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Confession time… I make this chicken fried rice recipe AT LEAST every other week.

With all the necessities for it always on hand, and less than an hour of preparation time needed, it’s become one of my go-to easy and tasty dinner recipes!

What’s So Great About This Fried Rice?

Even better, it’s incredibly easy to customize it to suit whatever proteins, vegetables, and flavorings you’ve got on hand. The basic ingredients for any fried rice come down to simply that – rice fried in oil in a wok or non-stick skillet, usually flavored with any combination of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame seed oil. 

From there, the possibilities are endless. This dish stands up as an entrée all on its own, but shines alongside other takeout classics like General Tso’s Chicken, or Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry.

Ingredients

For the exact measurements and detailed instructions, you can jump to the recipe.

Eggs, rice, red bell pepper, onion, carrots, and green onion arranged on a white countertop.
  • Vegetables. Basic mixed vegetables like carrots, onions, and peas are typical for fried rice, but any diced vegetables, even frozen, may be used. This recipe also calls for bell peppers, and green onions for garnish. 
  • Chicken. Boneless, skinless chicken breast is the ideal cut for this dish as a lean protein, but chicken thighs can also be used as a more flavorful alternative. Fried tofu, tempeh, or seitan can be substituted as a meatless alternative.
  • Eggs. Organic or pasture-raised eggs taste the best and are the healthiest for you, but any kind of eggs may be used.
  • Rice. Long-grain white rice is recommended as the most common and inexpensive variety, but brown or jasmine rice will work too. Leftover rice made the day before is ideal.
  • Soy sauce or Tamari sauce. Either works as the main flavoring agent of the dish, but use a good-quality brand like San-J or Kikkoman. Soy sauce is lighter and saltier, and Tamari sauce is richer and deeper in soy flavor.
  • Rice wine vinegar. Use a good, reliable name brand like Marukan. Rice wine vinegar provides an acidic tanginess which contrasts the oily rice, and improves the flavor.
  • Toasted sesame seed oil. This ingredient packs a powerful, deep, nutty flavor in every drop. Use it sparingly, because it can quickly become overpowering. 
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How to Make Easy Chicken Fried Rice

Jump to the recipe for the full instructions, ingredient amounts, and a printable recipe.

Rinse long grain rice before cooking for a no stick, no clump fluffy side.
Wash the rice to remove starch.
Learn how to make rice in your instant pot with no sticking or no clumps.
Cook the rice ahead so it can dry.
  • Cook the rice. Before cooking the rice, rinse it under cold water in a strainer repeatedly, until the water draining out of it is no longer cloudy. This removes the excess surface starch in the rice, which prevents stickiness after cooking and allows the individual grains to separate easier. If making rice specifically for frying, then spreading it out, uncovered, in a tray or other shallow container allows the moisture to evaporate more easily. Leave it in the fridge overnight.

Recipe Tip

If possible, use leftover Instant Pot White Rice that was made a day ahead. Fresh rice is very soft and moist, which makes it prone to getting sticky and difficult to stir fry. Leftover rice is more dry, breaks apart easily while frying, and will crisp beautifully when it absorbs the oil in the skillet.

Diced carrots, red bell pepper, and onion sit on a wooden cutting board beside a knife.
Chop the vegetables finely for fast cooking.
Cubed chicken on a white cutting board next to a knife.
Cut the chicken to ½-inch cubes to cook evenly.
  • Prep the ingredients. Finely dice the carrots, onion, and bell pepper, and chicken into ½-inch pieces. Keeping the pieces small and uniform in size allows the vegetables to soften quickly and the chicken to cook evenly.
  • Sauté the vegetables and chicken. In a large wok or skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat.  Add the carrots, pepper, and onion, and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Push the vegetables to one side of the skillet, and drizzle another 1 tablespoon of oil into the empty side to begin heating. Add the cubed chicken to the empty side of the skillet, and continue cooking over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Eggs being whisked together to add to a chicken stir-fry with rice.
Add the eggs to the chicken and vegetables.
Chicken fried rice in a stainless steel skillet with a metal spatula.
Fry the rice until crispy.
  • Scramble the eggs. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs.  Push the chicken and vegetables to one side of the skillet. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of oil into the skillet, and add the eggs, salt, and pepper. Scramble them in that spot for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through. Break the eggs apart and mix into the rest of the pan.
  • Fry the rice. Add the cooked rice to the mix, and season it with the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Stir everything well. Continue frying the rice over medium heat for 10 minutes, breaking up any clumps that are sticking together. Let the rice cook to your desired level of crispness, and stir in the frozen peas during the final 2 minutes, to avoid overcooking. 
  • Finally, serve it up in a bowl and enjoy! Sliced green onions can be added after plating, as a garnish.
Meal prep containers full of chicken fried rice and a hand picking up some with chopsticks.

