Easy Chicken Fried Rice
Easy chicken fried rice is a perfect weeknight dinner. Toss in your favorite vegetables, some leftover cooked chicken, and you have an easy dinner in under 20 minutes.
One of the easiest and most tempting recipes to encourage young kids to try veggies is to chop them up tiny and stir them into a deliciously easy homemade chicken fried rice.
The savory rice dish filled with tender cooked chicken and whatever mix of veggies your family enjoys is quick enough to make on a busy night.
I love how you can mix and match the ingredients to make easy take-out at home using whatever items you need to use up in the fridge!
Why This is the Best Recipe
- Budget-Friendly: You can make homemade chicken fried rice for the whole family for less than you'd pay for take out.
- More Veggies: When you make this at home, you can control how many veggies get put in the mix.
- High Protein: If you really want to bulk up the dinner, you can add extra chicken or eggs.
Ingredients
This basic chicken fried rice has a very simple list of ingredients but don't miss my suggestions for easy swaps and variations below!
- Cooked White Rice: You can make this 3-minute jasmine rice in your Instant Pot.
- Rotisserie Chicken: My favorite kitchen shortcut! I always have a couple bags of pre-shredded chicken meat in my freezer ready to go. You can use whatever leftover roasted chicken meat you have.
- Frozen Vegetables: I love a mix that has peas, carrots, green beans, and corn. But you can use whatever vegetable blend you love. I used a red pepper from my fridge that needed to be cooked. Check for veggie leftovers!
- Onion
- Eggs
- Tamari or Soy Sauce
- Canola Oil
- Minced Garlic
- Dried Ginger
- Red Pepper Flakes
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Variations
You can make so many different variations on this recipe just by swapping the protein and veggies:
- Pork Fried Rice: Use leftover pork tenderloin that has been cut into a small dice.
- Shrimp Fried Rice: You could use cook frozen shrimp for this easy recipe.
- Vegetable Fried Rice: You can drop all the animal proteins and make this a vegetarian recipe. This version also makes a great side dish.
- Pineapple Cashew Fried Rice: Another one of my favorite recipes, this variation is written just for kids in The Ultimate Kids' Cookbook.
- Crockpot Chicken Fried Rice: I love the crispy edges a skillet gives this dish but if you want to make dinner even easier, try this Crockpot chicken fried rice recipe.
How to Make It
Place a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the canola oil and let it warm through until it shimmers.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together in a small bowl. When the oil is ready, pour the eggs in and stir them with a wooden spoon until they scramble. They will cook very quickly.
Add the diced raw onion, bell pepper, dried ginger, minced garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until the onion has softened, about 3 minutes.
Pour in the frozen veggies, there's no need to thaw them. As they cook they'll thaw and add some moisture to the pan. Continue to cook until the liquid evaporates and the veggies just begin to char.
Add the cooked rice to the pan and stir it into the veggies and eggs. The rice will absorb any remaining liquid and oil in the bottom of the pan.
Once everything is well combined, let the rice sit and cook for 1 - 2 minutes before stirring again. This will help the rice and veggies to brown and crisp up in spots on the bottom.
Finally, pour in the tamari or soy sauce and stir to combine. This will turn the rice a deeper color.
Add the reserved diced chicken. I always add it last because cooked chicken is a delicate meat and can break apart if you stir it too much.
Make Ahead Tips
I love to prep ahead chicken fried rice for family dinner when I have more time earlier in the day and just store it in the fridge. It reheats in the microwave really well.
You could also prep the entire dish and let it cool before freezing in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Let the rice thaw in the fridge overnight or thaw it quickly in the microwave. This is a very forgiving recipe!
DIY Meal Kit
You can easily turn this recipe into a DIY Meal kit by prepping:
- Container of Cooked White Rice: Make your own or buy freezer bags of prepped rice at stores like Trader Joe's.
- Shredded Chicken: Buy and shred a rotisserie chicken or keep bags of cooked chicken on hand.
- Bags of Frozen Veggies
Keep those items on hand with eggs and soy sauce and you're ready to cook at a moment's notice!
Serving Suggestions
For an easy dinner, this chicken fried rice can hold up all on it's own.
You could add frozen egg rolls or potstickers for more of a take-out feel.
Or you could dress it up with an even more flavorful protein topping. I love these honey garlic chicken thighs with fried rice but this orange pork stir fry or spicy shrimp would work great, too.
Skip the chicken and use the fried rice as a base to spoon my stir fry beef and broccoli over the top.
More Take Out Recipes
If you are craving your favorite take-out place but are keeping to the family budget, you won't want to miss these additional easy dinner recipes:
📖 Recipe
Easy Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 onion diced
- 1 red pepper diced, optional
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
- Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
- 1 (10 oz) bag of frozen mixed vegetables my mix included peas, corn, carrots, and green beans but use whatever blend your family prefers!
- 3 cups cooked white rice
- 1/3 cup Tamari or soy sauce
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken shredded
Instructions
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the canola oil to the pan and heat it until it shimmers.
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs together with a fork. Add the whisked eggs to the hot oil and stir it with a spoon to scramble.
- Once the eggs are scrambled, about 1 -2 minutes, add the chopped onion and bell pepper with the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes to the pan and stir. Cook until the onions have softened, about 2 - 3 minutes.
- Add the bag of frozen vegetables, there's no need to thaw them first. They will add some additional moisture to the pan. Continue to cook until the liquid mostly evaporates and the veggies begin to slightly char, about 4 - 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked rice to the skillet and stir it into the veggies and eggs. Let the rice sit undisturbed for 2 or 3 minutes so that it can fry and begin to char in spots.
- Add the soy sauce to the rice and stir it in. Continue to cook for a minute before adding the shredded chicken. Stir and let the chicken warm through for another minute before serving.
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