Chicken Fried Rice

5 from 16 votes

Posted: 05/15/22

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Quick and easy 30 minute dinner recipe that’s made in one skillet! Use up your leftover rice and chicken when you make Chicken Fried Rice. So easy and full of flavor making it even better than takeout.

Skip the takeout and make homemade chicken fried rice instead! I love to make our favorite Chinese takeout recipes at home, and fried rice is always a hit.

Let’s face it – ordering out gets really expensive for our family of five, so it’s a lot less costly to make copycat recipes at home! Chicken fried rice is an easy one to try, and it’s a great way to use up leftover chicken and frozen veggies buried in the freezer.

We love this as a side dish with beef and broccoli or orange chicken. Sometimes I air fry some frozen egg rolls, too!

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Why This Recipe Works

It’s a quick 30-minute stir fry recipe perfect for weeknight dinners.
You don’t need a wok – a skillet works great! Plus, you only need one pan to make it. I always love fewer dishes to clean up.
It’s so easy to adapt this recipe with other ingredients. You can swap the meat, veggies, and you can use different kinds of rice to make it.

If you’ve never made chicken fried rice, you are going to love this easy recipe. It’s the best!

The Best Rice to Use

This dish is all about rice so use long grain rice or Jasmine rice. I like to use white rice, but brown rice will work, too!

For the best fried rice, you should use leftover cooked rice. Leftover cold rice is a little dry and not sticky, making it great for this dish. When I have this recipe in my meal plan, I cook the rice a day before or use leftovers from another meal.

Overhead image of Chicken Fried Rice Ingredients

If you don’t have leftover rice, you can make a fresh batch but allow it to fully cool. For the best results, spread it out on a baking sheet while it’s warm so it can dry out. This will keep it from getting mushy when you make the dish.

You can also use cauliflower rice for this dish to make it lower-carb. Cauliflower rice doesn’t have the exact same texture, but it works great!

Other Ingredients You’ll Need

Cooking oils: I like to use a combination of sesame oil and vegetable oil or canola oil to pan fry the rice. The sesame oil adds a delicious flavor!
Vegetables: There are a lot of choices, but I like to use diced onions, minced garlic cloves, and frozen peas and carrots.
Large eggs: Whisk the eggs in a small bowl. They cook right in the pan with everything else.
Cooked Meat: You can use cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs. Cut them into cubes before adding them to the rice. You can also use rotisserie chicken!
Sauce: This fried rice recipe has a light sauce made with soy sauce and butter. For a less salty dish, use low sodium soy sauce.
Garnishes: We like sliced green onions to finish the dish! You can also add some salt and black pepper for serving.

Products Needed

How to Make It

Heat the oils in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the onions, peas and carrots and sauté them until the onions turn translucent.

Add the garlic and continuing cooking until he garlic is fragrant. This should only take about a minute. Add the rice and chicken to the pan and stir to combine.

Skillet with peas, carrots, onions and garlic

Push the rice mixture to the sides of the pan to make room in the middle to cook the eggs. Pour the whisked eggs into the spot you cleared in the skillet.

Scramble the eggs with a spatula. Once they are cooked, stir them into the rest of the ingredients.

Add the soy sauce and butter. As the butter melts, stir everything together so it’s evenly coated.

Then add soy sauce and stir to mix. Season with salt and pepper and garnish the rice with green onions if desired.

What is the secret to fried rice?

For the best chicken fried rice, use cooked cold rice! When you chill leftover rice it dries out so it’s firmer. This means it won’t get mushy when you make the fried rice. That’s the secret!

What are the main ingredients in Chicken Fried Rice?

Rice, soy sauce, vegetables, eggs, and meat are the main ingredients in fried rice. There are tons of variations!

What type of meat is best to use in Fried Rice?

There are a lot of options – cooked chicken, beef (like steak or even ground beef), and pork are common. I’ve seen versions made with ground turkey and ground chicken, too! Or, leave out the meat and make vegetarian fried rice.

What other vegetables can you use?

Try diced bell peppers, red onion, scallions, cauliflower, even green beans! Fresh vegetables will take longer to cook, so I usually stick frozen ones. I’ve seen versions with nuts, too, like cashews!

How long does chicken fried rice keep?

If you use day-old leftover rice, your fried rice will keep for two to three days in the refrigerator. It might get a little dry, so add a little more soy sauce when you reheat it.

Skillet with prepared chicken fried rice

I know your family is going to love this easy chicken fried rice recipe! Everyone will think you ordered takeout – it’s that good. Give it a try soon and let me know what you think – Enjoy!

More Take-Out Inspired Recipes

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken is healthier than a restaurant version but with the same delicious flavors!
Skip the Panda Express drive-through and make my copycat Chow Mein! It’s so easy.
Easy Egg Roll in a Bowl has everything you love about egg rolls but served up bowl-style instead without the deep frying.

Meet Julie Evink

I'm here to help you win in the kitchen again! Life is Busy, Life is Crazy, but that doesn't mean you can't make your family dinner! Julie's goal is to provide you with easy, family, friendly recipes that use pantry staples. Dinnertime will be stress free again!