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.
Would steak work with this recipe instead of using chicken?? I’m about to make it tonight
I have never tried that but probably it will ‘work’ theoretically but not sure how the flavors will meld together.
So easy to make and so tasty! Perfect for a quick dinner
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad it was easy and tasty!
Best and favorite recipe! My picky 6 year old and my picky mother have asked for this recipe about a dozen times since I first made it. Thank you for such an easy and tasty meal!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad this is a winner with the picky eaters!
Came out delicous! I didn’t have carrots so I used corn peas andgreen beans, the corn gives it a nice sweet bite. ,never made fried rice before, it’s easy and came out bomb!!!
Glad it came out great for you!
I have made this recipe,very good,I added some Chinese five spice,and more soy. Very easy and tasty.Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Delicious!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was delish!
If I don’t have leftover rice I make a fresh batch and put in the freezer for about an hour or so. It changes the rice just enough to make it to the leftover stage. I like to add a little fish sauce to the chicken but you have to be careful not to add to much.
I agree about fish sauce in general. Glad the freezer for an hour trick worked great for you!
I made this awhile ago, and it was the best chicken fried rice I have ever had. I added extra egg because that’s my favorite part! My boyfriend also loved it. I’ll be adding it to our regular meals from now on!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was the best chicken fried rice you’ve ever had and that it will be part of your rotation!
Amazing recipe! I’m going to start making this ALL the time. Best fried rice recipe I’ve ever made! The only small thing I changed was adding 1/2 a diced yellow onion to the veggies.
Thanks for sharing this!
Glad it’s the best fried rice you’ve ever made and will make it often!
Love this recipe, I make it almost every week.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you love it and make it almost every week!
Love the recipe. It came out waaayyy better than I expected. Thank you for making me a Chinese chef in my kids eyes lol.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it came out wayyy beter than expected and that you’re a Chinese chef to your kids now :)
Wow! This was great. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been really busy lately and have been feeding my kids frozen foods (everyone clasp your pearls!) and they love chicken fried rice. Well it’s expensive and I’m sure loaded with a bunch of stuff they don’t need. This was so easy. I used Jasmine Success Rice and followed the recipe exactly-even investing in some sesame oil. So glad I did because my son remarked that the kitchen smelled like a Chinese restaurant – which was a good sign I was headed for success. This turned out so great and everyone had seconds. Thank you for a great recipe- definitely a keeper here.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that this is a keeper and the Chinese restaurant comment from your son is perfect :)
Easy prep, I took it a bit further than the recipe called for though.
A triple portion, I used a medley – with red and yellow peppers, wax and green beans, broccoli, baby corn, and carrots.
Instead of day old rice or pouched rice, you can also make fresh rice – slightly firm, drain and then put on a cookie sheet tossed in the freezer for about 20 minutes, and microwave for 3 after removal. This will quickly dry them out enough so that the grains don’t stick together!
I also cooked a chopped clove of garlic in the chicken ahead of the other ingredients.
Teriyaki sauce over the top and a splash of Ponzu,
and I left my roommates astounded and my date satisfied ;)
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you left your roommates astounded and your date satisfied!
I live alone, so I cut this recipe in half and made a few minor adjustments, adding more egg, a bit more soy, and cooked my rice in chicken broth instead of water for extra flavor. This made a super delicious meal with a few portions left over, which I froze.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you were able to freeze a few portions too!
How many people do these ingredients serve?
It would really depend on the appetites of the people you are serving it to. It could range from maybe 4 to 8 people depending on the people, what else you may or may not be serving it with, etc.
You-put the name of the little slices of the green vegetables as onions green oinions which they aren’t but it tasted delicious
Actually they are green onions, or scallions, same thing. https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-spring-onions-scallions-and-green-onions-word-of-mouth-217111
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it was delicious!