It’s perfect to have on hand when you only need a little bit of sauce.
• Spinach: Baby leaf spinach is the size you are looking for in our spaghetti squash lasagna recipe. If you only have regular sized spinach, that will work too.
• Mozzarella: Shredded mozzarella cheese, melted and slightly browned on top of the spaghetti squash. Does it get any better than that?

How to Make Spaghetti Squash Lasagna in Instant Pot

1. Place the trivet inside the inner pot and add 2 cups of water.
2. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Place the spaghetti squash halves flat on the trivet. It’s ok if they’re not completely flat – lean them up against the sides if you have to.
3. Add the cauliflower on top of the spaghetti squash. Close and lock the lid, then turn the steam release handle to Sealing.
4. Press Pressure Cook (high) and cook for 7 minutes.
5. While the spaghetti squash is cooking, combine the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, garlic, basil, oregano, and parsley in a food processor or blender. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until smooth. Transfer the cheese mixture to a medium bowl.
6. When the squash is done cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally and then remove the squash and cauliflower from the pot.
7. Move the cauliflower to the bowl with the cottage cheese mixture and use a fork to mash and combine it with the other ingredients. Place your spaghetti squash on a baking sheet.
8. Preheat the broiler in your oven on high so you can brown the lasagna boats.
9. Using a fork, hollow out the spaghetti squash strands from the cooked spaghetti squash. Do not discard the spaghetti squash shells.
10. Add the spaghetti squash strands to the bowl with the cauliflower and cottage cheese mixture, then stir until well combined.
11. Spoon one half of the squash mixture into each of the squash shells, then top each with 1 tablespoon of the pasta sauce, a layer of the spinach, and 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella.
12. Place the boats on the baking sheet or baking dish and broil for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. Don’t walk away from the oven while you have food broiling, as it cooks super quick and you can easily burn it.
13. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

• If the spaghetti squash boats (halves) don’t sit flat in the Instant Pot, you may slightly angle them against the sides of the pot.
• A natural release in an Instant Pot simply means to let the sealing valve remain as is and allow the pressure to naturally release. This usually takes about 10 minutes. If your pressure isn’t released by then, you can manually release it.
• The cook time for the squash can differ slightly, depending on the size and age of the squash, so adjust as needed. (A large spaghetti squash will take longer to cook in the Instant Pot). If the squash doesn’t easily scrape out of the shells, place the shells back in the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 3 more minutes with another natural release.)
• Our recipe is for a vegetarian lasagna. If you prefer your spaghetti squash boats with meat, simply cook and add ground turkey or ground beef to the cheese mixture. Please note that all healthy eating plan points will need to be recalculated, and we haven’t tested this version of the recipe.
• If you like a little kick in your lasagna, feel free to add some red pepper flakes.
• Are you meal prepping? Store this recipe in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 6 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
• Reheating: Microwave each thawed serving for 1½ to 2 minutes.

Healthy Eating Plan Points

Weight Watchers

Our Spaghetti Squash Lasagna is 2 2023 Plan Points | 2 Blue Plan Points | 2 Green Plan Points | 2 Purple Plan Points per serving. I used fat free cottage cheese, part skim mozzarella, and Newman’s Own Organic pasta sauce for these points.

21 Day Fix

1/3 red container, 3 green containers, 1/2 blue container per serving.

2B Mindset

This recipe is a perfect lunch or dinner recipe.

Print

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

This Spaghetti Squash Lasagna recipe is lighter than traditional lasagna. Greek yogurt gives this meal prep recipe a creamy texture and extra protein.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Lasagna, spaghetti squash

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes minutes

Natural Release 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 27 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Calories 269kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• 1 Instant Pot 6 qt
• 1 Instant Pot Trivet
• 1 Kitchen Knife

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 spaghetti squash small
• 1 ½ cups cauliflower chopped
• ¼ cup cottage cheese 2%
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt 2%
• 1 ½ tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried parsley
• ¼ cup pasta sauce no sugar added
• ½ cup baby leaf spinach
• ¼ cup mozzarella shredded

Instructions

• Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Add water below trivet in Instant Pot. Place spaghetti squash halves flat on the trivet. 2 cups water, 1 spaghetti squash
• Add the cauliflower on top of the spaghetti squash. 1 ½ cups cauliflower
• Select Pressure Cook (high) and set the cook time for 7 minutes.
• While the spaghetti squash is cooking, combine the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, garlic, basil, oregano, and parsley in a food processor or blender. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until smooth and creamy. Transfer the cheese mixture to a medium bowl. ¼ cup cottage cheese, ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 ½ tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried parsley
• When the cook time for the squash is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally.
• Transfer the cauliflower to the bowl with the cottage cheese mixture and use a fork to mash and combine it with the other ingredients.
• Preheat your oven broiler on high.
• Using a fork, hollow out each spaghetti squash strands from the cooked spaghetti squash. Do not discard the spaghetti squash shells.
• Add the spaghetti squash strands to the bowl with the cauliflower and cottage cheese mixture, then stir until well combined.
• Spoon one half of the mixture into each of the squash shells, then top each with 1 tablespoon of the pasta sauce, a layer of the spinach, and 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella. ¼ cup pasta sauce, ½ cup baby leaf spinach, ¼ cup mozzarella
• Place the boats on a baking sheet or baking dish and broil for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
• Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

Healthy Eating Plan Points

Weight Watchers

• Our Spaghetti Squash Lasagna is 2 2023 Plan Points | 2 Blue Plan Points | 2 Green Plan Points | 2 Purple Plan Points per serving. I used fat free cottage cheese, part skim mozzarella, and Newman’s Own Organic pasta sauce for these points.

21 Day Fix

• 1/3 red container, 3 green containers, 1/2 blue container per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 483mg | Potassium: 952mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1561IU | Vitamin C: 51mg | Calcium: 300mg | Iron: 3mg

The post Spaghetti Squash Lasagna appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

I know that zoodles and sweet potato pasta are not the same as real linguini or spaghetti but I can’t feasibly eat those things everyday and still maintain my healthy lifestyle…so I make the best of it with delicious recipes like this!

If you’ve never tried a spiralized veggie in place of your traditional cooked pasta you should give it a go. Zoodles can be a key ingredient, along with some protein and veggies, can make a delicious and healthy alternative that you and your whole family actually enjoys!

I personally think our sweet potato pasta has more delicious flavors than any roasted sweet potatoes recipe i’ve found online. Our sweet potato pasta is also healthier and more delicious than cooked pasta.

