Chicken Fried Brown Rice

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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.

Chicken Fried Brown Rice - BETTER than Takeout (and cheaper, too!)

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!

Ingredients for chicken fried brown rice.

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 eggs together.

Beat your eggs together.

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

Scramble eggs in skillet.

Like this.

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

Cook chicken sprinkled with garlic salt in 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.

Add peas, rice, and soy sauce.

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

Add remaining ingredients to skillet and mix well.

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

Cooked Chicken Fried Brown Rice in skillet.

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

Chicken Fried Brown Rice

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.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken, rice
Servings: 4
Calories: 273kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup instant brown rice or two cups cooked brown rice
  • 5 teaspoons vegetable oil divided
  • 4 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 2 chicken breasts boneless skinless, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt divided
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil dark
  • 1/2 cup green peas frozen
  • 1/2 cup carrot shredded
  • 1/4 cup green onion sliced
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • To serve: sesame oil soy sauce, hot sauce, and garlic salt (optional)

Instructions

  • Cook the rice according to package directions and set aside.
    1 cup instant brown rice
  • In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Cook the eggs, stirring until scrambled. Remove the eggs from the pan and give it a wipe.
    4 large eggs, 5 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • In a medium bowl, toss together the remaining 3 teaspoons of oil, chicken, and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, stirring frequently, until chicken is no longer pink in the center, approximately 4 minutes.
    5 teaspoons vegetable oil, 2 chicken breasts, 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • Add the sesame oil, cooked rice, and peas to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until heated through, about to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
    1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1/2 cup green peas, 1 cup instant brown rice
  • Gently stir in the scrambled eggs, carrots, green onion, soy sauce, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with sesame oil, soy sauce, hot sauce, and garlic salt if desired (we just serve it as is).
    4 large eggs, 1 teaspoon garlic salt, 1/2 cup carrot, 1/4 cup green onion, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, To serve: sesame oil
  • Serve hot and enjoy!

This makes just enough for 4 people but I've found that it doesn't really cost me more to double the recipe so I usually do!

    Notes

    To decrease the amount of carbs/sugar, substitute cauliflower rice instead of brown rice is a good option as well.  

    Nutrition

    Calories: 273kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 1452mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g
    Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

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    63 Comments

    1. Wow! This was easy & great. My hubby is the “wok-er” so he made it for us. I added some oyster sauce & hoisin sauce. The sauces seemed to add a bit of authentic-ness to the dish. I added in a couple of radishes diced & I used leftover pork chops that were baked in a balsamic vinegar sauce. So, it was “Twice Cooked Pork Fried Rice. I used1 part egg substitute & 1 egg & it was great. Jeepers, it was great! You’re right, it was tons better than any restaurant!

    2. Just wanted to tell you that I made both your chicken fried rice and egg drop soup for dinner tonight. I followed the recipes exactly and used the sesame oil in both the soup and chicken fried rice. My kids are extremely picky and getting them to try something new is almost impossible. However, they both devoured both things and asked for seconds! My 13 year old has never liked ANY type of soup in her life, but is now a huge fan of your egg drop soup!! This meal was so different that most dinners I make, which made it even better. My husband is now begging to take the little bit of leftovers we have to work tomorrow for lunch, Thank you for both of these fabulous recipes which are going to become regulars in my dinner rotation!!!

    3. Hi Kristy,
      Waiting for you to answer the above questions 🙂 I want to make this recipe….I love Chicken Fried Rice….this is the only thing I get when we go to a Chinese restaurant and Egg Rolls of course….
      But I sure want to try your recipe as I have tried many, and none even come close to what I have eaten out…..
      Gotta get some Sesame Oil tho…..and some Oyster Sauce…..so I will wait to hear your answers…..
      Love your blog….please answer soon…..or email me personally…..thanks

    4. Also, I see that you say use 1 TBLS of dark sesame oil….do you fry the chicken in it or at what point in the recipe do you use it? Thanks so much!

    5. Christy, I see other people have already asked on here, but I would also love the recipe for the soup in the picture!!! This looks like the delicious coconut soup at Surin on Airport Road…have you found a recipe for a similar soup? If so, would you share the soup recipe as well? Can’t wait to make this recipe this week!!

      1. Hey! My recipe for easy egg drop soup ( the soup pictured) is in the Easy Southern Suppers Magazine as well as the Southern Plate Magazine. I’ll have to check and see of I can share it. Although it is my recipe, once it is printed in a magazine the copyrights change. However, if you have a copy of either, you have that recipe!

    6. I decided to clean out the fridge this week, and I was so happy to have all the ingredients for this except green onion! Leftover white rice from Sunday’s burritos was supplemented by brown rice from the freezer (I cook a huge batch at least monthly and freeze in 1 C bags to save time when I want it). A few lonely chicken tenders escaped the freezer, some giant baby carrots were shredded, leftover peas from Saturday’s dinner and some fresh eggs from the chicken coop rounded it out. This was simply delicious! I adore sesame oil, and there is no substitute for that. I look forward to trying it with oyster sauce added in also– Thanks Richard!

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