This healthy Chicken Fried Rice combines brown rice, any vegetables you have around, and tender chicken in a simple, savory stir fry sauce. One pan. 30 minutes. You’ve got this!
Email Me the Recipe!
Enter your email below to save this recipe to your free Well Plated recipe box.
From time to time, we'll send you the best of Well Plated. Already registered? Log in here.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Chicken Fried Rice Recipe
- Fast One-Skillet Meal. We are in 30-minute meal territory, my friends. This entire chicken fried rice recipe is also made in a single skillet! (If you haven’t noticed, I’m a big fan of one pot meals.)
- It’s Versatile. I make fried rice at home with a bag of frozen peas and carrots, which we always keep on hand, then toss in whatever extra vegetables we have lurking around.
- The Leftovers Rock. Half the reason I cook fried rice is for the leftovers. They reheat like a dream. Also, if you are one of those people who likes to eat leftover Chinese food cold out of the fridge (I see you and I salute you), this Chinese chicken fried rice recipe hits the spot.
- So Delicious. Everyone loves fried rice (and General Tso’s Chicken). And if someone tells you they don’t, it’s because they haven’t had homemade chicken fried rice from scratch yet!
5 Star Review
“Excellent tasting and healthy recipe!! We loved every bit of it.”
— Susan —
How to Make Chicken Fried Rice
The Ingredients
- Leftover Rice. You can use any kind of rice, including jasmine, basmati, or long grain white rice, but I prefer brown rice. (If you’d like to make fried rice with cauliflower rice, see this Cauliflower Fried Rice recipe.)
- Chicken. Boneless skinless chicken breasts make an excellent addition to fried rice recipes like this one. If you prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs, you can use those instead.
- Egg. Egg adds textural interest, absorbs the sauce’s flavor, and adds protein.
- Vegetables. A blend of fresh and frozen vegetables is my go-to for bulking up the nutrition of homemade fried rice (and Vegetable Lo Mein). For fresh veggies, I love using a red pepper, broccoli, or mushrooms. For frozen, a bag of frozen peas and carrots is quick and convenient.
- Canola Oil + Butter. It is better to use butter for fried rice than just oil alone. The butter adds exceptional flavor. Canola oil is my go-to for high-temperature cooking, but vegetable oil, peanut oil, and grapeseed oil all work well.
- Soy Sauce. The umami king! If you need your fried rice to be gluten free, be sure to opt for tamari over regular soy sauce and check your labels to ensure they do not contain gluten or wheat-derived ingredients.
- Oyster Sauce. This is what gives fried rice its GREAT flavor and is the secret to restaurant fried rice. Oyster sauce is intensely savory, thick (in a good way), and does not taste like oysters. It’s a critical part of establishing umami.
- Red Pepper Flakes or Hot Sauce. I’ve listed this ingredient as optional, but if you are looking for spicy chicken fried rice, add red pepper flakes or your hot sauce of choice (my go-to hot sauce for recipes like this is sriracha).
The Directions
- Make the Sauce. Stir the oyster sauce and part of the soy sauce together.
- Cook the Eggs. Scramble the eggs, then remove them to a bowl.
- Cook the Chicken. Sauté the chicken with soy sauce. Add it to the bowl with the eggs.
- Stir-Fry the Veggies. Sauté the vegetables. Add butter, peas, carrots, and minced garlic.
- Finish. Incorporate the cold cooked rice and oyster sauce mixture. Add everything back to the skillet and heat through. ENJOY!
What to Serve with Chicken Fried Rice
- Asian-Inspired Apps. Start your meal with Air Fryer Egg Rolls for a restaurant-style dinner.
- Salad. Keep things light with my Asian Cucumber Salad or Asian Cabbage Salad recipes.
- Stir Fries. Fill a bowl with chicken fried rice and serve Zucchini Stir Fry over the top.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Be Ready to Cook Fast. Stir fry recipes move quickly. Be sure to have all of your chicken fried rice ingredients prepped, measured, and near the stove before you begin.
- Get a Head Start. Use Shredded Chicken, Baked Chicken Breast, or rotisserie chicken to streamline the process of making this chicken fried rice recipe.
- Cold Rice is a Must. No matter what kind of rice you use, for the best, most authentic-tasting fried rice, YOU MUST USE COLD RICE. In the refrigerator, the rice grains firm up. This causes them to separate more easily when you stir fry them, resulting in a noticeably superior texture. Day-old rice is best for fried rice, but even a few hours make a HUGE difference.