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we write our recipes to all of our readers. We realize that we have a wide variety of readers who are either starting out their cooking journey, or those that are experts in the kitchen.

To help support all readers, we strive to included detailed instructions, top tips and tricks, healthy eating plan point information, as well as nutritional information. If you are ready to start cooking with the more basic version of this recipe, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page where you’ll find our easy to print How to Make Sweet Potato Pasta recipe.

Ingredients in Sweet Potato Pasta

• Butter
• Ground sage: Sage is such the perfect match for sweet potatoes. This combination reminds me of all things Fall and delicious.
• Garlic powder
• Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes and yams are not the same. We like sweet potatoes because they have an abundance of health benefits.
• Salt & pepper: (to taste)

Spiralizer – How to make Vegetable pasta

You can make any kind of vegetable pasta easily with a spiralizer. I love this one, I use it pretty regularly to make zoodles and all variety of other spiralized vegetables! It’s really simple. Once you have your potatoes peeled you insert them into the spiralizer and turn the crank. Smooth motions will keep your sweet potato pasta in long strands just like noodles.

I’ve found that using vegetable pasta really cuts down on carbs and helps me keep my healthy lifestyle goals on point. You’ll end up with a long core that comes out during the spiralizing process, you can chop that up a bit and include it or you can compost it or toss it. Just be aware if you’ve never made zoodles before that it’s totally normal!

If you decide you like making sweet potato pasta you have to try out this recipe for steak fajita zoodles, it’ll further solidify your obsession with spiralizing, I promise! Sweet potato linguini and other zoodle recipes are great for anyone who might be dealing with a gluten intolerance too! They can be cooked up dairy free as well so they’re amazing for special dietary needs.

How to Make Sweet Potato Pasta

1. Peel sweet potatoes.
2. Use a spiralizer with a coarse shred or flat blade to make the sweet potato pasta.
3. Melt butter in large skillet over medium high heat.
4. Add sage, garlic powder, and salt (if using).
5. Add sweet potato zoodles.
6. Stir and toss until tender (approx. 3 to 5 min).

Recipe Tips

• Our sweet potato pasta noodles are the most flavorful when you serve immediately.
• If you love roasted sweet potato, you’re going to love this pasta swap. We prefer sweet potatoes over white potatoes, although those can also have nutritional value too!
• You could serve the sweet potato pasta with a creamy sauce, or a simple pasta sauce. We think these are perfectly wonderful without an additional pasta sauce.

Healthy Eating Plan Points

Weight Watchers Points

3 2023 Plan Points | 5 Freestyle Points

21 Day Fix Sweet Potato Pasta

The entire recipe is 6 Teaspoons and 6 Yellow depending on the size of your sweet potatoes. Use your containers to measure the potatoes if you are unsure!

Depending how you decide to use this recipe, as a base, a side dish, etc. you can measure accordingly with your yellow containers. Just remember that for each Yellow you need to count a Teaspoon as well!

2B Mindset

This recipe makes an excellent choice for Fiber Filled Carbohydrates. Your FFC’s vary based on which meal of the day so you can measure out your portions accordingly! Add some protein like these teriyaki turkey meatballs and some veggies and you’ll be on your way to an excellent 2B Mindset meal.  

Looking for more healthy recipes?

If you are searching for more delicious 21 Day Fix recipes you can find them right here. I’ve included a few that would go great with sweet potato pasta zoodles!

• Healthy Teriyaki Meatballs
• Instant Pot Mini Meatloaf
• Turkey Swedish Meatballs in the Instant Pot
• Steak Fajita Recipe with Zoodles

Print

How to Make Sweet Potato Pasta

Our sweet potato pasta is a healthy, gluten free pasta alternative that tastes delicious.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Sweet Potato Linguini

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6 Servings

Calories 92kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Spiralizer
• Enameled Cast Iron Pan
• Kitchen Knife

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp sage ground
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt to taste
• 3 sweet potatoes long ones make for pretty noodles!

Instructions

• Peel potatos 3 sweet potatoes
• Use a spiralizer with a coarse shred or flat blade to make the sweet potato pasta
• Melt butter in large skillet 2 tbsp butter
• Add sage, garlic powder, and salt 1 tsp sage, 1 tsp garlic powder, salt
• Add potato zoodles
• Stir and toss over medium high heat until tender (approx. 3 to 5 min)

Notes

21 Day Fix: Entire Recipe is 6 T and 6 Y

WW: 3 2023 Plan Points | 5 Freestyle Points

Nutrition

Calories: 92kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 70mg | Potassium: 225mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 9340IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg

The post How to Make Sweet Potato Pasta appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

Our flour-free Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with only five simple ingredients. Ingredients that you most likely always have on hand, and are ready to go in a sweet craving emergency.

Our baked cookies are easy to make, and will be your new go to recipe for banana oatmeal cookies. With no refined sugar, our recipe is naturally sweetened with bananas.

These easy banana oatmeal cookies can also be easily modified to be gluten-free by using gluten free oatmeal!

Pro tip: Double our easy banana oatmeal cookies recipe and thank me later. We love to keep a batch in the freezer ready to go when our craving strikes.

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we write our recipes so all of our readers can be successful. In each recipe, we include detailed instructions, healthy eating plan points, tips and tricks, and nutritional information.

If you are a novice in the kitchen, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll support you along your cooking journey and help you be successful! If you are ready to start cooking without all of our helpful tips and tricks, simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find our easy to print Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.

Ingredients

• Bananas: You’ll need a mashed bananas or two on hand that are ripe. We’ve used overripe bananas too, and they work great, also. The mashed banana will naturally sweeten the absolutely delicious oatmeal cookies. Don’t worry, the banana flavor isn’t overpowering in this recipe. You’ll enjoy a subtle banana flavor in our banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
• Oats: Quick oats or old fashioned rolled oats, it didn’t seem to matter which I used. You may also use gluten free oats in this cookie recipe if needed.
• Cinnamon: Anything with cinnamon will taste amazing. The cinnamon combined with the oats, mashed banana, and dark chocolate chips is perfection in a bite.
• Vanilla Extract: Yum. Vanilla flavor mixed with oats and chocolate chips. Swoon.
• Sea salt: In my opinion, all things delicious have a solid blend of sweet and salty.
• Dark chocolate chips: We love the flavor of dark chocolate chips with these banana oatmeal cookies. If you do choose to use a different type of chocolate chip, like semi sweet chocolate chips, please recalculate your healthy eating plan points.

