Egg Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Sauce
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This easy egg fried rice recipe is healthy, inexpensive, and better than some of your favorite takeout! It’s so tasty that it made it into our first cookbook and readers tell us they cook it regularly for their families. Freezing instructions included.
“I’ve actually been making this recipe for a few years, and decided I finally needed to leave a review. I love making this using up the odds and ends from whatever veggies I have left from the week! The sauce is what makes this dish! It’s a great go-to recipe!” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Diana
7 Reasons We Love This Easy Recipe
It’s worth saving bookmarking or Pinning our fried rice recipe for these stellar reasons.
- Satisfying: It’s full of flavor and is filling even without meat. My husband and some of my kids (there’s always a picky one, right?) love it.
- Good for You: It’s packed full of fiber, good fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
- One-Pan Wonder: I only get one pan dirty. Woohoo!
- Versatile: You can use up any vegetables in the fridge and freezer. Seriously, feel free to use whatever you’ve got for this one. In addition to the veggies listed in the recipe, I’ve used onions, green beans, bamboo shoots, and cauliflower. The possibilities are endless.
- Kid-Friendly: This one made our list of top vegetarian meals for kids. The addition of brown sugar makes this particular sauce kid-friendly. Who doesn’t like their veggies with a little sugar on them? 🙂
- Cheap: This healthy main dish is CHEAP! I estimate that this dinner, even when using organic eggs, cost me less than $10 to feed 4 people.
- Freezer-Friendly: Since freezer cooking in our specialty, we especially love freezing in this small portions for lunches. Instructions below.
Ingredients Needed
Another benefit of this egg fried rice is that you likely have many of these simple, pretty darn healthy ingredients already on hand.
For Sweet Soy Sauce:
- Soy sauce – Sub coconut aminos for a gluten-free option.
- Brown sugar – Sub maple syrup.
- Butter – Sub coconut oil or olive for dairy-free version.
- Dried minced onion – Sub 1 teaspoon onion powder.
- Red pepper flakes – You can leave these out if sensitive to heat.
- Optional: Toasted sesame oil – Gives a little more depth of flavor.
For Fried Rice:
- Avocado or olive oil – For sautéing the eggs and vegetables.
- Large eggs – The main protein of the dish.
- Broccoli and carrots – Finely chop these all to the same size. You could also use asparagus, sugar snap peas, or green beans.
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic cloves – Use the jarred pre-minced kind as a time saver.
- Frozen peas
- Cooked brown rice – For best texture, cook the rice ahead of time and let it get cold in the fridge. For a shortcut, grab Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice from the store. You can also replace all or part of the rice with cooked, drained cauliflower rice or white rice.
How to Make Fried Rice with Egg
The full, printable recipe is below, but here’s the basic method for this easy fried rice so you can see the process.
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.
Cook Eggs
Add the eggs to a small mixing bowl or glass measuring cup and whisk until beaten. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmery. 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.
Saute Veggies
Wipe pan out and add 1 tablespoon more of oil to pan. Once the oil is hot, saute the broccoli and carrots until tender, about 4-6 minutes, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper as they cook. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.
Combine
Turn the heat to low. Gently stir in the peas, rice, 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.
What to Serve with Egg Fried Rice
Egg fried rice is a delicious and versatile dish that can be served as a standalone meal or as part of a larger spread. Here are some suggestions for what you can serve alongside fried rice with egg:
How to Freeze Fried Rice
This is actually one of my very favorite make ahead freezer meals! I prep a double batch on the weekends and freeze it in 2-cup Pyrex containers for lunches.
Here’s how to freeze it:
Freeze For Later: Prepare according to the recipe, fully cool the rice, 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.
Recipe FAQs
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.
In an air-tight container, leftovers will last 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Follow our freezing instructions if you can’t finish it in that time frame.
Sure! We have a Chicken Fried Rice recipe you can follow.
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How to Video
Egg Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Sauce
Ingredients
For Sweet Soy Sauce:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (plus more to taste)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or pure maple syrup (Add more if you want it sweeter.)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Optional: 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
For Fried Rice:
- 2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil, divided
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped broccoli
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped carrots
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 4 cups cooked cold brown rice*
- *For best texture cook the rice ahead of time and let it get cold in the fridge. You can also replace all or part of the rice with cooked, drained cauliflower rice or white rice.
Instructions
- Note before beginning: This recipe goes fast once you start cooking. Be sure to cook and refrigerate the rice ahead of time, beat the eggs, and pre-chop the veggies. Have them waiting next to the skillet.
- Make Sauce: Add all the sauce ingredients to a small pot. Warm over medium-low heat until butter melts. Keep warm over low heat while moving to next steps.
- Cook Eggs: Add the eggs to a small mixing bowl or glass measuring cup and whisk until beaten. Heat 1-2 tablespoons oil in a large (12-inch) skillet (preferably non-stick) over medium-high heat until shimmery. 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.
