Chicken Fried Rice is an Easy to Make One-Skillet Dinner!
Later takeout 👋, this chicken fried rice recipe is a simple dinner idea to make at home!
If you’ve been in a dinner rut, here’s something easy to make that the family will love! The best part about making homemade fried rice is that you can toss in leftover rice, chicken, chopped fresh or frozen veggies, and you’re on your way to a seriously delicious one-skillet meal that’s convenient to make any night of the week.
Eating keto? Check out this yummy keto version of fried rice using cauliflower on Hip2Keto.com!
This chicken fried rice has tender pieces of pan-seared chicken, garlic, veggies, eggs, and rice all tossed with sesame oil and soy sauce to give it that craveable takeout food texture and flavor.
Tips for making the best chicken fried rice:
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- Leftover cold rice will always taste the best in chicken fried rice recipes because the grain firms up and won’t become mushy. Try to refrigerate cooked rice for at least 2 hours before starting. I use long-grain white rice when making mine.
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- I am obsessed with using my Insignia rice cooker as it makes the most perfect rice without even having to boil water. Plus, I can make a bunch at a time, so I will make extra knowing that I can make fried rice later on in the week! Meal prep win! 🙌
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- As far a protein, you can cook fresh chicken for it as I did or use chopped up leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken. You could even try out leftover steak or pork. Additionally, you can omit the meat altogether and use more veggies to opt for vegetarian fried rice.
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- Use a wok pan or the largest frying pan you have to avoid crowding. This will yield the best texture of fried rice.
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- Leftovers reheat well and can be covered in an airtight lid and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Chicken Fried Rice
yield: 4 SERVINGS
prep time: 15 MINUTES
cook time: 20 MINUTES
total time: 35 MINUTES
This rice and chicken skillet meal is surprisingly simple and quick to make at home, no need to do takeout!
Ingredients
For the diced chicken:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 1/4 pound chicken raw chicken breast meat, diced into small pieces
For the fried rice:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/2 a medium sized onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 cups cooked long grain white rice, cold
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 green onions sliced for garnish
Directions
1
For the chicken:
Heat a skillet to medium heat and add sesame oil & butter. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet and cook 5-6 minutes until browned and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set it aside.
2
For the fried rice:
Heat the oils on the skillet to medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, peas & carrots, and ginger paste. Sauté for a few minutes until softened and browned.
3
Push the veggie mixture to one side, and add the whisked eggs to the open area of the pan to lightly scramble using a wooden spatula.
4
Add in the rice and the soy sauce, and stir in using the wooden spoon. Taste and see if it needs slightly more soy sauce or sesame oil based on preference.
5
Add in the chicken and toss all together. Top with sliced green onion and serve warm. Enjoy!
Chicken fried rice is such a satisfying skillet meal!
My family LOVED this yummy dinner and I get way too excited when everyone agrees on a dinner that’s easy to make from scratch. 😂 Your kitchen will smell amazing too thanks to the sesame oil. YUM!
Check out what my teammate Jenna had to say about chicken fried rice:
“I LOVE that this is a one-pan meal! So simple to throw together and is now a family favorite! Plus it’s only a little prep: make some rice, and you’re ready to throw it all together. I love that it has the classic fried rice flavor we all know and love thanks to the fresh ginger paste and the soy sauce! This made enough for the whole family and I was able to have some for lunch the next day!”
I love adding some oyster sauce and fish sauce to fried rice. If you ever wonder why yours doesn’t taste quite like the restaurant, try adding those.
I second that recommendation as well. It adds a lot of depth to the flavor, even hoisin sauce is flavorable.
Thanks for the suggestions!
How much should I add to the recipe above?
I usually add 1 tbsp oyster sauce & 1tbsp fish sauce, but I reduce quantity of soy sauce from 4tbsp to 2tbsp.
I eyeball it, ha ha. But probably about 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce and a teaspoon of fish sauce with 2 to 3 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce.
I make this as well however i like to use cauliflower and broccoli rice it soo good.. i also like to add edema and scramble up some egg.
Nice! Those are great ideas!
What if you don’t have ginger paste? Substitutions?
How do you keep it from not leaving half stuck to the pan? Is my temp to high or am I not using enough oil?
Make sure your rice is cold
If you have leftover plain rice from another meal, freeze it! I thaw it & use it for fried rice all the time.
Great idea!