How to Make Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies in the Oven

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mash the bananas with a fork. I tried to do them with my mixer, but they didn’t get as mushy as I wanted. The fork works well.
3. Add everything but the chocolate chips to the large mixing bowl and mix for 1 minute.
4. Add chocolate chips and stir by hand.
5. Drop large spoonfuls of unbaked cookie dough onto a prepared baking sheet, you should get about 8 cookies per batch.
6. Cook for 18-22 minutes. It’s not easy to tell when they’re done because they’re so dark. I poke them and see if they fall apart. If they start to come apart, give them a few more minutes.
7. Remove and cool completely and store in the fridge.

Recipe Tips

• Be sure to let the banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies cool completely before transferring them to an airtight container if storing in the refrigerator. Our oatmeal banana cookies may also be stored in the freezer for a longer period of time.
• To thaw the cookies from the freezer, simply move the cookies to the refrigerator. We don’t recommend heating them in the microwave.
• Use ripe bananas for this recipe. You can identify ripe bananas as bananas that are yellow with brown spots on it. Overripe bananas tend to turn mostly brown. They will still work, but we’ve found the most success in using ripe bananas that just have a little bit of brown spots on the peel.
• Normally cookies turn a nice golden brown color when finished. Since these are darker in color, you won’t be able to use the golden brown coloring as a key to tell when finished. We use the poke test on this. If you poke them, and they start to fall apart put them back in the oven for a few minutes.
• This banana chocolate chip cookies call for dark chocolate chips. If you use semi sweet chocolate chips, or milk chocolate chips in this recipe, you’ll need to recalculate your healthy eating plan points.
• This recipe could easily be modified into a gluten free recipe. Simply swap out the old fashioned oats for a gluten free variety of oats. They make plenty of brands of gluten free old fashioned oats, as well as gluten free quick oats available in grocery stores.
• We love that our banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are made with no refined sugar. You won’t find granulated sugar, or light brown sugar in this recipe. They are naturally sweetened with the mashed banana. These yummy cookies are perfectly sweet without the added sugar.
• Our healthy banana oatmeal cookies could be made without chocolate chips, and instead add raisins into the banana cookies. Both way of making our banana oatmeal cookies taste amazing.

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix or Portion Fix

Counts as a yellow container treat swap. 2 cookies = one yellow container.

If you’re using raisins in these cookies, your swap will be 1/2 purple, 1/2 yellow, 1/2 teaspoon :)

Weight Watchers

Each serving counts as 3 2023 Plan Points | 3 Blue Points | 3 Green Points | 2 Purple Points each if you make 8 per batch. If you make them smaller you can adjust your points accordingly.

More Delicious Recipes

• Healthy Rice Pudding Recipe with Brown Rice
• Healthy Peanut Butter Granola Bars
• Dairy Free Chocolate Ice Cream
• Post Workout Snack | Apple Cookie Snacks
• 2B Mindset Dessert Recipes

Print

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These healthier banana oatmeal cookies are the perfect healthy cookie! I think you could even have them for breakfast.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword 21 Day Fix, Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, healthy, healthy chocolate chip cookies, Weight Watchers

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes minutes

Total Time 27 minutes minutes

Servings 8 cookies

Calories 98kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Mixing Bowls
• Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 2 bananas mashed, ripe
• 1 cup oats quick cook or rolled, it didn’t seem to matter which I used. Use gluten free oats if needed.
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325º.
• Mash the bananas with a fork. I tried to do them with my mixer, but they didn't get as mushy as I wanted. 2 bananas
• Add all of the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, to a mixing bowl and mix together for 1 minute. 1 cup oats , 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Add chocolate chips and stir by hand. (this will keep them from breaking). 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• Using a spoon, place 8 cookie-sized portions onto a greased cookie sheet.
• Cook for 18-22 minutes. It's not easy to tell when they're done because they're so dark. I poke them and see if they fall apart. If they start to come apart, give them a few more minutes.
• When done,  cool and store in the fridge.

Video

Notes

• 21 Day Fix: This counts as a yellow container treat swap. 2 cookies = one yellow container.
• Weight Watchers Each serving counts as 3 2023 Plan Points | 3 Blue Points | 3 Green Points | 2 Purple Points each if you make 8 per batch. If you make them smaller you can adjust your points accordingly.

Nutrition

Calories: 98kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 79mg | Potassium: 177mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 2.6mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.6mg

SaveSave

The post Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

The electric pressure cooker is my favorite way to make steamed sweet potatoes. I love that I can “set it and forget it.”

Where is the recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life, we write our recipes so that anyone can easily make them. In the article below, you’ll find lots of cooking tips, details that are helpful to those who are new to the Instant Pot, and even special diet information for the 21 Day Fix, Weight Watchers, and 2B Mindset.

If you don’t need all of the extra information, simply scroll down to the bottom of the post to view the ingredient amounts and instructions for these Perfect Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes.

How long does it take for potatoes to soften in the Instant Pot?

Your cooking time will depend on the size of your sweet potatoes. Try to find potatoes that are roughly the same size so that your cooking time is the same for all of the potatoes. You’ll also want to allow a 10 minute natural pressure release at the end of cooking.

These cook times work for one sweet potato or however many you can safely fit inside your pressure cooker.

• For small sweet potatoes (less than 2 inches wide) I recommend cooking on high pressure for 15 minutes to 18 minutes of cook time (not counting the natural pressure release)
• For medium sweet potatoes (2-3 inches wide) I recommend cooking on high pressure for 30 minutes of cook time (not counting the natural pressure release)
• For large sweet potatoes (wider than 3 inches) I recommend cooking on high pressure for 60 minutes of cook time (not counting the natural pressure release)

It’s always best to cook for less time when you’re getting used to cooking with your Instant Pot. You can always cook the food for longer, but once it’s over cooked it can’t be undone.

I like to cook the sweet potatoes, open the pot and test for doneness, and then cook for longer if necessary. Did you know that you can even cook something for 0 (that’s zero) minutes if it just needs a little more time? It will cook as it comes to pressure, then it will immediately begin releasing pressure, continuing to cook.

My potatoes are medium sized and took 30 minutes to cook with a 10 minute NPR.

Ingredients in Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes:

• Sweet Potatoes: A powerhouse of vitamins and minerals sweet potatoes contain 400% of your daily recommended Vitamin A alone. Sweet potatoes are slow burning carbs, which help level blood sugar, and have tons of beta-carotene which studies show helps with vision.

