Easy Fried Rice Recipe – 30 minutes!

Try making easy fried rice at home! You’ll find that delicious fried rice doesn’t have to be loaded with oil like restaurant versions, and you can even make it with healthier brown rice.

Crisply browned rice, seasoned with ginger, garlic, and toasted sesame oil, combined with peas, diced carrots, and green onions, and of course, bits of scrambled egg — does this sound like comfort food to you? It sure does to me! I could easily eat fried rice for breakfast — it does have eggs, right? Maybe you prefer to stick with pancakes, but I love a savory breakfast.

All too often, I avoid ordering fried rice at my favorite Chinese restaurant because it tends to be kind of greasy. I’m sure that a generous amount of oil is used in the preparation. But when you make your own fried rice at home, you’re in control of the ingredients. Isn’t that a happy thing? I think so. You could even make air fryer egg rolls to go with your fried rice!

You’ll find only a minimal amount of oil is necessary to make this fried rice recipe, and it’s so good! And yes, it’s easy. You can have fried rice on the table in less than a half hour. 

About this recipe

No special equipment is needed here, just a wok or a nice big skillet with curved sides. Make sure all your ingredients are ready to go because this recipe moves along pretty quickly. 

Now, about the rice. Leftover rice is best for fried rice. Why? The grains firm up and dry out overnight in the fridge. Ever have leftover rice, maybe in a takeout container, and try to reheat it the next day? It’s pretty darn dry, isn’t it? Kind of flies all over the place when you’re trying to scoop it on your plate before microwaving it.

Well, that dry rice is just what you need for perfect fried rice. The separate grains of rice crisp up beautifully and don’t get mushy or clump up. Long grain rice is best, especially jasmine rice with its wonderfully floral aroma. Brown rice is great, too.

So! Here’s the plan. The next time you make rice, make a double batch, and you’ll be all set for fried rice tomorrow (or the next day). Keep reading for more make ahead ideas.

I’ll get you started on the recipe here and give you lots more tips. If you prefer, skip on down to the recipe card.

What you need

• Rice: Remember, leftover rice is best! Long grain white rice, jasmine, or brown rice are perfect.
• Oil: Use an oil with a high smoke point, like canola, avocado, or grapeseed. My favorite is grapeseed.
• Onion: any type of onion will do.
• Frozen Peas and Carrots: You’ll love how convenient it is to simply use a bag of frozen vegetables, prepped and ready for you right out of the freezer.
• Garlic: The beauty of homemade is that you can use as much or as little as you want
• Ginger: Use fresh ginger root, minced or grated.
• Soy Sauce: We like reduced sodium soy sauce but choose your favorite kind. Tamari is great, too.
• Toasted Sesame Oil: For rich nutty flavor, don’t substitute plain sesame oil because it won’t add the flavor you’re looking for in fried rice.
• Eggs: What’s fried rice without scrambled eggs?
• Green Onions: Add sliced green onions (scallions) right before serving.

How to make it

Let’s talk a minute about oil. You’ll only need one tablespoon of oil to actually fry the rice. The first step in this recipe is to heat up your skillet, add the oil and rice, and let the rice brown. Stir it a couple of times but not frequently. You want the rice to have a chance to brown and crisp up. 

After that crucial first step, push the rice to the side of the pan, and add the veggies to the other side.

Cook those a few minutes, then add garlic and ginger, oh, that smells so good! Next, you’ll soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. A little bit of the sesame oil goes a long way, it’s very flavorful.  

Okay, we’re almost there. In fact, if you want to go vegan, stop right here, no eggs for you! Fried rice is great for a vegetarian entree, though. Push the rice and vegetables to the side of the pan, and add a couple of whisked eggs.

Lightly scramble the eggs. This will go super fast because the pan is hot. Use your spatula to kind of chop them up. When the eggs are done, mix everything together, sprinkle with sliced green onions, and voila! Dinner is served.

Make It your own

• Substitute or add more veggies. This can really be a clean out your fridge sort of meal. Traditionally, fried rice has peas and carrots but who says that’s the only way to make it? You’re the cook, add the veggies you like. The only caveat is the veggies need to be diced quite small so they cook quickly. If you’re using up veggies that are already cooked, no problem. 
• Add greens to the stir fry. I know, greens are veggies, but I like to point out that spinach, arugula, or baby kale can be added to almost any recipe. We all need to beef up our greens intake, right?
• Add protein. Quickly sauté shrimp in another pan to stir into your fried rice. You could cook the shrimp in the same pan, too, if you have a large enough skillet or wok. Or add cubes of crispy baked tofu or air fried tofu.

Make-Ahead Ideas

The big make ahead part of this recipe is the rice. Make a double batch of rice ahead of time so you’ll be ready to make fried rice.

Did you know you can freeze rice? Cool the rice overnight in the fridge, put it into zip top bags, flatten it out, and store in the freezer. There’s no need to thaw it, it’s ready to use. I always have cooked grains in the freezer, especially quinoa. For more information on freezing rice, Food With Family has a few hints that are helpful. 

Storage & Reheating Tips

Fried rice is really very good leftover. It can be stored in the refrigerator for five to seven days, or frozen for up to six months.

Reheat leftovers in a skillet over medium heat, or in the microwave, until just heated through. 

Leftover Love

Make a fried rice casserole for a quick super easy dinner. In a greased casserole dish, mix cooked shredded chicken with leftover fried rice, stir in a generous amount of shredded cheese, and put the casserole into a preheated oven (350°F) for 15-20 minutes until heated through.

More Rice Recipes

Rice-A-Rama! Rice is satisfying, delicious, and economical, too. You’ll find it in so many cuisines around the world, in fact, it provides “more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide.” (Wikipedia). Here’s a few recipes to try:

• Mexican Rice
• Hoppin’ John: Black Eyed Peas & Rice
• Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
• One Dish Italian Chicken and Rice Bake
• Instant Pot Risotto Recipe
• One Pan Sausage and Rice with Sweet Peppers
• One Pan Cuban Chicken and Rice
• Zucchini Rice Casserole (Brown Rice!)
• Cilantro Lime Rice
• The Best Rice Krispies Treats (okay, I know you wouldn’t really call that a rice recipe, but hey! Desserts are good)