Better-Than-Takeout Chicken Fried Rice — One-skillet, ready in 20 minutes, and you’ll never want takeout again after tasting how good homemade is!! Way more flavor, not greasy, and loads of juicy chicken!!
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Easiest Fried Rice Recipe with Chicken
If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to make fried rice, this recipe will help you in no time! It’s an easy, one-skillet recipe that’s ready in 20 minutes and better than takeout. You’ll never be tempted again to eat rice from a flimsy white takeout container after trying homemade.
The chicken is moist and juicy and there are green onions, garlic, sesame oil, and soy sauce for layers of flavor. My favorites are the bits of scrambled eggs. Fried rice just isn’t fried rice without those coveted bits of eggs that I go searching for and devour those little treasures first.
It’s such an easy and healthy weeknight dinner you can whip up in no time and the leftovers are great for lunches!
Chicken Fried Rice Ingredients
For this straightforward chicken fried rice recipe, you’ll need:
- Vegetable oil (or another neutral oil like canola oil)
- Sesame oil
- Chicken breasts
- Frozen peas and carrots
- Green onions
- Garlic
- Eggs
- Cooked white rice (use pre-cooked rice packets if you’re in a rush)
- Soy sauce (I use low-sodium soy sauce)
- Salt and pepper (to taste, optional)
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Chicken Fried Rice
This truly is the BEST fried rice. It’s a straightforward recipe that uses simple ingredients and is easy to customize depending on what you have on hand (more on that in a bit!).
Here are the basic recipe steps:
- Add the oils and diced chicken to a large skillet (or wok, if you’re lucky enough to own one!). Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken to a plate while you stir-fry the veggies.
- To the same skillet, add the peas, carrots, and green onions. Once softened, add the garlic.
- Push the veggies to one side of the skillet, and scramble the eggs on the other side.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, followed by the cooked rice.
- Drizzle everything with soy sauce and cook until everything is heated through.
Recipe Tips
To save time if you don’t have leftover rice on hand or don’t want to cook a batch, use two pouches of ready-to-serve rice. Works like a charm.
If cooking the rice yourself, I highly recommend making it the day before or adding slightly less water than you normally would. You want the rice to be a little dry so it soaks up the soy sauce (but not crunchy, though!). That’s why day-old rice works perfectly for stir-frying!
I don’t even bother thawing the frozen peas and carrot blend that’s mixed into the rice. You can add the veggies straight to the skillet!
Recipe Variations to Try
Chicken stir-fried rice is a great clean out the fridge meal. Here are some fried rice variations you can try:
- Swap the chicken: Use chicken thighs, ground chicken, or ground turkey instead. Or, use a different protein entirely (see the related recipes linked below the recipe card for all of my fried rice recipes!).
- Use different vegetables: I used a frozen vegetable blend for ease, but you can also shred fresh carrots yourself, finely chop onions, etc. to add to the pan. Pretty much anything will work! Chop fresh veggies into bite-sized pieces, and remember that different veggies have different cook times, so adjust the recipe as needed.
- Use a different rice or grain: I use a white long-grain rice to keep this recipe as close to the takeout version as possible, but brown rice or another grain like quinoa would also work.
- Make it vegetarian: Omit the chicken entirely or replace with firm tofu (smoked tofu would be great here!).
- Make it gluten-free: Swap the soy sauce for a gluten-free soy sauce or use tamari sauce instead.
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Better-Than-Takeout Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- ¾ to 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 ½ cups frozen peas and diced carrots blend, I don’t thaw and use straight from the freezer
- 3 green onions, trimmed and sliced into thin rounds
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 cups cooked rice, I use white, long-grain or brown may be substituted. To save time use two 8.8-ounce pouches cooked and ready-to-serve rice
- 3 to 4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- salt and pepper, optional and to taste
Instructions
- To a large non-stick skillet or wok, add the oils, chicken, and cook over medium-high heat for about 3 to 5 minutes, flipping intermittently so all sides cook evenly. Cooking time will vary based on thickness of chicken breasts and sizes of pieces.
- Remove chicken with a slotted spoon (allow oils and cooking juices from chicken to remain in skillet) and place chicken on a plate; set aside.
- Add the peas, carrots, green onions, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften, stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stir intermittently.
- Push vegetables to one side of the skillet, add the eggs to the other side, and cook to scramble, stirring as necessary.
- Add the chicken, rice, evenly drizzle with soy sauce, optional salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until chicken is reheated through.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Homemade Fried Rice Recipes:
15-Minute Sheet Pan Chicken Fried Rice – Easy HEALTHIER “fried rice” that’s actually baked and not fried!! Full of authentic flavor and ready faster than you can call for takeout!!