How to cook whole sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot

1. Wash your raw sweet potatoes. Scrub sweet potatoes with a clean brush or sponge.
2. Add one cup of water to the Instant Pot to the bottom of your Instant Pot. Place your trivet or steamer basket in the bottom of the pot. Place your potatoes on top of the trivet.
3. Close and lock the lid and turn your pressure valve to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 15-60 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes (specific cooking times can be found above).
4. Once the cook time is complete, allow the pot to release naturally for 10 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure. This means that when it’s done cooking, don’t touch the pot or release valve. Set a time for 10 minutes (or watch your pot count up to 10 minutes) before moving the release valve from Sealing to Venting with the end of a wooden to spoon. When you do this, hot steam will come out of the pot.
5. Remove the lid and use the handles of your trivet to carefully remove your perfectly tender cooked sweet potatoes. Serve immediately or allow to cool and transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge up to 5 days.

Recipe Tips:

• Find potatoes that are the same size so that they all cook in the same amount of time.
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot, but cooking times should stay the same for the 3 or 8 quart.
• I love this recipe during the holidays. It saves so much time making sweet potato casserole!
• For the natural release, I recommend allowing the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes. If after 10 minutes there is still pressure in your pot, you can go ahead and manually release (also called quick release) it by moving the Valve over to the venting position.

Once you make Instant Pot sweet potatoes once, you’ll find the perfect time and it’ll be easier to cook them from here on out. This is actually the way it works with almost all recipes – each pot and elevation cook a tad different, and you’ll get to know your pot in no time.

I love that the potatoes cook evenly, and this is such an easy recipe to use to get healthy food on the table (or in meal prep containers).

Top your cooked Instant Pot Sweet Potato with:

• butter
• maple syrup and peanut butter for a perfect breakfast
• brown sugar and honey
• sour cream and green onions
• veggies – I love adding broccoli

Healthy Eating Plans:

21 Day Fix/Ultimate Portion Fix:

Potato sizes can vary drastically, so for the most accurate container counts, count each 1/2 cup serving as 1 Yellow Container.

Weight Watchers:

Points were figured using the WW recipe creator with the serving size figured as 1/2 cup. 2 Points on the 2023 Plan | 3 Blue Plan Points | 3 Green Plan Points | 0 Purple Plan Points

2B Mindset:

These are great for breakfast or lunch when following 2B Mindset. For breakfast add 50% protein for a complete meal. For lunch, add 50% vegetables and 25% protein for a complete meal.

More healthy Sweet Potato recipes

• Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Hash
• Healthy Crab Cake Recipe with Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Chili

More basic Instant Pot recipes:

• Instant Pot Meatballs
• Instant Pot Frozen Ground Beef
• Instant Pot Turkey Breast
• Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash

Print

Perfect Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

Making perfect Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes is quick and easy. I love to meal prep several at once so I can eat them all week.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword instant pot, sweet potato

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 447kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Instant Pot 6 qt
• Instant Pot Trivet

Ingredients

• 4 sweet potatoes
• 1 cup water

Instructions

• Wash your potatoes. 4 sweet potatoes
• Add water to the bottom of your Instant Pot. 1 cup water
• Place your trivet or steamer basket in the bottom of the pot, and your potatoes on top of the trivet.
• Close and lock the lid and turn you pressure valve to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 15-60 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes (cooking times can be found in recipe notes).
• Once the cook time is complete, allow the pot to release naturally for 10 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure. Remove the lid and use the handles of your trivet to remove the potatoes.
• Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge up to 5 days.

Notes

• For small potatoes (less than 2 inches wide) I recommend cooking 15 minutes to 18 minutes.
• For medium sweet potatoes (2-3 inches wide) I recommend cooking for 30 minutes.
• For large sweet potatoes (wider than 3 inches) I recommend cooking for 60 minutes.

Recipe Tips:

• Find potatoes that are the same size so that they all cook for the same amount of time.
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot, but cooking times should stay the same for the 3 or 8 quart.

Healthy Eating Plans:

21 Day Fix/Ultimate Portion Fix:

Potato sizes can vary drastically, so for the most accurate container counts, count each 1/2 cup serving as 1 Yellow Container.

Weight Watchers:

Points were figured using the WW recipe creator with the serving size figured as 1/2 cup. 2 Points on the 2023 Plan | 3 Blue Plan Points | 3 Green Plan Points | 0 Purple Plan Points

2B Mindset:

These are great for breakfast or lunch when following 2B Mindset. For breakfast add 50% protein for a complete meal. For lunch, add 50% vegetables and 25% protein for a complete meal.

Nutrition

Serving: 4g | Calories: 447kcal | Carbohydrates: 105g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 298mg | Potassium: 1752mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 73772IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 163mg | Iron: 3mg

The post Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

This healthier version of PF Chang’s lettuce wraps is made with healthy vegetables and a homemade hoisin sauce, which gives these vegan lettuce wraps so much flavor.

Next time you are craving a satisfying and healthy meal, give these vegan lettuce wraps a try!

Where’s the recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we have readers of all comfort levels in the kitchen. To best serve all of our readers, we write our posts with tons of helpful information.

In this article you will find ingredient information, detailed cooking instructions, recipe tips, and healthy eating plan calculations for several popular diet plans.

If you are confident in your cooking abilities and want to get right to the recipe, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find our easy to print recipe card for these veggie lettuce wraps.

Ingredients in Vegan Lettuce Wraps Sauce

• Garlic: fresh minced garlic is ideal in the sauce ingredients, but you can use garlic powder if you don’t have garlic cloves on hand.
• Coconut aminos: this is one of my favorite soy sauce substitutes, and is a great choice for replacing soy sauce if you have gluten, soy, or sugar allergies, or if you’re watching your sodium intake. If you do not have or can’t find coconut aminos, you can use reduced sodium soy sauce or Tamari.
• Peanut butter: I use creamy peanut butter to make the lettuce wrap sauce. You can also use almond butter if that is your preference. Look for nut butter with no added sugar or oil.
• Maple syrup: make sure to read the label and get the good stuff. This way you will get real maple syrup and not just maple-flavored syrup, which can be loaded with refined sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. I like using real maple syrup in place of the flavored stuff because it contains a small amount of minerals, such as manganese and zinc, that white sugar just doesn’t have. It also helps your blood sugar stay more stable.
• Rice vinegar: plain rice wine vinegar is what I use. If you don’t have rice wine vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar for the hoisin sauce.
• Sesame oil: sesame oil has a distinct aroma and flavor that tastes delicious in Asian recipes. I buy roasted sesame oil when I make vegan lettuce wraps to really bump up the flavor in this great recipe.
• Ginger: fresh ginger really brightens up the flavorful fillings of these vegan lettuce wraps. Did you know that ginger may have numerous health benefits due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-nausea, and other properties? It’s an amazing plant that I love to use in Asian dishes.
• Sriracha sauce: sriracha is a spicy sauce made from chili paste, garlic, vinegar, sugar, and salt. It adds a more complex flavor than your typical hot sauce. If you want to add even more heat than sriracha sauce you can use red chili flakes or chili oil in the hoisin sauce.

