Chicken Fried Rice

Having a delicious and easy chicken fried rice recipe in your recipe rolodex comes in handy.

Chicken fried rice is the ultimate one-pot wonder filled with carbohydrates, protein, veggies and fat to keep you satisfied and full. It’s a meal in itself that’s just so easy to make.

It’s also super economical, filled with pantry and freezer staple ingredients and it is so versatile.

Plus, it’s a great way to use up leftovers you have.

Some of my other favorite Asian-inspired dishes are Cole Noodle Salad, Weeknight Cashew Chicken Stir Fry, and Easy Beef and Broccoli!

Ingredients for easy chicken fried rice

Chicken Fried Rice comes together relatively quickly so you want to make sure you have all of your ingredients chopped and prepped before you start cooking. (This includes having the rice cooked as well).

This recipe uses some pantry staple seasonings and spices and proteins that you may have stashed in the freezer.

(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)

• White rice: Jasmine or basmati rice. Day old or leftover rice is best for best texture and to prevent soggy rice. If you don’t have day old rice, you can make it the same day, just don’t add it in warm. See my tips in the recipe card notes below.
• If you have leftover rice, chicken fried rice is a great way to turn it into an easy and delicious meal.
• Chicken: 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into small bite sized pieces is plenty for this chicken fried rice. Once you chop it up, it’s surprisingly a lot of chicken.
• Eggs: 3 large eggs
• Bacon: 4 strips of bacon.
• Carrots: 2 large carrots are needed, peeled and chopped into a small dice/uniform squares. A small dice is measured at ¼-inch on all sides.
• How to cut the carrots: First cut the carrot into batonnets by cutting off both ends of the carrot and then both sides so you no have a rectangle. Take your rectangular carrot and cut it into ¼” slabs. Then gather the sticks and cut down into small pieces that are ¼-inch squares.
• White onion: 1/2 of a white onion, diced.
• Canola oil: Can also use vegetable oil. These oils are typically used due to their high smoke points and neutral flavors.
• Scallions: 1 small bunch
• Edamame: Edamame is a great addition to fried rice, especially if you aren’t a fan of peas!
• Other seasonings used: sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, minced garlic, salt, pepper, chicken bouillon and unsalted butter.

How to make chicken fried rice

(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)

1. Heat 2 Tbsp. canola oil in a wok, large cast-iron skillet or a non-stick pan over high heat.
2. Once hot, add in the eggs and scramble them. Then add in the chopped bacon pieces and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add in the chicken pieces and cook another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. The chicken won’t be fully cooked yet, that’s OK.
4. Add in the white onions and carrots. Stir. Then, add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, chicken bouillon, sesame oil, soy sauce and garlic. Cook this all on high heat still for about 3 minutes.
5. Next, add in the cooked white rice, scallions, butter and edamame, stir. Add more soy sauce if needed.
6. Divide rice among bowls and serve. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Tips to make the best chicken fried rice

• If you don’t have a wok or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, using a non-stick pan; you won’t get the same result exactly, but you don’t want the eggs to stick to the pan!
• Using leftover rice or cold rice: Using “old” or leftover rice is helpful to giving your fried rice the perfect texture. But fresh rice is great too so long as you spread the rice out on a plate/tray/baking sheet while it’s still hot and give it a few minutes to cool off to allow some surface moisture to evaporate. This makes it easier to fry so you can still get those nice separated grains. 
• If you start with warm rice just cooked from your rice-cooker your fried rice may run the risk of turning out soggy. So, cook the rice ahead of time or use up any leftovers in the fridge.
• Don’t skip out on the butter. It makes everything brown up perfectly and tastes delicious of course!
• Add all the veggies: whatever you got! Broccoli, mushrooms, bell peppers, peas, cabbage, asparagus, snow peas, etc.
• High heat is a must: Notice how the recipe never says to turn the heat down or low. They key is to keep the pan nice and hot!
• Taste and adjust: More soy sauce at the end? Sriracha? More green onion? Add what you need.

the goods

Wok (non-stick!)

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My favorite cutting board

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5 from 10 reviews

Easy Chicken Fried Rice

Prep: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 45 minutes mins

Servings: 6 people

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You'll love this Easy Chicken Fried Rice especially when you want a quick meal with just a few ingredients. Learn how to make chicken fried rice today!

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2 Tbsp. canola oil (or vegetable oil)
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ 4 strips uncooked bacon, thawed, chopped into pieces
• ▢ 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into small pieces
• ▢ 1/2 small white onion, diced
• ▢ 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into small squares
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. salt
• ▢ 1/4 tsp. pepper
• ▢ 1 tsp. garlic powder
• ▢ 1 tsp. chicken bouillon seasoning
• ▢ 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• ▢ 1 Tbsp. soy sauce (plus more if desired)
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 6 cups cooked white rice, cooled*
• ▢ 1 bunch scallions, chopped (reserve 2 Tbsp. for garnish)
• ▢ 1/2 cup edamame, shelled
• ▢ 2 Tbsp. butter
• ▢ 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (for garnish)

Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions 

• Heat 2 Tbsp. canola oil in a wok, large cast-iron skillet or a non-stick pan over high heat. Once hot, add in the eggs and scramble them. Then add in the chopped bacon pieces and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add in the chicken pieces and cook another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. The chicken won't be fully cooked yet, that's OK.
• Add in the white onions and carrots. Stir. Then, add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, chicken bouillon, sesame oil, soy sauce and garlic. Cook this all on high heat still for about 3 minutes.
• Next, add in the cooked white rice, scallions, butter and edamame, stir. Add more soy sauce if needed. Divide rice among bowls and serve. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Equipment

Spoon to stir

Chefs Knife

Video

Notes

• Rice: Using “old” or leftover rice is helpful to giving your fried rice the perfect texture. But fresh rice is great too so long as you spread the rice out on a plate/tray/baking sheet while it’s still hot and give it a few minutes to cool off to allow some surface moisture to evaporate. This makes it easier to fry so you can still get those nice separated grains. 
• 2 cups uncooked white rice typically yields ~6 cups cooked rice. 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1bowl, Calories: 505kcal (25%)

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

© Author: Tawnie Graham of Kroll’s Korner

Photography: photos taken in this post are by Megan from The Broke Girl Table.