Pineapple Fried Rice – A Hawaiian-inspired shrimp fried rice recipe that’s EASY, ready in minutes, and has so much authentic flavor!! A family favorite that’s better-than-takeout!!
Shrimp Fried Rice — There’s garlic, ginger, green onions, sesame oil, and soy sauce for layers of flavor while peas, carrots, corn, and bits of egg add texture!
Skinny Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Stir-Fry — Even people who don’t like cauliflower will be amazed at how authentic and DELICIOUS this SKINNY version of chicken fried rice tastes!
Beef Fried Rice — This better-than-takeout beef fried rice is EASY, ready in 20 MINUTES, and made in ONE skillet! Everyone loves the big juicy strips of steak and perfectly fried rice that’s speckled with bits of onions, peas, carrots, and scrambled eggs.
Delicious! Used peanut oil instead of sesame because it’s what I had on hand. This will definitely be added to our dinner rotation! Thanks for a quick and tasty recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it came out great and that you’re adding it to your dinner rotation!
Made this for the first time tonight and it’s better than I imagined.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was better than you imagined!
Thanks for the basics. I substituted leeks for onions and added mushrooms. Children came over and ate it all. Thumbs up
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you were able to improv with it and make it your own and that the kids enjoyed it!
Have made this several times now and it’s healthy and easy. It’s become a standard in my weeknight dinner rotation. I’m planning on trying it with shrimp next.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you’ve made this several times and that it’s in your weeknight dinner rotation!
LMK how you like the shrimp version!
I loved this fried rice! it was so easy, so fast and so tasty.
Glad you loved it!
Good recipe name. This is fantastic. Third time making it in a week. I’m quadrupling the recipe this time! Thanks Averie, can’t wait to try out some of your other recipes – that is if I can force myself to stop making this one!
Glad you love it and are making it for the third time this week and that you’re quadrupling it this time!
Perfect recipe! Added just a smidge of ginger! Wish I could’ve done shrimp and mushrooms, but the husband is allergic to mushrooms and not a shrimp fan. Water chestnuts would be nice, too! Thank you for making tonight easy! I used two baggies of boil in bag white rice.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that this turned out perfectly for you!
Chicken Fried Rice is delicious! Used pre-cooked chicken, so needed only 1.5 Tbsp oil for stir frying. Everyone loved it!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was delicious and everyone loved it and worked well with pre-cooked chicken!
Hi I have a question . Do you add both oils when you’re cooking the chicken?
yes
All I have to say is…THE BEST!! I have 3 teenagers that are starving when they get home from school, they actually text me to ask for this rice for when they get home!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this is the BEST for your 3 teens and that they ask for this when they get home from school! I can only imagine how much food you go through with 3 teens in the house at once :)
My sons are allergic to sesame. Do I just substitute additional vegetable oil?
In your situation yes that’s what I would do.
Peanut oil is used in many Chinese restaurants
I made it, kinda, with the stuff in my fridge at the end of the month. I used flavoured rice, tossed a bit of Chicken soup stock in when I cooked it. Added a bit of powdered ginger and used a dash or two of chinese five spice. Regular onions, and no eggs because I hate the things. :)
I have a problem with recipes, they never get made as directed (unless it’s baking…).
Very nice base recipe. I”ll be making something like it again. Thanks.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad this is a great jumping off place for you and that you know your way around the kitchen well enough to improvise and experiment with what you have on hand.
I have tried an innumerable about of chicken fried rice recipes and this one is BY FAR my favorite. Simple and easy to make but OUT OF THIS WORLD DELICIOUS! Thanks for the new staple meal :)
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you loved it and it’s BY FAR your favorite and out of this world delish AND your new meal staple!!
Just made this and it is delicious. I will be making it again this week.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it was delish and you’re going to make it again this week!
I have made this following your recipe several time. Delicious and relatively fast! I plan to try it with shrimp in the future. Thanks for a great family pleasing recipe!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it was a hit and you’re going to try it with shrimp next!
Fantastic! Can’t to try it with different meats and fish and veggies! I only had one tbsp of sesame oil so used peanut oil for the second tbsp. Also, next time I will use a skillet rather than my wok. It made it difficult to scoot the veggies over to fry/scramble the eggs. I used tamari sauce since we eat gluten free. Also used brown rice. So delicious. I made it ahead of time for dinner and my husband and I are devouring it for lunch!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you we’re able to have leftovers for lunch!
I’ve made this several times now, I have a picky 3 year old and she always asked for seconds. Do you know how rare that is?! To save time I cook the rice in the instant pot! Thanks for a great recipe.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that this is the rare recipe that your 3 year old asks for seconds for!