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My Easy Chicken Fried Rice recipe is a simple and light option for dinner that my family loves. My kids love fried rice and this recipe is easy to make and can be served by itself or on the side with the rest of your meal. This takeout classic is so much healthier when you make it at home!
I can feed my kid fried rice every day and they won’t complain 🤣 I love how versatile this chicken fried rice is. On busy nights this is a great go-to option that doesn’t take a long time to prepare and usually, there are no leftovers.
Made with a handful of simple pantry staple ingredients and can be ready in about 30 minutes. Full of veggies, loaded with chicken, and so full of flavor.
Summary
- Perfect for the whole family to enjoy and can be made for meal prepping.
- Easy and delicious: It is not that hard to make your favorite fast food at home especially when you have some leftover rice. Use it up.
Ingredient for chicken fried rice
- Cooked brown rice or white rice.
- Chicken breast, boneless, skinless cut into bite-size pieces: you can use boneless chicken thighs. I just prefer cooking with lean chicken breasts.
- Vegetable oil, divided use, or you may use coconut oil
- egg, scrambled
- onion, finely chopped
- carrots, chopped
- frozen peas
- low sodium soy sauce or more to taste
- toasted sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- sliced green onions for garnish
How to make chicken fried rice
- First, in a large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and saute until browned and cooked through about 4-5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Next, remove the chicken from the pan and place it on a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.
- Then, wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Heat the remaining teaspoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and carrot to the pan, and cook for 3-5 minutes or until softened.
- Add the rice to the pan, along with the reserved chicken, egg, and frozen peas. Stir in the soy sauce and sesame oil and mix gently until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Finally, season to taste with salt and pepper and top with sliced green onions if desired. Serve.
What to serve with Chicken Fried Rice
Sometimes you just want to have a little something with your Chicken Fried Rice recipe. There are a few options for side dishes.
- Stir fry vegetables like mushrooms, onions, zucchini, carrots, and so on. Try my sweet-and-sour vegetable stir-fry.
- Egg rolls, dumplings or salads as a side as well.
- Steamed veggies like broccoli or green beans. Try these sauteed green beans or these air fryer Broccoli.
- Soup- try egg drop soup or hot and sour soup. Or you an try it with my healthy asparagus soup.
- Salads like this Asian Cucumber salad.
Recipe notes and tips
- If cooking your own rice, use long grain rice. It works best.
- Precooked rice works great, use brown rice if possible
- Other meats can be used in place of the chicken like shrimps, chicken thighs, or beef.
- Frozen peas and corn work well. Canned peas won’t taste as great but will work just fine. Just add it towards the end to prevent them from mushing.
- It is best to use cold rice. Either wait for the rice to cool down completely, or use leftover rice from the previous day.
- Also, some optional toppings can be sliced onions, peppers, or grated ginger.
Frequently asked questions
Store your leftover chicken fried rice in a storage container in the fridge for 4-5 days. You may freeze for up to 3 months. Simply microwave to reheat or you may reheat on your stovetop.
The ingredients that give Chinese fried rice its unique flavor are sesame oil and soy sauce. Without these two ingredients, you simply can’t get the same flavor. The addition of fresh ginger also helps.
Yes. Most Chinese restaurants will cook their fried rice with added butter to give it that richness and oily glow. Some do use only vegetables and sesame oil. Sometimes peanut oil.
I have never used olive oil and haven’t heard of olive oil being used to make fried rice. Most would use a combination of nut oil, sesame oil, and vegetable oil. Most would agree that making fried rice with butter tastes better.
Recipes you may like
- Honey Garlic Salmon Recipe
- Easy Sesame Ginger Shrimp Stir-fry Recipe
- Asian Chopped Chicken Salad
- Lemon Dill Salmon Pasta Salad
- Thai Green Chicken Curry
- Greek Meze Power Bowl
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Easy Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 cups brown rice, cooked
- 3/4 pound chicken breast, boneless, skinless cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided use
- 1 egg, scrambled
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional: sliced green onions for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and saute until browned and cooked through about 4-5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and place it on a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.
- Wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Heat the remaining teaspoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and carrot to the pan, cook 3-5 minutes or until softened.
- Add the rice to the pan, along with the reserved chicken, egg, and frozen peas. Stir in the soy sauce and sesame oil and mix gently until everything is thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper and top with sliced green onions if desired. Serve.
Notes
- You may use brown rice or white rice. or a low-carb option you may use cauliflower rice.
- Instead of chicken breasts you can use chicken thighs or even shrimp.
- For added flavor, you can add in 1-2 tablespoons of butter.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I followed the recipe as listed, except I replaced the chicken with leftover seasoned ground beef and then added a knob of butter towards the end. Simple, quick, and delicious!
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback
Why is the Carb count so high?
Thanks for pointing it out to me. It was calculating 3 cups of dried rice not cooked rice. I fixed it.
Easy to make and delicious
awesome! Thanks for the feedback
What makes the
carbs so very High?
Are the calories listed per serving or per batch?
yes