Chicken Fried Rice
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
The BEST chicken fried rice at home! Featuring brown rice, your favorite vegetables, and chicken in a simple stir fry sauce. Better than takeout!
email me the recipe!
Enter your email below to save this recipe to your free Well Plated recipe box.
From time to time, we’ll send you the best of Well Plated. Already registered? Log in here.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup oyster sauce (see notes)
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce divided, plus additional to taste (swap for tamari if you need gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or grapeseed oil, or peanut oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite-sized 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 large eggs lightly beaten
- 3 cups chopped fresh vegetables of choice (I use 1 red bell pepper plus a small head of broccoli or 8 ounces mushrooms)
- 12 ounces frozen peas and carrots thawed
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 ½ cups COLD cooked brown rice break up large clumps with your fingers
- ⅔ cup green onions chopped (about 4 medium)
- Red pepper flakes or Sriracha, or hot sauce of choice (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the oyster sauce and 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Set aside. Keep a large bowl or plate and a large, flexible rubber spatula near the stove.
- Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 tablespoon butter and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the eggs. Cook without stirring until they barely begin to set, about 20 seconds. With your spatula, scramble and break the eggs into little, bite-sized pieces. Continue to cook, stirring constantly now, until eggs are just cooked through but not yet browned, about 1 additional minute. Transfer eggs to the bowl and set aside. With a paper towel, carefully wipe the skillet clean.
- Return the skillet to the heat, and increase the heat to high. Let the skillet warm until it is nice and hot, about 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon of the canola oil, and swirl to coat. Add the chicken and the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fully cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove to the bowl with the eggs.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add the fresh vegetables and cook until they are crisp-tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and peas and carrots. Cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds (do not let the garlic burn!).
- Add the brown rice and the oyster sauce mixture. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and breaking up any remaining rice clumps, until the mixture is heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the reserved eggs/chicken and green onions. Cook and stir until the mixture is completely heated through, about 1 minute more. Enjoy immediately with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes or dash of hot sauce and additional soy sauce as desired.
Video
Notes
-
Adapted from my Homemade Fried Rice.
- ABOUT OYSTER SAUCE: Oyster sauce is readily available in the Asian or international food aisle of most major grocery stores. It has a unique flavor and texture, and if you substitute something else for it, your fried rice won’t taste the same. If you’d like to experiment with making the recipe without oyster sauce, you can simply omit it or swap in 1 tablespoon sesame oil to add flavor.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate fried rice in an airtight storage container for up to 3 days.
- TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers in a skillet on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze chicken fried rice in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
Serving: 1(of 6)Calories: 368kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 26gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 182mgPotassium: 687mgFiber: 5gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 8148IUVitamin C: 105mgCalcium: 68mgIron: 3mg
Join today and start saving your favorite recipes
Create an account to easily save your favorite recipes and access FREE meal plans.
Sign Me UpMore Easy Takeout-Inspired Recipes
Homemade takeout may be an oxymoron but, at least, it’s a delicious one! Here are some of my favorite Asian recipes:
This turned out really good! This is definitely a healthier version than the takeout stuff from the restaurants.
This recipe is also easy to make your own if you want to add other ingredients or spices to it.
So great to hear Roy! Thank you for this kind review!
Turned out great! Very flavorful and easy to prepare. Opted to use light brown basmati rice and was pleased with the texture of the fried rice. Another keeper!
Hi Lisa! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
I wanted to make this for dinner tonight. Made sure I had all the ingredients. Put my rice in the fridge last night. And now I am getting everything out and reading over the directions it doesn’t say how much oyster sauce you are supposed to use in the rice! It only says to add the cold rice and oyster sauce mixture. But It doesn’t say anywhere how much oyster sauce I’m supposed to put with the rice. Is it supposed to be sitting in oyster sauce the entire time in the fridge? Right before I add it to the skillet? 😢 Hubby was so excited for this. I even had to push it off from yesterday’s dinner so the rice could sit in the fridge long enough. 😢 Maybe another day.
Hi Teresa! Oyster sauce is listed as the very first ingredient in the recipe card. It says 1/3 cup. Hope this helps!
I am not sure what restaurant the previous reviewer gets fried rice at, because I made it and it was better than any restaurant I ever tried it at! Maybe because it was freshly made and served? Flavors were great and I am definitely making it again soon! Thank you for another great recipe!
