Chicken Fried Rice (VIDEO)
Chicken Fried Rice is one of our go-to EASY 30-minute meals. Fried Rice is perfect for meal prep and a genius way to use leftovers. It’s actually even better with leftover rice. Watch the video tutorial below and you’ll see how easy this is.
Fried rice recipes are well-loved in our house, from our Shrimp Fried Rice to Bacon Mango Fried Rice and even Cabbage Fried Rice! Homemade fried rice is simple to make and healthier than takeout.
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Chicken Fried Rice Recipe:
Fried rice is perfect for meal prep. It comes together fast and it reheats well. It’s also a great way to use up leftovers. If you cook rice earlier in the week, make more than you will need and put it into fried rice. Leftovers never tasted so good!
Pro Tips for Making Fried Rice:
- For best results, start with cold cooked rice. Do not use freshly cooked warm rice or it will become gooey and sticky in the pan.
- Fried rice should be cooked quickly over high heat. Give your skillet a chance to preheat before adding ingredients and avoid the urge to stir constantly, especially when the rice is added. Allow things to crisp and brown slightly.
- This recipe moves fast so prep all of your ingredients before firing up the stove.
- Add ingredients in the right order. If you add everything at once, the pan will cool too quickly and steam-cook your ingredients.
What is Fried Rice?
Fried rice is a Chinese stir fry made with rice. Scrambled eggs and veggies are usually added along with some type of protein like shrimp, chicken, or ham. It is traditionally cooked in a wok, but a large heavy non-stick skillet works just as well. Fried rice can be enjoyed as a side dish or as a main course.
The Best Chicken for Stir Fry:
Adding chicken to fried rice is a great way to incorporate more lean protein. We prefer chicken thighs for chicken fried rice. The dark meat has more flavor and is more forgiving; it remains tender even when it is overcooked. It also works great with chicken tenders or chicken breasts. Just use what you have on hand.
How to Cook Rice for Fried Rice:
Leftover chilled white rice is best and is less likely to turn gummy on the skillet. If you want to cook rice for fried rice, you will need 1 1/2 cups of raw rice to make 5 cups cooked rice. We use Jasmine rice but any long grain rice will work.
- Thoroughly rinse rice in a colander until water runs clear – this removes extra starch.
- Cook according to package instructions. We put 1 1/2 cups rinsed into a medium saucepan, add 3 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp butter. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover with a lid and cook 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes.
- Spread rice into a casserole dish or baking sheet and cool to room temperature then refrigerate until chilled.
More (Family Favorite) 30-Min Meals:
- Beef and Broccoli – better than takeout
- Philly Cheesesteak – just like in Philly
- Lemon Chicken Pasta in alfredo sauce
- Taco Soup – perfect for taco night
- Chicken Parmesan – feeds a crowd
Watch How to Make Chicken Fried Rice:
You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make restaurant-quality fried rice.
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Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken thighs boneless, skinless and trimmed
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3 Tbsp extra light olive oil or high heat cooking oil
- 4 large eggs
- 5 cups cooked white rice chilled*
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce (or GF Tamari) or added to taste*
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil or to taste
- 12 oz frozen peas and carrots fully thawed
- 1/4 cup green onion chopped
Instructions
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Bring a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium/high heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Add chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until fully cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
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Reduce heat to medium. Add 1 Tbsp oil then scrambled eggs and stir and scramble for a minute, breaking up the egg with your spatula. Cook just until no longer wet and immediately transfer to the plate with chicken.
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Use tongs to wipe skillet clean with a paper towel. Swirl in another 1 Tbsp oil then spread 5 cups rice evenly over the pan. Cook 1 to 2 minutes without disturbing then stir and sauté another 1 to 2 minutes. Rice should sizzle.
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Drizzle 2 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil over the rice and stir well. Add fully thawed vegetables and mix well.
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Add cooked chicken and scrambled eggs back to the pan. Add 1/4 cup green onion and mix well. Continue to cook until veggies and rice are hot and rice sizzles, stirring frequently. Add more soy sauce and sesame oil to taste.
Recipe Notes
*1 1/2 cups of raw rice will make about 5 cups of cooked white rice. If you are making rice for this recipe, be sure to rinse the rice before cooking to remove extra starch so your fried rice doesn’t end up sticky.
**For Gluten Free, make sure to use Tamari soy sauce or a soy sauce specifically labeled "gluten-free".
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
natashaskitchen
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Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Since the unfortunate event shut down my school three weeks ago, I’ve been trying all the recipes from your site that I’ve been saving. Hearing my husband’s comments of pleasure as he eats each new dish has been a joy! (Between you and me and a lamppost, I think he’s fallen in love with me again after 15 years of marriage! 😉). Thank you!!
SCSM
PS. He LOVED the chicken fried rice!
Wow that is such a great compliment. Your comments really made me smile and feel inspired! Thanks for sharing that with us.
For smaller amount of rice say 2 cups, do you suggest we put 1/2 of ingredients? Would like to make 2 cups rather than 5 (fried rice).
Hi Sandra, you can definitely halve the recipe.