Ingredients in Vegan Lettuce Wraps Filling

• Red onion: I prefer using red onion but you can use yellow or white onion if that’s what you have.
• Portobello mushrooms: I love using portobello mushrooms in vegan recipes. Mushrooms are a great meat substitute because of their texture, and they are also packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The mushrooms are essential in this veggie lettuce wraps recipe.
• Water chestnuts: water chestnuts are full of nutrients, yet low in calories. They are versatile and easy to add to your diet. Eat them raw, cooked in stir fry or made into a delicious lettuce wraps recipe.
• Green onions: I use chopped green onions to top the finished healthy lettuce wraps.
• Lettuce: I typically use romaine lettuce or butter lettuce for my lettuce cups. The best lettuce for lettuce wraps is one with lettuce leaves that are firm and can hold the vegan filling. Boston lettuce or iceberg lettuce would also be good options.

How to Make Vegan Lettuce Wraps on the Stove

1. First, make the hoisin sauce by combining the garlic, coconut aminos or soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger root, and sriracha sauce in a medium bowl. Use a fork to whisk the ingredients until combined and then set aside.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. When the skillet is hot, add about a quarter of the sauce to the pan, and then add your onions, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onions become soft.
3. Add the remaining sauce to your pan of veggies and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Scoop the vegetable filling out and into your butter lettuce cups. Sprinkle with green onions and serve immediately.

How to Make Vegan Lettuce Wraps in the Instant Pot

1. First, make the hoisin sauce by combining the garlic, aminos or soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger root, and sriracha sauce in a medium bowl. Use a fork to whisk the ingredients until combined and then set aside.
2. Now turn your Instant Pot to sauté and add about a quarter of the sauce to the pot, along with the onions, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. Sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onions become soft.
3. Add the rest of the hoisin sauce to the veggies and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
4. Scoop the vegetable filling out and into your lettuce wraps cups. Sprinkle with green onions and serve immediately.

Recipe Tips for Healthy Lettuce Wraps

• This is a great recipe for meal prepping. The lettuce wraps filling keeps well in the fridge for up to 6 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• When I meal prep healthy vegan lettuce wraps, I divide the filling into about 6 individual airtight container and place about 2 lettuce leaf shells into each container. When I’m ready to eat, I can easily get the lettuce wraps filled and eat it cold or warm up the filling in the microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
• If you are freezing vegetarian lettuce wraps, you will want to thaw the filling first, before you heat it up in the microwave.
• These lettuce wraps are very versatile. If you want to add meat, you can use chicken breasts or thighs or even ground chicken or turkey. My cooking tip for adding meat would be to cook the meat first, and then add the vegetables and sauce.
• If you would like to keep these lettuce wraps vegan, but want to add a little more protein, tofu would be a great addition. You can buy extra firm tofu or crumbled tofu to make the tofu filling.

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Vegan Lettuce Wraps

Entire recipe: 6 green containers, 1 yellow container, 1 orange container, 12 teaspoons

Per serving: 1 green container, 1/6 yellow container, 1/6 orange container, 2 teaspoons

Weight Watchers Vegan Lettuce Wraps

7 2023 Plan Points | 5 Blue Plan Points | 8 Green Plan Points | 5 Purple Plan Points

Looking for more healthy vegan recipes?

• Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry Bowls with Coconut Rice These Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry Bowls with Coconut Brown Rice are a healthy and delicious recipe that is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. This recipe is vegan and gluten-free, and the tofu filling is packed with protein and nutrients. 
• Shredded Sweet Potato Hash Browns This delicious shredded sweet potato hash browns recipe has just a few simple ingredients. It’s great for breakfast but it also makes an excellent side dish for brunch or even dinner! You’ll love it even more once you see how easy it is to make.
• Crispy Air Fryer Tofu Recipe I’ve tried tofu many ways and have never loved it until I started air frying it. The extra firm tofu gives you a hearty bite and the air fryer allows the tofu to crisp a bit. Several nights a month, we make an easy Stir Fry for dinner that includes this yummy crispy tofu recipe. 
• Vegan Minestrone Soup I love making healthy minestrone soup for my whole family. The best part is, they love eating it! It has a healthy twist and is also a great soup for meal prepping – store in an airtight container and the flavors meld together so that the next day, the leftover soup tastes even better!
• Fresh Veggie Spring Rolls Homemade gluten free spring rolls are light and refreshing. These are served with a delicious recipe for peanut butter dipping sauce. Stuffed with raw vegetables like grated carrots, cabbage, fresh basil, and rice noodles, this is one of my favorite vegan food recipes.

Print

Vegan Lettuce Wraps

This easy recipe for Vegan Lettuce Wraps is packed full of healthy ingredients and flavor!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword lettuce wraps, pf changs, vegan, vegan lettuce wraps

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Total Time 18 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 229kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Enameled Cast Iron Pan
• Instant Pot 6 qt
• Mixing Bowls

Ingredients

• 3 tsp garlic minced
• 3/4 cup coconut aminos or reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 2/3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp ginger root minced
• 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
• 1/2 cup red onion diced
• 2 cups portobello mushrooms diced
• 4 oz water chestnuts drained and chopped
• 3 green onions (green & white parts) chopped
• 2 heads lettuce romaine or butter, cut into shells

Instructions

How to Make Vegan Lettuce Wraps on the Stove

• First, make the hoisin sauce by combining the garlic, coconut aminos or soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger root, and sriracha sauce in a medium bowl. Use a fork to whisk the ingredients until combined and then set aside. 3 tsp garlic 3/4 cup coconut aminos 1/4 cup peanut butter 2 tbsp maple syrup 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 2/3 tbsp toasted sesame oil 2 tsp ginger root 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. When the skillet is hot, add about a quarter of the sauce to the pan, and then add your onions, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onions become soft. 1/2 cup red onion 2 cups portobello mushrooms 4 oz water chestnuts
• Add the remaining sauce to your pan of veggies and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Scoop the vegetable filling out and into your butter lettuce cups. Sprinkle with green onions and serve immediately. 3 green onions 2 heads lettuce

