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Home Easy Weeknight Dinners

Easy Chicken Fried Rice

★★★★★ 5 /5
Jump to Recipe Rate Recipe
Rachel Tiemeyer
By: Rachel TiemeyerPosted: 6/30/23Updated: 9/22/23

This post may contain affiliate or sponsored links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This big-batch recipe for healthy, easy chicken fried rice has been tested dozens of times and is absolutely perfect for a nutritious, make-ahead meal. It’s packed full of lean protein, vegetables, and whole grains.

healthy, easy chicken fried rice in a skillet with a serving spoon
Table of Contents
  • Why I Make This Over and Over
  • Ingredients Needed
  • What Brand of Brown Rice Should I Buy?
  • Equipment Needed
  • How to Make Easy Chicken Fried Rice
  • What to Serve with Fried Rice
  • Can You Freeze Fried Rice?
  • Is Chicken Fried Rice Healthy?
  • Easy Chicken Fried Rice

Why I Make This Over and Over

I’ve been making (and tweaking) this healthy Chicken Fried Rice for years for a few reasons.

  1. The Sauce, Baby! Most fried rice recipes just use soy sauce for seasoning, which can be rather one dimensional, IMO. The delicious, complex-tasting sauce in my recipe has salty savoriness in the foreground and a little heat and sweet in the background. You’ll definitely want to use all of it!
  2. Big Batch: I can use my time wisely in the kitchen, making this for family dinner one night and eating (or freezing) leftovers for lunches for days.
  3. Make Ahead: It’s easy to make ahead for the week or to freeze in small containers for lunches. My teen son (who’s a cross country runner) takes this for lunch in a thermos many days a month and never tires of it.
  4. Super Nutritious: It’s packed with protein, fiber, and nutrients from brown rice, chicken, eggs, and variety of vegetables.

Ingredients Needed

Grab these supplies to get started…

For the Sauce:

  • Low sodium soy sauce – For gluten-free sub: coconut aminos
  • Real maple syrup
  • Sesame oil
  • Sriracha sauce – Cut in half if sensitive to heat! If you don’t have Sriracha, use a pinch of red pepper flakes.
  • Dried minced onion
  • Garlic powder

For the Fried Rice:

  • Large eggs 
  • Boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts – Diced into bite-sized pieces.
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • Oil – I recommend using avocado oil because it has a high smoking point, but you could use olive oil or sesame oil instead.
  • Onion – Finely diced.
  • Carrot and Broccoli – Finely chopped.
  • Minced garlic – use pre-minced garlic for less prep time
  • Cooked, refrigerated brown rice – It’s optimal to cook this a day ahead and refrigerate for at least a few hours for best texture. You can also replace all or part of the rice with cooked, drained cauliflower rice.
  • Frozen peas
  • Thinly sliced green onion – optional for garnish
ingredients for healthy, easy chicken fried rice
lundberg brown rice

What Brand of Brown Rice Should I Buy?

I highly recommend Lundberg Organic Brown Rice, as it’s grown in California and is a brand that actively cares about avoiding dangerous arsenic levels in their rice. (Read more about how rice–especially when it’s grown outside California, Pakistan, and India–is contaminated by arsenic here.)

Buy Lundberg Brown Blend Rice

Equipment Needed

You’ll also need these kitchen tools to complete the recipe.

  • 2 dinner plates
  • Whisk – For the eggs.
  • Small mixing bowl or large glass measuring cup – For the eggs.
  • Chef’s knife – Be sure to sharpen it before starting using a knife sharpener.
  • 2 cutting boards – Plastic or silicone cutting board is best for the chicken, since it’s easier to sanitize after using raw meat on it. Use a different large cutting board for the vegetables.
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Small pot – For the sauce.
  • 12-inch non-stick skillet or wok – To cook the veggies, chicken, and eggs. Make sure it’s large, because you’ll toss everything together in this pan at the end.
  • Wooden spoon or silicone spatula – For stirring the sauce, chicken, veggies, and eggs while they cook.

How to Make Easy Chicken Fried Rice

After you chop your ingredients like the chicken and vegetables, this healthy chicken fried rice recipe comes together fast!

Prep

Set out two plates next to the stove. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk until beaten well. 

Make Sauce

Add all the sauce ingredients to a small pot. Warm over medium-low heat and make sure it doesn’t boil over. Keep warm while moving to next steps.

small pot with homemade soy sauce simmering

Saute Chicken

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmery. Stir fry the chicken until no longer pink inside, about 4 minutes, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper on all sides while it cooks. Remove to a plate and set aside. 

chicken pieces being sautéed in a pan

Cook Eggs

Wipe out the pan and add a little more oil to coat the pan. Pour in the beaten eggs. Cook for 2 minutes or until set, stirring frequently and breaking up the eggs into small pieces. Remove to a plate and set aside.

eggs being sautéed in a pan

Saute Veggies

Wipe pan out again and add 1 tablespoon more of oil to pan. Once the oil is shimmery, add onion and carrots. Saute for about 4 minutes, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Add in broccoli to the other veggies and saute another 3-4 minutes, seasoning lightly again with salt and pepper, until all veggies are tender. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.

chopped carrots, onions, and broccoli being sautéed in a pan

Combine

Turn the heat to low. Gently stir in the peas, rice, chicken, and eggs. Drizzle about 3/4ths of the sauce over the rice and toss to combine. Taste and add more, if desired. Stir until everything is warmed through and serve

all cooked ingredients for healthy, easy chicken fried rice in individual piles in a big skillet
all ingredients for healthy, easy chicken fried rice are stirred together in a large skillet with a serving spoon

What to Serve with Fried Rice

Try a salad with the dressing below or another one of these side dish ideas to serve along with this easy chicken fried rice.