Meal Prep and Storage

  • Prep-Ahead: It is highly recommended to cook the rice between 1-2 days ahead, as that makes the texture better for frying. The chicken and vegetables can also be cut into pieces ahead of time. The vegetables will keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 days, and the chicken can be cubed up to 1 day ahead.
  • Storage: With or without chicken, this dish can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
  • Freezing: This can be frozen in an airtight container or sealed Ziploc freezer bag for up to 3-4 months. Individual servings can also be portioned out to make reheating easier.
  • Reheating: It is recommended to reheat fried rice in a skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through, but reheating in the microwave will suffice as well.

FAQs

Why does restaurant fried rice taste better?

Chinese restaurants often utilize very big, professional-grade woks and stove burners which fry rice at a very high temperature that browns and crisps it in a way most home cooks cannot replicate. Additionally, many Chinese restaurants still add monosodium glutamate (MSG) to theirs, giving it a greater depth of flavor.

How is Japanese fried rice different from Chinese fried rice?

The only distinct difference between Japanese and Chinese fried rice is the type of rice that is used.

Chinese varieties generally uses long-grain rice, such as Basmati or Jasmine rice, which create a more dry texture. Japanese dishes favors short-grain rice, like sushi rice, which yields a more sticky, chewy texture.

What kind of oil do Chinese restaurants use for fried rice?

In Chinese restaurants vegetable oil and soybean oil are the most commonly used, because they are inexpensive, widely available in bulk, have a neutral flavor, and function very well at the high temperatures required for frying.

Where did fried rice originate?

Fried rice presumably first originated in the Sui Dynasty (589-618 A.D.) in the city of Yangzhou, in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu. Yangzhou-style rice – or “Yangchow” fried rice – usually featured roast pork, prawns, scallions, and peas, and served as the basis for the version we know today.

It’s believed to have originated as a way to make use of leftover food even back then, which is why the use of leftover rice is so critical to getting the right taste and texture.

What pan is best for fried rice?

A very large wok or skillet – at least 12 inches – should be used, to give plenty of space to sauté the ingredients and lots of hot surface area for the rice to crisp on. Any material will do, so use what best suits your budget and lifestyle.

Stainless steel is cheap and widely available, but food can stick to it easily. Cast iron provides a good non-stick surface, but its weight makes maneuvering difficult. Teflon-coated non-stick pans are effective, but can put off harmful fumes. Ceramic – my personal recommendation – is pricey, but is lighter than cast iron, more non-stick than steel, and healthier than Teflon.

Recipe Tips

  • Invest in the good stuff. For ingredients like soy sauce, Tamari sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame seed oil, the good-quality name brands taste infinitely better than the store brands.
  • Break it up. Before adding your leftover rice to the pan, break up the clumps – this will ensure that all of the rice mixes evenly into the other ingredients and fries at the same rate.
  • Bring in the butter. If calories aren’t a concern, do as the hibachi chefs do and add a tablespoon or two of butter in the last several minutes of cooking – the rice may turn out less crispy, but it adds lots of extra flavor.
  • Turn up the heat. For extra crispy rice, crank up the heat to medium-high at the end and let the rice sit and rest a bit between stirs to really let it brown on the bottom – just be careful not to let it burn!
  • Mix it up. Fried rice is the perfect simple dish with which to try out frequently underappreciated Asian ingredients like oyster sauce, bok choy, water chestnuts, kimchi, and so much more.
Chicken fried rice recipe being picked up with chopsticks out of a white bowl.

Make it a Meal

While this Easy Chicken Fried Rice can serve as a meal all in itself, for the full Chinese takeout experience it’s worth trying some of these other classic accompaniments:

Whip up a light appetizer with some Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls or P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

Or use this fried rice recipe as a side dish for heavier proteins like General Tso’s Chicken, Gluten Free Chinese Orange Chicken, or Mongolian Beef.

More Asian Stir Fry Recipes

Get the most out of your skillet or wok by trying out some of these other amazing stir-fried recipes:

Tap stars to rate!