How to Make Vegan Lettuce Wraps in the Instant Pot

• First, make the hoisin sauce by combining the garlic, aminos or soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger root, and sriracha sauce in a medium bowl. Use a fork to whisk the ingredients until combined and then set aside. 3 tsp garlic 3/4 cup coconut aminos 1/4 cup peanut butter 2 tbsp maple syrup 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 2/3 tbsp toasted sesame oil 2 tsp ginger root 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
• Now turn your Instant Pot to sauté and add about a quarter of the sauce to the pot, along with the onions, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. Sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onions become soft. 1/2 cup red onion 2 cups portobello mushrooms 4 oz water chestnuts
• Add the rest of the hoisin sauce to the veggies and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
• Scoop the vegetable filling out and into your lettuce wraps cups. Sprinkle with green onions and serve immediately. 3 green onions 2 heads lettuce

Notes

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Vegan Lettuce Wraps

Entire recipe: 6 green containers, 1 yellow container, 1 orange container, 12 teaspoons

Per serving: 1 green container, 1/6 yellow container, 1/6 orange container, 2 teaspoons

Weight Watchers Vegan Lettuce Wraps

7 2023 Plan Points | 5 Blue Plan Points | 8 Green Plan Points | 5 Purple Plan Points

Nutrition

Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 27.4g | Protein: 5.5g | Fat: 11.2g | Saturated Fat: 1.9g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 113mg | Potassium: 480mg | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 8.6g | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 5mg

The post Vegan Lettuce Wraps appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

This is one of my favorite tofu recipes to make my family for meatless Monday. It’s an easy dinner that’s filling and so flavorful! 

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we want all of our readers to feel confident in the kitchen. Whether you’re a new cook or have been cooking all of your life, we want you to feel like you can recreate our recipes with ease. To best serve all of the readers here, we provide a lot of information in our posts. 

In the article below you will find ingredient information, detailed cooking instructions, recipe tips, and healthy eating plan calculations for WW, 2B Mindset, and Portion Fix. If you’d like to skip past all of that you can scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find our easy to print Teriyaki Tofu Stir-Fry recipe card. 

Ingredients in Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry Bowls

• Broccoli florets: broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable rich in antioxidants and other beneficial plant compounds. It may also offer several benefits, especially for eye health, heart health, and disease prevention.
• Sugar snap peas: snap peas have important vitamins and nutrients, including 100% of your daily values of vitamin C, vitamin K and folate. They’re low in fat, cholesterol, and sodium, making them perfect for any healthy diet. Snap peas are great in stir fry recipes, just be careful that you don’t overcook them because they will lose their crispness.
• Bell peppers: using a couple different colored bell peppers is a great way to brighten up this teriyaki tofu bowl. Typically, I will use one red bell pepper, and one yellow or orange bell pepper. You can choose your favorite varieties for this recipe.
• Red onion: I prefer red onion but you can use white or yellow onions if you’d like.
• Zucchini: zucchini is a versatile squash rich in vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds. It may offer several health benefits, ranging from improved digestion to a lower risk of heart disease.
• Spices: for this broccoli stir fry I use fresh ginger, garlic, sesame oil and coconut aminos. 
• Tofu: this teriyaki tofu recipe is so delicious. It’s marinated in a homemade teriyaki sauce and then air fried, creating crispy tofu cubes that are the perfect plant-based protein for this stir fry.
• Rice: this coconut brown rice is easy to make in the Instant Pot. You can also use cauliflower rice if you’re trying to cut carbs. 

How to Make Crispy Teriyaki Tofu

1. Remove the extra firm tofu block from its packaging and drain the liquid in the sink.
2. Press the excess water from the block of tofu by using a tofu press or a cutting board with paper towels on top and bottom of the tofu and some heavy pots or pans on top. This usually takes 20-30 minutes or so, depending on how aggressive you are with adding weight/tightening the press.
3. Slice into thin strips (1/4 inch strips are what we aim for). Too thin and the tofu will be chewier and crunchier, and it will cook faster. 
4. Add the teriyaki sauce ingredients you’d like to marinate the tofu in. I actually stick all of the tofu in an airtight container and add the sauce, then cook half of it for the bowls and let the other half sit and marinate in the fridge until I’m ready to cook it. It’s perfect for meal prep!
5. Allow the tofu to marinate for 10-20 minutes, or as long as you have until you need to begin cooking. The longer you allow it to marinate, the more flavorful tofu you’ll have.  
6. Spray the bottom of your air fryer basket with some olive oil cooking spray. Add the tofu pieces in a single layer on the bottom of the fryer. 
7. Set air fryer to 375º and set for 10-20 minutes of cook time, checking on them every 5 minutes. 
8. Flip your tofu pieces over after 10 minutes of cooking time. The bottom always browns a little faster, so flipping helps to get them evenly cooked. 
9. Pull out the tofu pieces when they’re golden brown and drizzle extra sauce on them if needed. Top with sesame seeds, if you’d like.

How to Make Instant Pot Coconut Rice

1. The first thing you will want to do is rinse your rice in cold water. Make sure you give it a good rinse and that the water runs clear.
2. Next, spray the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker with cooking oil spray, and then add the rinsed rice to your pot.
3. Now you need to add an equal amount of liquid to your rice (for this recipe 2 cups of rice = 2 cups of liquid). Pour the full-fat coconut milk into a measuring cup and then fill the measuring cup to 2 cups with water. 
4. Add the coconut milk and water to your instant pot.
5. Close the lid of your pot and turn your pressure release valve to Sealing position.
6. Use the Pressure Cook or Manual button and set the cooking time to 24 minutes.
7. When the cook time has completed, let the remaining pressure naturally release. Allow a natural release time of at least 10 minutes, and turn off the “keep warm” setting if your pot has one. Allowing the rice to naturally release pressure without the heat keeps the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
8. This recipe makes 12 servings (or 6 cups), so set aside 3 cups of rice to make the rice bowl and refrigerate or freeze the remaining 3 cups until needed.