Asian slaw in a white bowl with spoons.

Asian Slaw

Asian Sesame Salad Dressing in a glass jar with a slaw salad in the background

Asian Sesame Dressing

stirring fruit salad together after adding dressing

Classic Fruit Salad

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Can You Freeze Fried Rice?

Heck ya! I make a double batch of this recipe once a month and freeze a LOT of portions in these 2 cup Pyrex containers for my family. The kids love to warm it in the morning and take it in a thermos in their lunch box.

Here’s how to freeze and rewarm the fried rice:

Freeze For Later: Prepare as directed, fully cool, and then freeze flat in a gallon-sized freezer bag or in individual freezer containers with lids.

Prepare From Frozen: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or thaw in the microwave using the defrost setting in a microwave-safe bowl. Warm gently in the microwave or over low heat in a skillet, stirring occasionally.

Easy Chicken Fried Rice in Pyrex containers labeled for freezer

Is Chicken Fried Rice Healthy?

This chicken fried rice recipe is a pretty darn healthy meal, thanks to lean protein from the chicken and eggs, lots of veggies like carrots, onions, broccoli, and peas, and brown rice which adds fiber and nutrients. I also opted to use avocado oil (a healthier cooking oil) and either low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos instead of high-sodium soy sauce.

Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

Easy Chicken Fried Rice

This big-batch recipe for healthy, easy chicken fried rice has been tested dozens of times and is absolutely perfect for a nutritious, make-ahead meal.

Yield: 8 servings (1 1/2 cups per serving) 1x
Cook: 45 minutesTotal: 45 minutes
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Ingredients

For the Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (gluten-free sub: coconut aminos)
  • 3 tablespoons real maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce (cut in half if sensitive to heat!)
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Fried Rice:

  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces (1/2 inch or smaller)
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 2–3 tablespoons olive oil, avocado oil, or sesame oil
  • 1/2 large onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
  • 1 cup finely chopped carrot
  • 2 cups finely chopped broccoli (about 1 small head)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (3 garlic cloves)
  • 6 cups of cooked, refrigerated brown rice*
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • Optional: thinly sliced green onion, for garnish

*It’s optimal to cook this a day ahead and refrigerate for at least a few hours for best texture. You can also replace all or part of the rice with cooked, drained cauliflower rice.

Before You Begin! 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

Note before beginning: This recipe goes fast once you start cooking. Be sure to cook and cool the rice ahead of time and pre-chop the chicken and veggies. Have them waiting next to the skillet.

  1. Prep: Set out two plates next to the stove. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk until beaten well.
  2. Make Sauce: Add all the sauce ingredients to a small pot. Warm over medium-low heat and make sure it doesn’t boil over. Keep warm while moving to next steps.
  3. Saute Chicken: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmery. Stir fry the chicken until no longer pink inside, about 4 minutes, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper on all sides while it cooks. Remove to a plate and set aside.
  4. Cook Eggs: Wipe out the pan and add a little more oil to coat the pan. Pour in the beaten eggs. Cook for 2 minutes or until set, stirring frequently and breaking up the eggs into small pieces. Remove to a plate and set aside.
  5. Saute Veggies: Wipe pan out again and add 1 tablespoon more of oil to pan. Once the oil is shimmery, add onion and carrots. Saute for about 4 minutes, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Add in broccoli to the other veggies and saute another 3-4 minutes, seasoning lightly again with salt and pepper, until all veggies are tender. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.
  6. Combine: Turn the heat to low. Gently stir in the peas, rice, chicken, and eggs. Drizzle about 3/4ths of the sauce over the rice and toss to combine. Taste and add more, if desired. Stir until everything is warmed through and serve.

Freeze For Later: Prepare as directed, fully cool, and then freeze flat in a gallon-sized freezer bag or in individual freezer containers with lids.

Prepare From Frozen: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or thaw in the microwave using the defrost setting in a microwave-safe bowl. Warm gently in the microwave or over low heat in a skillet, stirring occasionally.


Notes/Tips

  • Aim for cutting up the vegetables pretty small and in evenly-sized pieces.
  • It does have noticeable heat from the Sriracha but not too much. Feel free to cut back on the Sriracha if you have sensitive eaters. You can always add more to individual bowls at the end.
  • If you plan to double this recipe, I found it easiest to combine everything in a very large mixing bowl or stock pot at the end. It really does make a lot for freezing or for leftovers, but it’s gone fast around our house.
© Author: Rachel Tiemeyer
Method: Stovetop

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Rachel Tiemeyer

Rachel Tiemeyer

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Rachel dreams about creating recipes (literally) and uses her husband, her 3 kids, and even the neighbors as guinea pigs several nights a week. She believes that good food has the power to bring families and friends closer together and continues to wake up excited about her job each day, even after 10+ years!

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  1. AvatarAmber says

    Posted on 6/30/23 at 4:30 pm

    I don’t typically love fried rice, but I LOVE this recipe and so does my family. I always have to double it! I error on the side of extra veggies in it and my family still likes it!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 7/1/23 at 11:20 am

      This is such a great recipe to use up veggies! Thanks for leaving a review Amber.

      Reply
  2. AvatarGinger S. says

    Posted on 6/30/23 at 3:55 pm

    I’ve made this one several times now. I love how healthy it is and the little kick of heat in the background. Freezes great!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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