Easiest Fried Rice Recipe with Chicken
If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to make fried rice, this recipe will help you in no time! It’s an easy, one-skillet recipe that’s ready in 20 minutes and better than takeout. You’ll never be tempted again to eat rice from a flimsy white takeout container after trying homemade. The chicken is moist and juicy and there are green onions, garlic, sesame oil, and soy sauce for layers of flavor. My favorites are the bits of scrambled eggs. Fried rice just isn’t fried rice without those coveted bits of eggs that I go searching for and devour those little treasures first. It’s such an easy and healthy weeknight dinner you can whip up in no time and the leftovers are great for lunches!
Chicken Fried Rice Ingredients
For this straightforward chicken fried rice recipe, you’ll need:
Vegetable oil (or another neutral oil like canola oil) Sesame oil Chicken breasts Frozen peas and carrots Green onions Garlic Eggs Cooked white rice (use pre-cooked rice packets if you’re in a rush) Soy sauce (I use low-sodium soy sauce) Salt and pepper (to taste, optional)
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Chicken Fried Rice
This truly is the BEST fried rice. It’s a straightforward recipe that uses simple ingredients and is easy to customize depending on what you have on hand (more on that in a bit!). Here are the basic recipe steps:
Recipe Variations to Try
Chicken stir-fried rice is a great clean out the fridge meal. Here are some fried rice variations you can try: If cooking the rice yourself, I highly recommend making it the day before or adding slightly less water than you normally would. You want the rice to be a little dry so it soaks up the soy sauce (but not crunchy, though!). That’s why day-old rice works perfectly for stir-frying! I don’t even bother thawing the frozen peas and carrot blend that’s mixed into the rice. You can add the veggies straight to the skillet!
Swap the chicken: Use chicken thighs, ground chicken, or ground turkey instead. Or, use a different protein entirely (see the related recipes linked below the recipe card for all of my fried rice recipes!). Use different vegetables: I used a frozen vegetable blend for ease, but you can also shred fresh carrots yourself, finely chop onions, etc. to add to the pan. Pretty much anything will work! Chop fresh veggies into bite-sized pieces, and remember that different veggies have different cook times, so adjust the recipe as needed. Use a different rice or grain: I use a white long-grain rice to keep this recipe as close to the takeout version as possible, but brown rice or another grain like quinoa would also work. Make it vegetarian: Omit the chicken entirely or replace with firm tofu (smoked tofu would be great here!). Make it gluten-free: Swap the soy sauce for a gluten-free soy sauce or use tamari sauce instead.
More Homemade Fried Rice Recipes:
ALL OF MY ASIAN RECIPES! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! 15-Minute Sheet Pan Chicken Fried Rice – Easy HEALTHIER “fried rice” that’s actually baked and not fried!! Full of authentic flavor and ready faster than you can call for takeout!! Pineapple Fried Rice – A Hawaiian-inspired shrimp fried rice recipe that’s EASY, ready in minutes, and has so much authentic flavor!! A family favorite that’s better-than-takeout!! Shrimp Fried Rice — There’s garlic, ginger, green onions, sesame oil, and soy sauce for layers of flavor while peas, carrots, corn, and bits of egg add texture! Skinny Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Stir-Fry — Even people who don’t like cauliflower will be amazed at how authentic and DELICIOUS this SKINNY version of chicken fried rice tastes! Beef Fried Rice — This better-than-takeout beef fried rice is EASY, ready in 20 MINUTES, and made in ONE skillet! Everyone loves the big juicy strips of steak and perfectly fried rice that’s speckled with bits of onions, peas, carrots, and scrambled eggs.