How to Make Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry Bowls

1. Rinse and chop your vegetables into similar-sized pieces so that they cook together evenly.
2. Heat a large frying pan or cast iron skillet on medium heat and give the pan a quick spray of cooking spray. I like to use avocado or olive oil over vegetable oil spray because they are less processed. 
3. Add the chopped veggies to the pan and then add your stir fry seasonings (minced ginger, minced garlic, sesame oil and coconut aminos).
4. Cook the veggies until they are fragrant and slightly softened.
5. Build your bowl using coconut rice, air fryer tofu, and stir fried vegetables. 

Recipe Tips

• If you have a few extra minutes and want to level up your tofu, sprinkle corn starch onto the tofu pieces before you air fry them to make even crispier tofu.
• Don’t crowd your tofu in the air fryer – there won’t be enough space for the hot air to cook the tofu and some will burn while others will be undercooked.
• If you don’t have an air fryer, you can make Crispy Baked Tofu in the oven! I’d set it for the same time and temperature as the air fryer directions above.
• The rice recipe makes 12 servings of rice which is great for meal prep! Freeze the extra rice in airtight container. It reheats in the microwave really well.
• Refrigerate cooked rice for up to 6 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Healthy Eating Plans

This recipe makes 6 servings.

21 Day Fix Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry Bowls

Entire recipe: 6 yellow containers, 6 green containers, 3 red containers, 3 blue containers, and 10 teaspoons.

Per serving: 1 yellow container, 1 green container, 1/2 red container, 1/2 blue container, and 1 2/3 teaspoons.

Weight Watchers

This WW Teriyaki Tofu and Rice Bowl is a little under 9 2023 Plan Points per serving.

2B Mindset

I love how versatile this recipe is for 2B. Skip the rice if you’re eating this recipe for dinner, but portion your plate for lunch with the veggies, tofu, and rice.

More healthy recipes:

• Spring Roll Salad
• Healthy Kung Pao Chicken
• Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
• Instant Pot Ramen Stir Fry
• Healthy Drunken Noodles
• Asian Turkey Lettuce Wrap Recipe

Print

Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry Bowls with Coconut Rice

Teriyaki tofu stir fry bowls with coconut rice are a healthy and delicious meal that is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword stir fry

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 187kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Enameled Cast Iron Pan
• Kitchen Knife
• Cutting Board

Ingredients

• 1 cup broccoli
• 1 cup sugar snap peas
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow or orange bell pepper
• 1 red onion
• 1 zucchini
• 2 tsp fresh ginger root minced
• 1 tsp garlic minced
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp coconut aminos
• 3 cups cooked coconut rice
• 14 oz Crispy Air Fryer Tofu

Instructions

How to Make Crispy Teriyaki Tofu

• Remove the extra firm tofu block from its packaging and drain the liquid in the sink.
• Press the excess water from the block of tofu by using a tofu press or a cutting board with paper towels on top and bottom of the tofu and some heavy pots or pans on top. This usually takes 20-30 minutes or so, depending on how aggressive you are with adding weight/tightening the press.
• Slice into thin strips (1/4 inch strips are what we aim for).  Too thin and the tofu will be chewier and crunchier and will cook faster. 
• Add the teriyaki sauce ingredients you’d like to marinate the tofu in. I actually stick all of the tofu in an airtight container and add the sauce, then cook half of it and let the other half sit and marinate in the fridge until I’m ready to cook it. It’s perfect for meal prep!
• Allow the tofu to marinate for 10-20 minutes, or as long as you have until you need to begin cooking. The longer you allow it to marinate, the more flavorful tofu you’ll have.  
• Spray the bottom of your air fryer basket with some olive oil cooking spray. Add the tofu pieces in a single layer on the bottom of the fryer. 
• Set air fryer to 375º and cook for 10-20 minutes of cook time, checking on them every 5 minutes. 
• Flip your tofu pieces over after 10 minutes of cooking time. The bottom always browns a little faster, so flipping helps to get them evenly cooked. 
• Pull out the tofu pieces when they’re golden brown and drizzle extra sauce on them if needed. Top with sesame seeds, if you’d like.

How to Make Instant Pot Coconut Rice

• The first thing you will want to do is rinse your rice in cold water. Make sure you give it a good rinse and that the water runs clear.
• Next, spray the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker with cooking oil spray, and then add the rinsed rice to your pot.
• Now you need to add an equal amount of liquid to your rice (for this recipe 2 cups of rice = 2 cups of liquid). Pour the full-fat coconut milk into a measuring cup and then fill the measuring cup to 2 cups with water. 
• Add the coconut milk and water to your instant pot.
• Close the lid of your pot and turn your pressure release valve to Sealing position.
• Use the Pressure Cook or Manual button and set the cooking time to 24 minutes.
• When the cook time has completed let the remaining pressure naturally release. Allow a natural release time of at least 10 minutes, and turn off the “keep warm” setting if your pot has one. Allowing the rice to naturally release pressure without the heat keeps the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• This recipe makes 12 servings (or 6 cups), so set aside 3 cups of rice to make the rice bowl and refrigerate or freeze the remaining 3 cups until needed.

How to Make Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry Bowls

• Rinse and chop your vegetables into similar-sized pieces so that they cook together evenly. 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup sugar snap peas, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, 1 red onion, 1 zucchini
• Heat a large frying pan or cast iron skillet on medium heat and give the pan a quick spray of cooking spray. I like to use avocado or olive oil over vegetable oil spray because they are less processed. 
• Add the chopped veggies to the pan and then add your stir fry seasonings (minced ginger, minced garlic, sesame oil and coconut aminos). 2 tsp fresh ginger root, 1 tsp garlic, 2 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp coconut aminos
• Cook the veggies until they are fragrant and slightly softened.
• Build your bowl using coconut rice, air fryer tofu, and stir fried vegetables. 3 cups cooked coconut rice, 14 oz Crispy Air Fryer Tofu

Notes

Healthy Eating Plans

This recipe makes 6 servings.

21 Day Fix Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry Bowls

Entire recipe: 6 yellow containers, 6 green containers, 3 red containers, 3 blue containers, and 10 teaspoons

Per serving: 1 yellow container, 1 green container, 1/2 red container, 1/2 blue container, and 1 2/3 teaspoons

Weight Watchers

This WW Teriyaki Tofu and Rice Bowl is a little under 9 2023 Plan Points per serving.

2B Mindset

I love how versatile this recipe is for 2B – Skip the rice if you’re eating this recipe for dinner, but portion your plate for lunch with the veggies, tofu, and rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 187kcal | Carbohydrates: 31.3g | Protein: 5.2g | Fat: 9.5g | Saturated Fat: 3.35g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 565mg | Potassium: 355mg | Fiber: 4.25g | Sugar: 22.5g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 4mg

The post Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry Bowls with Coconut Rice appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.

