This Chicken Fried Rice recipe makes the perfect simple weeknight meal. Made with leftover rice, one chicken breast, and whatever veggies you have on hand! It’s better than takeout fried rice and it’s on the table in 20 minutes!
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Happy Wednesday friends! How are you all doing? These are some crazy times we’re living in and it’s my hope and prayer that you’re all safe and sound, staying home and staying healthy. Our family is self-isolating and so naturally I’ve been spending a LOT of time in the kitchen making simple meals with pantry staples and whatever I have left in my fridge. This Quick and Easy Chicken Fried Rice recipe is one I make often, but it’s particularly relevant right now since we’re all cooking from our pantries and freezers, am I right?!?
Last week I shared with you a list of 75 Recipes you can make with basic pantry and freezer ingredients to feed your hungry family (CLICK HERE to see that list!). They’re easily adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand and they’re delicious, mostly nutritious, and simple to make. This recipe for fried rice with chicken DEFINITELY belongs on that list!
Easy Pantry Meals I’ve been reflecting on the current events, and how this blog can be a resource for you as you’re dealing with food shortages, self-isolation and all the challenges that come with those things. I think that the best way to help is to share what our family is actually eating, in semi-real time! I’ve paused my calendar of pre-scheduled posts for the most part (true story: most recipes you see here on The Busy Baker are made far in advance!) I’m excited to show you week by week what I’m feeding my family during this season with what is in OUR freezer and OUR pantry. Starting with this simple chicken fried rice recipe! 
We actually ate fried rice with chicken for dinner YESTERDAY and it was a huge hit with everyone in the family. My daughter eats it with ketchup (don’t ask!!) and my husband loves it with extra soy sauce. For me, throwing some freshly chopped green onions over the top is total perfection. It’s one of our favourite kid-friendly meals and it’s super cheap to make too!
How to make the Chicken Fried Rice Recipe
- Start with cooked rice. Next time you make rice for dinner alongside a stir fry or curry, make an extra 3 cups or so (1 cup uncooked) and freeze it in a freezer bag or airtight container or keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Use pre-cooked chicken, or one chicken breast. No need to use up all that chicken you have in your freezer – one chicken breast will do! Just cut it into small pieces, fry until cooked in a little bit of oil with some salt and pepper. OR, use pre-cooked chicken leftover from a rotisserie chicken or whatever cooked chicken is kicking around your freezer.
- Saute your veggies. I like using carrots, green onions, celery and leeks in fried rice, but a bag of frozen mixed veggies works great too!
- Don’t forget the Soy Sauce. I like using a low-sodium soy sauce in this recipe because you can add a lot of the soy sauce flavour without making the dish too salty.
- Eggs! Adding a couple scrambled eggs to fried rice adds some great texture and extra protein!
LOOKING FOR MORE EASY WEEKNIGHT MEAL IDEAS?
Get my Quick and Easy 4-Week Meal Plan Guide!
Looking for even more easy meals?
Try my One Pan Vegetarian Lentil Curry recipe, or these delicious Slow Cooker White Bean and Lentil Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes!
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I hope you enjoy this fried rice recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite way to use up leftovers? I’d love to know!
KITCHEN PRODUCTS I RECOMMEND:
Other weeknight meal ideas
Looking for other easy weeknight meal recipes? You’ll LOVE these!
- Easy One Pot Pasta Primavera
- Creamy Enchilada One Pot Pasta
- Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
- Skillet French Onion Stuffed Chicken
- Skillet Pesto Caprese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
- Chicken Breasts with White Wine Mushroom Sauce
LOOKING FOR MORE EASY WEEKNIGHT MEAL IDEAS?
Get my Quick and Easy 4-Week Meal Plan Guide!
RECIPE VIDEO
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this delicious recipe. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
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Quick and Easy Chicken Fried Rice Recipe
Recipe: Ingredients
- 1 large chicken breast (or 1 1/2 cups chopped or shredded pre-cooked chicken)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil substitute with vegetable oil if you don't have sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or use vegetable oil
- 1 leek thinly sliced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 4 cloves garlic pressed or finely minced
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- a pinch or two of black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups cooked long grain rice
- more soy sauce to taste
- sliced green onions for serving
Recipe: Instructions
- If you're starting with pre-cooked chicken, simply set it aside to add later. If you're starting with a raw chicken breast, heat your skillet over medium-high heat and add a small amount of oil.
- Cut up the chicken breast into 1-inch sized pieces and season the chicken with some salt and pepper. Cook in the hot skillet until the chicken pieces are golden brown and cooked through to an internal temperature of 74 degrees Celsius (165 Fahrenheit). Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Add the sesame oil and coconut oil (or vegetable oil) to the hot skillet.
- Add the sliced leek, onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the soy sauce and pepper and stir well.
- Add the eggs into the middle of the pan (push the veggies to the sides of the pan) and scramble them, cooking until they're just cooked through.
- Add the cooked rice and the cooked chicken and stir everything together well over the heat until the rice absorbs the soy sauce and browns slightly.
- Add a little more soy sauce (if desired, to taste), top with some chopped green onions and serve!
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I wish I could break this down for 2 people. I live alone and can’t eat that much. So many recipes are for 6 or more people.
Hi Donna! You can! In the yellow box, where is the recipe, under Prep&Cook Time you can find ‘Servings’ and you can select if you want it from 1 portion up to 20. That should help!😊
This was so good!! Love the way it so easily came together!
I’m so glad you liked it!
Thanks Amy! Happy to hear that!!
delicious and give me three meals! (I had a double serving the first time – it was so yummy)
I added a little sriracha…
I appreciate your quick and easy and yummy recipes
Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks for your feedback 🙂