- Saute Veggies: Wipe pan out and add 1-2 tablespoons more oil to pan. Once the oil is shimmery, saute the broccoli and carrots until tender, about 4-6 minutes, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper as they cook. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.
- Combine: Turn down the heat to medium. Gently stir in the peas, rice, and eggs. Drizzle the sauce over the rice and toss to combine. Cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes to "fry" the rice. Stir once more and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Serve: Taste and add more salt and pepper or soy sauce, if desired. Stir until everything is warmed through and serve.
Freezer Instructions
Notes/Tips
- Adding Chicken or Shrimp: If you’d like to add in chicken or shrimp, I’d advise to double the Sweet Soy Sauce. Chop about 1 pound of chicken or shrimp into small bite-sized pieces. Before Step 1, saute your protein in 1-2 tablespoons hot oil over medium high heat until cooked through. Season with a little salt and pepper while it cooks. Set aside, wipe out the pan, and follow Steps 1-3. Stir in your cooked protein during Step 4.
- Gluten-Free Version: Use coconut aminos or Tamari gluten-free soy sauce in place of the soy sauce. You will likely need to add extra salt if using coconut aminos.
- Dairy-Free Version: Use vegan butter or coconut oil in place of the butter.
Nutrition
I have already made this twice since since coming to college. Rachel, you are my hero!!
Ella!! This makes me so happy!!!
We have been making this recipe for several years now, and I was happy to see it pop up again on the blog. This is one of, if not our most, frequently made dinners. Any time my kids see it on the menu board, I get big smiles. So easy, and the maple sauce really takes it up a notch!
Yay! Love to hear of a kid-winning recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review Kate.
So good, so easy!
Glad you enjoyed this Amber! Thanks for leaving a review.
Looks delicious!! Cannot wait to try it!
Hi Mary! We think it’s great. 😉 Let us know what you think when you try it.
We LOVE this recipe! It is very versatile with the kinds of vegetables you can use, even if you want to add protein to it. I was worried my kids wouldn’t eat all the veggies in it, but if you add a maple soy sauce, they gobble it right up! We love having extra brown rice from other meals and freezing it as a quick way to set up this meal for the future!
Yay! My kids feel the same way. We often add shrimp or chicken and it’s a meal that lasts for a few days. Thanks for the review, Kate.
This is one of my favorite recipes. Tonight I made teriyaki pork tenderloin to go with it. My husband always says it makes too much, but I could just lap this up on it’s own.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a rating, Morgan. Glad you all enjoy this recipe!
I’ve actually been making this recipe for a few years, and decided I finally needed to leave a review. I love making this using up the odds and ends from whatever veggies I have left from the week! The sauce is what makes this dish! It’s a great go-to recipe!
Thanks for sharing your review, Diana! So happy to hear this recipe is a winner for you. 🙂
I’ve made this before and yesterday I was looking for the recipe again and couldn’t find it, so I ended up picking a different fries rice recipe and it was very disappointing. So I’m very glad I was able to find yours again. Definitely pinned it this time!
Oh wow, I feel honored. So glad this is a hit in your home!
How long will this keep in the freezer? days, weeks, a month?
Hi Jessica. If wrapped tightly so air can’t reach it, most meals like this last up to 3 months. Store it in the back of the freezer and you will need to add a little extra liquid to it when you reheat, like some chicken broth. I hope that helps!
Great recipe! We absolutely loved it. Any idea on the nutritional breakdown? It seems pretty healthy overall.
Glad you liked it! That brown sugar (or I use organic unrefined sugar) makes it so kid-friendly. With all the veggies, brown rice, and eggs, it’s packed full of nutrition. You can plug it into Spark People and find out for free, from what I’ve heard.
Can this recipe be frozen and served later? Would love to find brown rice recipes that can be made ahead, frozen and then warmed on the day of serving!
I have frozen this recipe before and reheated it. It’s not quite as good as when fresh, but if you warm it on the stove or in the microwave with a little chicken stock to give it moisture, it’s not too bad!
Hi, they are sweet so sauce you could may find it in asian supermarket. It’s called kecap, sweet soy sauce and from Indonesia. I use that a lot and it give a wonderful flavor to the food. Good luck.
Sounds and looks mouth-watering. I would love it with all those added veggies too. Pinned!
Thank you so much!
I wanted to comment that I made this for dinner tonight! I was going to make stir fry with Koran style marinade, so I had the basics made. I really liked this meal… but you must have an enormous skillet! My large one was easily half too small to really make the rice sizzled and “fried” like at a restaurant. Even so, I really look forward to the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Glad you liked it! You know, I realized that I didn’t skillet fry the rice in last time I made it. I just simply tossed it in at the end. So, I bet that would be difficult in a large but normal pan. I’ll try to update the recipe and say that. Thanks, Bethany!