Hi Natasha! Can you freeze the chicken fried rice to heat up later?
Hi JoAnn, yes rice and the remaining ingredients in this recipe do freeze well.
Hi Natasha….I’ve made chicken fried rice a couple of times. Easy and I really like it. For breakfast even! Making the shrimp fried rice right now. Think that will be good aslo. Love your videos and recipes! Not much of a cook but I’m trying!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying our recipes, David! Isn’t the flavor amazing for such a simple dish!
I’ve taken some to a couple of friends. They think it’s good also! And they don’t usually try anything I cook!
Sounds great! Thank you for sharing that with me and I hope you can try the other recipes too soon.
I have made this 3 times and used cauliflower rice each time. It’s delicious I love it. Thanks
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
I enjoy your videos very much. I made the chicken fried rice with brown rice and it turned out great! I can’t wait to try other recipes. Thanks!
Thank you for your good feedback. I hope you love the other recipes that you try too!
I LOVE all your recipes! I made your stir fried shrimp tonight for the 3rd time and have made your chicken fried rice! Similar . Easy and delish!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
I love this chicken fried rice and the shrimp one too! So easy and pretty ! My family loves it! I have made about 7 of your recipes! All soooooo good!
Hi JoAnne! I love that you’re enjoying our recipes! Thank you for that great review!
Hi Natasha! I was just wondering is the chef’s knife you are using a 5″ or 7″? Can you link the information please? I’ve been using Victorinox 8″ chef’s knife and wanted to add to my tools. Thank you!
Hi Tonya, you can find our favorite kitchen tools in our shop here.
I read your recipes with such enjoyment. I have a need to adapt recipes for 40. I use a stock pot for most. Could this be made in sheet pans? Any hints for increasing the amounts to feed 40?
Hi Dixie, I have not tested this recipe on a sheet pan to advise. If you experiment I would love to know how you like this recipe. Quick hint, if you click on the recipe serving slider it will give you the measurements for 20 people. Simply double that to feed 40. I hope that helps.
Can you use canned chicken in this recipe?
I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Sorry if someone has already asked this question, but would brown rice work here?
Hi Janet, yes definitely! You can use cooked brown rice instead of white rice.
I love chicken fried rice! Thanks for easy recipe. When i was growing up my Ma always made fried rice but she used bacon instead of chicken, it was so good. I have never been able to get the bacon fried rice to taste like my Ma’s though lol
You’re welcome, Ruby! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Made this recipe for the first time today. It turned out excellent and I loved the flavors and the way it turned out. However, I don’t know if it’s just me but for some reason shortly after eating I was having a bit of a hard time breathing. I’m not sure if it’s the sesame oil or maybe all the oils required in this dish is too much for me. All I know is I loved it but didn’t feel well after eating it, and I did follow the recipe step by step with no replacements. I’m a healthy individual and have no food allergys that I’m aware of. Any comments/suggestions? Thank you.
Hi Maria, That is odd and my first thought is that maybe you have an allergy to soy or sesame? You might consider if any of the ingredients in the dish were new to you or maybe a new brand of product that could have a different ingredient in it. An allergist can help you rule that out. Oils don’t typically cause breathing problems unless you were allergic to something. I would suggest discussing this with your Dr to rule things out. Take a picture of the labels of your bottles and take them with you to your appointment so you know what to test for.
Can you use a frying pan instead of a skillet?
Hi Keisha, that should work.
Hi Natasha,
I forgot to rinse the rice before cooking it. What should I do?
Thanks,
Mila
Hi Mila, it removes the surface starch that otherwise causes the rice to clump together and get mushy. So you may experience that but there is nothing to remedy post-cooking.
This is delicious and easy to make, I really like it so much
I’m so glad you enjoyed that! Thank you for that awesome review!
I have tried this recipe and my husband and I really liked it. It is also easy to make only half the recipe. Thank you Natasha.
You’re welcome, Gisele!
Great recipe! Since it is marked gluten-free, I just wanted to point out that soy sauce unfortunately contains gluten. For this to be truly gluten-free, one would need to use special gluten-free soy sauce like Tamari.
Hi Alex, yes that is a great point! I added that note to the recipe card also to clarify.
Or, even better, as tamari still contains soy, which is also an allergen — try Coconut Secret “Coconut Aminos.”
I tried it and it is a hit.Its super easy to make.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I tried it. I loved it! I can’t be I won’t ever have to go out for Chinese take out again
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review.
Sounds delicious ! Do I need to use cooked rice ..
Hi Anna, yes for this recipe you need to use cooked rice.
Made the recipe as said. But something was missing. Sauteed onion and garlic in butter then added it to the recipe. Added more soy sauce and a little sriracha sauce. It was so tasty. Love it!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hi Natasha, I have a question about your Staub skillet. What pros and cons does it have? Is that non stick 100%? Can you sir meat ok without it sticking to a bottom?
Can you still cook eggs in it or cook “zharenaya kartoshka”? I’m so tempted to get that skillet, but before paying $200 I need to know if it worth it. Thank you
Hi Julie, any coated cast iron will not be 100% non-stick. It will still stick a little bit. I definitely could not make crepes in it and fried potatoes will stick to the bottom.