Hi Kate! That makes me so happy to hear! THANK YOU!
Excellent tasting and healthy recipe!! We loved every bit of it. I think I will go with a little bigger than a 12″ skillet next time. Thank you Erin!!
Hi Susan! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Hi Erin:
Your butternut squash soup recipe is so delicious.
So healthy and few ingredients.
Lisa
Hi Lisa! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Excited to make this tonight! About how big is each serving? Thank you!
Hi Amanda! I did not measure out each serving into cups. It’s 1 serving = 1/6 of the recipe. Hope this helps!
So delicious, will become a staple in our meal rotation!
Hi Amanda! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Thinking about making this but have a question- Is the rice cooked first and refrigerated or is uncooked rice used?
Hi Mary! Not sure if you saw this in the ingredient list in the recipe card but it say 2 1/2 cups COLD cooked brown rice. Hope this helps!
This was so delicious!! Highly recommend it!!
Hi Cindy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Looking forward to making this – sounds delicious. Question – I see peanut butter in the ingredient list but not in the directions – please advise.
Hi Julia! Peanut butter is not listed as an ingredient for this recipe. I hope this helps!
so amazing!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Helena! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Made this to last me through a week of nights and it was SO GOOD
Hi Emma! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Sooooo good! Used it for my lunch meal prep!
Hi Alisha! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Loved this so much! And my whole family even ate it with me! I would love to know how many calories per serving it is 😬
Hi Caitlin, all of the nutritional facts are listed in the recipe card under the section “Nutrition” Hope that helps! Glad you enjoyed it!
Simple, easily customizable & flavourful !
This recipe is definitely a must for an empty -the-fridge meal idea. 10/10 would recommend
Thank you!
Hi Laura! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
All I can say is WOW! This is amazing! I went a little different only because I had to improvise with what I had but it turned out amazing! I made the rice first (white) and put it in the fridge to cool down. With mine I used chicken thighs, I precooked them. All purpose seasoning in the oven 400 for 30 minutes added butter to the top them 10 more minutes. Shredded it and set aside. It could be slight pink that’s okay since recipe has you put it in the hot skillet later on. I used frozen broccoli peas and bell pepper onion blend for my veggies. I’ve never made fried rice before and this was an amazing guideline, I’m going in for my second serving! Lol
Glad it worked out for you Selena!
I didn’t have all the ingredients so I substituted the peas and add spinach to my eggs. It came out delicious. Thank you
YUM, thank for sharing!
Loved this! I substituted frozen(thawed) shrimp for the chicken. Between frozen shrimp and peas and carrots, I’m always ready now to throw in whatever other veggie I have and make this delicious meal. This is a satisfying keeper.
Love it! Thank you Patricia!
Crackin’ recipe. Super delicious. Added my own veggies (peppers, broccoli, shallot and mushrooms) put on some chilli oil to finish the dish. So full of flavour. Thank you.
Great to hear, thank you Jim!
I really enjoy chicken fried rice and this is the first time I made it at home. Delicious! My husband and I ate the whole thing. Well, a little leftover for lunch tomorrow. Love throwing in whatever vegetables are in the fridge. Thank you, Erin!
Great to hear, thank you Leslie!
Made this for myself and my mom (who’s Asian and has pretty high standards when it comes to Asian meals) and she said it was one of the best chicken fried rice meals she’s ever tasted! She even insisted we make it again the next day- which we did!
That literally made my day, Elizabeth! Thank you so much!
I am enjoying your recipes. The more I try, the easier it gets. I received a wok for my birthday last week which makes it even easier to cook this. Definitely a perfect meal when you want something tasty without spending too much time!
So glad you enjoyed it, Carla! Thank you and Happy Birthday!
Delish!! Makes the house smell soooo good and the meal is perfect. Hearty and delicious! We now make this every two weeks or so :) We don’t use butter and we don’t use oyster sauce. We use sesame oil instead. Really yummy!! Thanks Erin!!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Becky! Thank you for this kind review!
The recipe itself was delicious but it used so many plates and bowls and made way more dishes than was probably necessary. The egg could’ve been cooked in a well towards the end and the chicken could’ve been cooked with the veggies.
Thanks for the feedback, Dayna.
Can I use leftover white jasmine rice instead of brown?
Hi Alyssa, that should work! Enjoy!
Freaking fire! So good! We are going to make it again!
Thank you Brittany!