Better than the takeout version, my chicken fried brown rice recipe features lots of shortcuts to make this a healthy, quick, and easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love.

This is one of my son’s all-time favorite suppers and I shared it in a Taste of the South’s Southern Plate Suppers issue. I think it must be a teenage boy thing to love chicken fried rice. Brady used to ask us to go get it as takeout for him whenever the hankering hit him until I developed a quick and easy homemade recipe. He now prefers the homemade because I can add more of what he loves, which is why I often double the peas and carrots!

This easy chicken fried brown rice recipe is just such a wonderful meal and I really think the brown rice makes it even better. You can, of course, modify it by adding in your favorite veggies, doubling up on ingredients that you like most, and adjusting the seasonings to suit your taste. Leftovers make a great lunch or even freeze well. But there is a trick to having leftovers: you have to double it and hide the other half when everyone sits down at the table!

Recipe Ingredients

Vegetable oil
Frozen peas
Instant brown rice
Soy sauce
Garlic salt
Eggs
Matchstick carrots
Chicken
Green onion

How to Make Chicken Fried Brown Rice

Beat your eggs together.

Then place some oil in a large skillet, let it heat up a bit, and scramble eggs over medium heat.

Like this.

Once they’re scrambled, scrape the eggs out into a bowl and wipe out your skillet.

In that same skillet, place the remaining oil and chicken sprinkled with garlic salt.

Cook this over medium to medium-high heat until no longer pink in the center.

Add peas, rice, and soy sauce.

Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until heated through.

Return the scrambled eggs to the skillet and add carrots, green onions, and remaining soy sauce.

Stir until well combined and then dig in! You can also serve with sesame oil, soy sauce, hot sauce, and garlic salt if desired (we just serve it as is).

This recipe for chicken fried brown rice makes 4 servings, but I find it doesn’t cost much more to make double, so that’s what I usually do.

Storage

Store fried rice leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
They also freeze really well. Store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the microwave.

Recipe Notes

Try your fried brown rice with ham, shrimp, bacon, beef, pork, or just vegetables instead.
Substitute the vegetable oil for butter for a rich and flavorful taste.
You can use any vegetables you like in this fried rice recipe, including broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, corn, snap peas, and water chestnuts.
Substitute the chicken breast for chicken thigh if you like, but just add a couple of minutes to the cooking time.
For more flavor, add 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce (don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like oysters).

Recipe FAQs

Can I use other rice blends in this chicken fried rice recipe?

If you are looking for low carb/low sugar options for this recipe to decrease the amount of carbs/sugar, substitute cauliflower rice instead of brown rice. This is a good option as well. Otherwise yes, you can use any kind of white rice in this chicken fried rice dish, like long grain or jasmine rice. You could also use quinoa if you prefer.

You might like these other chicken and rice recipes:

Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Cheesy Chicken And Rice (Crock Pot Version)

Chicken Teriyaki with Brown Rice

Simply Delicious Chicken & Rice Soup