Hi Julie, we absolutely love it! They trick with any cookware that is non stick is to heat the skillet/ cookware to the temperate you plan on cooking it with. I also recommend reading reviews that come with the product on the site you’re purchasing. We have it linked in our shop on our blog also. I hope that helps.
I remember when no Chinese Restaurant put peas in their fried rice. I think the fast food Chinese take outs started this practice that started 25 to 30 years ago and I’m not a fan. They use to just use green onions.
That is interesting! Thank you for sharing that with me.
We made it last night with just one adjustment: some butter in the rice. it was much loved! The sesame oil is the star of she show.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
What brand of rice would you recommend?
Hi Viktoriya, We use Jasmine rice but any long grain rice will work.
This receipe is fantastic and economical. Thanks for another dish my family loves.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Cheryl. Thank you for the wonderful review!
I can never understand why fried rice isn’t recommended as a cheap meal. You can use any and all small amounts of leftover meats or veggies and it feeds a bunch with rice & 2 eggs. And it’s good!
That’s my favorite thing about it!
I like to use oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, at least 3 cloves of garlic, sm. white onion. I cook my 2 eggs first with a pat of butter, plate them and set aside. Then I fry my onion and my garlic in butter and my 2 carrots I diced. I scoot it over in pan and put my cold rice in with butter if more is needed. I use froz. peas so I throw those in last. But the toasted sesame oil and oyster sauce make a big difference in taste. I add the soy sauce in last. More on my plate if needed. But I have to cook with butter, that’s how I’ve seen the Japanese cooks do it.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Love your personality, your energetic smile, how you make everything simple. You’re just awesome.
Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Diane!
So delicious and easy to make , thank you for amazing recipe
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed that.
Can I substitute cauliflower rice instead? How to prepare? Same as rice?
Hi Mike, you can substitute for a low carb version of fried rice but the method would be a little different. I suggest following instructions specifically written for cauliflower fried rice.
I’ve been making fried rice for years. Sometimes it’s spanish or tex-mex, or asian. I always start with sateed onions, garlic, and ginger (if it’s asian) (I keep grated fresh ginger in the freezer.) Then I add my peas and carrots. I cook the rice in chicken broth and add a pinch of goya sazon for yellow color.
I used chicken breasts cut very thin, and marinated for 15 min. with dry spices. Then you mix them with cornstarch and oil. I also add soy or teriyaki sauce and sesame oil to the rice.Then you put everything together and voila! Chinese fried rice.
Yum that sounds wonderful and thanks for sharing! What kind of spices do you use for the chicken?
Hi Natasha! This dish looks sooo good, but I have a question; I have another recipe from you, and I want to know the difference with this one. The other recipe is called Easy Chicken Fried Rice.
Thank you so much. Blessings for you and your beautiful family!!!
Hi Cristina, we don’t have an Easy Chicken Fried Rice on our blog. You must be thinking of someone else’s recipe? We do have a really good Shrimp Fried Rice.
Hi Natasha, I was looking to the Easy Chicken Fried Rice, and it has your name and in brackets says Valentina’s Corner, I think I got it from a suggestion from one of your other recipes.
For sure I am going to make your Chicken Fried Rice, I think is the best like all your other recipes, I tried lot of them and we love it. Thanks Natasha!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
All I have is extra virgin olive oil. Would that be okay to use?
Hi Shannon, extra virgin doesn’t work well with fried rice or stir fry because it doesn’t have a high smoke point and will burn at the heat called for in fried rice. You would be better off using an oil with a higher smoke point such as vegetable oil, canola oil or grapeseed oil, or even avocado oil.
Excellent cook, love it, a very healthy meal. Natasha greetings.Successes!!
Thank you for that wonderful compliment!
We make this all of the time! The family loves it!
Sounds like you found a family favorite! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Loved this quick and easy recipe and my family loves it too! It will be on repeat for sure.
Quick and easy are the best! I’m so glad your family enjoyed that.
Hi, Natasha!
One quick question. You mentioned in the video you can use chicken breast. Would 1 lb still be the correct amount? Thanks! Btw, my husband and I really love watching you!
Have a blessed day!
Valerie
Hi Valerie, that is correct, I would still suggest the same amount of chicken.
That’s so great Valerie! That is correct. I hope you love this recipe.
Hi Natasha! When I made this my rice got really soggy. I cooled it like suggested. Any other suggestions? Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Kailey, I’d be more than happy to troubleshoot. Was anything altered in the recipe? Did you measure the rice and liquids accurately?
My family loves this chicken fried rice! It’s delicious!
That’s so awesome! Thank you for sharing that with me, Anna!
This is SO GOOD. Thank you!
Thank you Sarah! I hope it becomes a new favorite for you.
This has become our new go to recipe when we need a quick meal. We usually have everything on hand. Thanks!
Yay!! I love it when that happens (having everything you need on hand) That is the best feeling and also why I love fried rice! 🙂