This easy egg fried rice comes together in under 20 minutes! It only requires a handful of simple ingredients and it makes for the perfect side dish or lighter main meal. Make this classic Chinese takeout at home in no time!
Egg fried rice is one of my go-to recipes when I have some leftover rice to use and I’m in a time crunch. I love making fried rice and this one is the easiest version you can make with only 7 ingredients.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s super budget friendly to make egg fried rice. You more than likely have all the ingredients ready to go in your fridge.
- It’s a fast recipe. Once you scramble the eggs, just toss in the rice and peas and give it all a good mix and you’re pretty much good to go.
- It’s a great way to use up odds and ends in the fridge. I always have leftover rice and a few rogue green onions that need to be used!
Ingredients You’ll Need
oil & butter — the oil and butter will cook the eggs. This recipe uses one tablespoon of each. Careful not to add too much butter or oil as it will lead to the egg fried rice becoming greasy.
eggs — I use six eggs, but you can add more if desired!
cooked rice — rice made the night before that’s been refrigerated is ideal. I usually use jasmine rice. Not sure how to cook it? Here’s how to cook jasmine rice. In my experience, it’s important that the rice is cool, or you’ll end up with clumpy fried rice.
salt — I always use kosher salt my the kitchen. You’ll need some salt for the scrambled eggs and then more salt for the rice.
green onions — I love the fresh flavor that green onions add to this egg fried rice recipe. I try to be really generous with the green onions!
peas — a generous amount of frozen green peas make this fried rice even more satisfying. While you can skip peas, I highly recommend adding them!
How to Make Egg Fried Rice
- Add the oil and butter to a large non-stick skillet (or wok). Add the beaten eggs the pan.
- Gently and slowly stir the eggs with a rubber spatula to make fluffy scrambled eggs. Fold the eggs within themselves. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of salt over the eggs and continue to fold the eggs. When the eggs are mostly cooked, it should look custard-like. This shouldn’t take more than 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure you don’t overcook the eggs as they’ll end up rubbery and dry. The eggs will cook a little more once they’re added back to the skillet of hot rice.
- Add the cold rice to the skillet.
- Use your spatula to chop through the rice to combine it with the scrambled eggs and separate clumps of rice.
- Add the green onions, frozen peas, and 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to toss to combine and cook until the rice and peas are warmed through, around 3 minutes.
- Leave the rice in the skillet for a couple of extra minutes with the heat turned off if you’d like slightly crispier rice or serve immediately.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- If you have a rice cooker, you can change the setting to make slightly “harder” rice when you cook it the night before. It’ll help the rice grains hold their shape better when you use it for ketchup fried rice. (Here’s a review of the rice cooker I have)
- Chilled leftover rice is ideal as cold rice is firmer and decreases the chances of your fried rice turning out mushy. If you don’t have leftover rice, you can quickly cool freshly cooked rice by spreading it out onto a sheet pan in an even layer and popping it into the fridge.
- Feel free to add whatever vegetables you have in the fridge! Spinach, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, and any other leafy greens make for a great addition to this fried rice. I personally love using this fried rice recipe to clear out whatever’s leftover in my fridge at the end of the week. It’s a great recipe to help with reducing food waste in your kitchen!
- For a little extra heat, you can add a drizzle of sriracha sauce to the skillet when you add the peas.
- If you want extra crispy rice, you can add a splash of extra oil to the rice when you add it, then press the rice down into the skillet after mixing it with the eggs.
- Instead of salt, you can add a pinch of powdered chicken bouillon.
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: once cooled, store the egg fried rice in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. However, if you are using rice that’s more than a day old, keep in mind that your egg fried rice will only last as long as the rice is good for. For example, if your rice is two days old before you use it for fried rice, your fried rice will only last three days.
- Freezer: allow the fried rice to cool before transferring into an airtight container before storing in the freezer. Fried rice can last for up to 3 months.
Classic Egg Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add the oil and butter to a large non-stick skillet (or wok). Add the beaten eggs the pan.
- Gently and slowly stir the eggs with a rubber spatula to make fluffy scrambled eggs. Fold the eggs within themselves. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of salt over the eggs and continue to fold the eggs for 3 to 4 minutes. When the eggs are mostly cooked, it should look custard-like.
- Add the cold rice into the skillet and use your spatula to chop through the rice to combine it with the scrambled eggs and separate clumps of rice.
- Add the green onions, frozen peas, and 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to toss to combine and cook until the rice and peas are warmed through, around 3 minutes.
- Leave the rice in the skillet for a couple of extra minutes with the heat turned off if you’d like slightly crispier rice or serve immediately.
Nutrition Per Serving
More Fried Rice Recipes to Try
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