I love swapping out quinoa in any rice dish because quinoa is a whole grain and gives me a healthy boost that helps me feel full even longer. Quinoa is a complete protein and includes all nine essential amino acids that are perfect in a healthy and balanced diet. I make this crispy quinoa often and have so many delicious ways to incorporate this into my daily intake. 

The first time I made crispy quinoa, I was nervous that I wouldn’t find uses for it, but easily found out that I love sprinkling it over salads, buddha bowls, oatmeal, breakfast cereal, and even homemade chocolates. The quinoa provides a slightly nutty flavor and the perfect crunchy texture to level up any and all of my healthy snacks. 

The next time I use our simple method to make crispy quinoa, I’m going to play around with adding different seasonings and spices that will make this healthy crunch even more versatile.

Where’s the Recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life we work hard to empower all of our readers. We want you to feel confident and successful in the kitchen. With that being said, we take the time to write our recipes with detailed instructions, helpful tips and tricks, nutritional information, and healthy eating plan points. 

If you are ready to cook and not in need of all of this helpful information, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page where you can find our easy to print recipe for How to Make Crispy Quinoa. 

Ingredients in Crispy Quinoa

• Quinoa: Swoon! I’m obsessed with this healthy whole grain that is a superfood AND a complete protein! Quinoa is the perfect addition to meals, and any healthy snack in my opinion. (Quinoa crispies, puffed quinoa, quinoa crisps, crispy quinoa cakes, quinoa pops – so many options!) We prefer to use the white quinoa, but any quinoa mixture will work perfectly. 

How to Make Crispy Quinoa on the Stovetop

1. Rinse quinoa in cold water in a mesh colander or bowl.
2. Add 1 cup of uncooked quinoa to a hot dry pan on low-medium heat (not cooked quinoa, but it will be wet from rinsing). If you add too much quinoa, it won’t toast, it’ll just cook. 
3. Use a wooden spoon or whisk to stir the quinoa as it’s toasting. (Don’t use a metal utensil – it’ll scratch your pan because you’ll be doing a lot of whisking).
4. The quinoa will be fairly wet, then it’ll start to dry out and eventually it’ll pop. If the temp is too high, it’ll start popping fast and make a mess. If you keep the temp to low-medium/medium, it’ll give you a bit of warning. :) 
5. Once the quinoa starts to turns a golden brown color (if using white quinoa) and gets crunchy, remove from heat and allow the quinoa to cool completely. 

How to Make Crispy Quinoa in the Oven

1. Preheat the oven to 375º.  
2. Rinse quinoa in a large bowl or mesh colander with cold water.
3. Add 1 cup of quinoa to a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Spread out quinoa into a single layer. This is an easy way to ensure that the quinoa will crisp evenly. 
4. Cook for 20-30 minutes. Stir the quinoa every 5-10 minutes to promote even cooking.
5. Once you notice that it slightly turns color and gets crunchy, remove from oven and allow the quinoa to cool completely. 

Recipe Tips

• Make sure your crunchy quinoa is correctly cooked, as eating raw quinoa can cause digestive discomfort. 
• We first tested cooking crispy quinoa on medium-high heat and found that the quinoa cooked too quickly and started popping. Be sure to keep your pan on low-medium heat. 
• If you have any leftover quinoa, store in an airtight container but try to use up all of the quinoa as quickly as possible. The crispy quinoa gets soggy when being stored in a container. 
• We opt to not use any tablespoons of olive oil when making our crispy quinoa, we found it unnecessary to do so in the crisping process. If you do want to use olive oil for an extra crunch booster, be sure to only use one tablespoon of olive oil. Adding too much will make your quinoa soggy.
• Crispy quinoa can be served alongside roasted veggies – the extra crunch and nutty flavor will be the perfect extra protein boost for your roasted veggie side. 

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Crispy Quinoa

Each 1/2 cup serving is 1 yellow container.

Weight Watchers Points

A half cup serving is 3 2023 Plan Points

2B Mindset

This is a delicious addition to your breakfast or lunch plate!

More healthy and delicious snack recipes

• Recipe for Baked Carrot Fries
• Low Carb Cloud Bread with Greek Yogurt
• Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
• No-Bake Tahini Chocolate Chip Balls
• Easy Black Bean and Corn Salad

Print

How to Make Crispy Quinoa

Making crispy quinoa is easy and I love sprinkling it over salads, buddha bowls, oatmeal, breakfast cereal, and homemade chocolates.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword quinoa

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 104kcal

Author Becca Ludlum

Equipment

• Enameled Cast Iron Pan
• Baking Sheet
• Strainer

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked white quinoa

Instructions

How to Make Crispy Quinoa on the Stovetop

• Rinse quinoa in cold water. 1 cup uncooked white quinoa
• Add 1 cup of quinoa to a hot dry pan on low-medium heat (not cooked quinoa, but it will be wet from rinsing). If you add too much quinoa, it won't toast, it'll just cook. 
• Use a wooden spoon or whisk to stir the quinoa as it's toasting. (don't use a metal utensil – it'll scratch your pan because you'll be doing a lot of whisking)
• The quinoa will be fairly wet, then it'll start to dry out and eventually it'll pop. If the temp is too high, it'll start popping fast and make a mess. If you keep the temp to low-medium/medium, it'll give you a bit of warning.
• Once you notice that it slightly turns color and gets crunchy, remove from heat and allow the quinoa to cool completely. 

How to Make Crispy Quinoa in the Oven

• Preheat the oven to 375º.  
• Rinse quinoa in a large bowl or mesh colander with cold water.
• Add 1 cup of quinoa to a baking sheet. Spread out quinoa into a single layer. This is an easy way to ensure that the quinoa will crisp evenly. 
• Cook for 20-30 minutes. Stir the quinoa every 5-10 minutes to promote even cooking.
• Once you notice that it slightly turns color and gets crunchy, remove from oven and allow the quinoa to cool completely. 

Notes

Recipe Tips:

• Be sure to fully cook crispy quinoa, eating raw quinoa can cause digestive discomfort. 

Healthy Eating Plans

21 Day Fix Crispy Quinoa

Each 1/2 cup serving is 1 yellow container.

Weight Watchers Points

3 2023 Plan Points

Nutrition

Calories: 104kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.2g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1.7g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0g | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg

The post How to Make Crispy Quinoa appeared first on My Crazy Good Life.