5 from 4 votes

Chicken Fried Rice Recipe

By: London Brazil
Make a quick meal of this Easy Chicken Fried Rice recipe, while still enjoying authentic Chinese takeout flavor. Chicken, eggs, and vegetables sauté in oil, then fry up with rice and soy sauce until crispy.
A white bowl full of a healthy fried rice recipe with carrots and peas next to green onions.
Yield 5 servings
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Total 45 minutes
Print Pin Comment
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Ingredients 

  • ½ cup carrots finely diced
  • 1 cup bell pepper cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 1 cup sweet onion cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil, divided
  • 1 lb. chicken thighs or breasts, cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 4 eggs whisked
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt to taste
  • 4 cups cooked rice*
  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce gluten-free, or Tamari
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil
  • ½ cup frozen peas
  • Green onions optional
  • See this recipe in Meal Plan #10

Instructions 

  • In a large wok, or large skillet, combine 2 tablespoons oil with bell peppers, onions, and carrots. Sauté for 3-5 minutes over medium heat.
    ½ cup carrots, 1 cup bell pepper, 1 cup sweet onion
  • Push vegetables to the side and drizzle 1 tablespoon oil into the skillet and place chicken in oil. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Mix with vegetables.
    1 lb. chicken thighs
  • Whisk eggs together in a small bowl. Either push all vegetables and chicken to one side, or remove and place on a separate plate. 
    4 eggs
  • Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons oil in the spot you have cleared and add in eggs, salt, and pepper. Scramble in that spot for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked. Once cooked, you can combine the eggs with the rest of the vegetable mixture.
    ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon salt
  • Add in cooked rice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.  
    4 cups cooked rice*, 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil
  • If you like extra crispy fried rice, let rice sit over medium to medium-high heat for a full minute before mixing again. Rice likes to stick to the bottom of the pan, so be sure to scrape all of the crispy goodness off of it! Repeat this process until it reaches your desired crispiness.
  • Mix in frozen peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking.
    ½ cup frozen peas
  • Top fried rice with green onions to serve and enjoy!   See this recipe in Meal Plan #10.
    Green onions
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review letting us know how it was!

Tap stars to rate!

5 from 4 votes

Notes

  • Rice: It is best to use leftover white rice instead of freshly cooked white rice.  Freshly cooked rice tends to clump together and does not crisp up as easily.
  • Protein: Omit the chicken, and/or use a meat-free protein like tofu, tempeh, or seitan if needed.
  • Veggies: Add more vegetables, and consider additional varieties like cabbage, snow peas, or broccoli. Substitute white rice for brown rice or cauliflower rice.
  • Storage: With or without chicken, this dish can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
  • Freezing: Fried rice can be frozen in an airtight container or sealed Ziploc freezer bag for up to 3-4 months. Individual servings can also be portioned out to make reheating easier.
  • Reheating: It is recommended to reheat fried rice in a skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through, but reheating in the microwave will suffice as well.

      Nutrition

      Calories: 476kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 189mg, Sodium: 1020mg, Potassium: 628mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 2575IU, Vitamin C: 34mg, Calcium: 60mg, Iron: 2mg

      Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

      Made this recipe?Leave a comment below!

       

      5 from 4 votes (1 rating without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




      Comments

        1. The exact measurement of the serving size is unknown, but you can divide the final amount by 5ths to get one portion. Hope this helps!

          Reply

        1. Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Rick! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!

          Reply

        1. You’re SO very welcome, Manvir!! Happy to hear you enjoy the recipe. Thanks so much for your comment and rating 🙂

          Reply

      5. 5 stars
        This is a GREAT recipe! Only changes I made were to add 4-5 cloves of crushed garlic and to take each vegetable out and set aside after cooking, then reintroduce them when I put the rice in the wok. This way there is less chance of over cooking, especially since eggs are sensitive. I have made this many times since finding the recipe and am so glad I found it. My wife has the Gluten intolerance and she went years without having one of her favorite dishes until I found this. It does not last two days in my house with one 12 yo and us. I have recommended it many times to people attempting fried rice for the first time. Even those without gluten issues.

        Reply

        1. Hi Mark!! Love your idea to add crushed garlic and to take out the veggies. I am so happy your wife can enjoy fried rice again. Thanks so much for sharing and for your comment/rating 🙂

          Reply

      8. This was the best chicken fried rice I have ever made! Thanks so much for the recipe! My sister in law has celiac disease so anytime we have family dinners, I have to make gluten free food. Your blog has been so helpful! We also love the crock pot chicken tortilla soup!!

        Reply

        1. Thanks so much, Tiffany!! We, somewhat embarrassingly, eat this fried rice ALL. THE. TIME!! lol It just seems like I always have the ingredients on hand 😉 Thanks so much for your sweet comment! You made my day 🙂

          Reply