This easy fried rice recipe will knock your socks off! With rice, peas and carrots, eggs, bacon, and a full-flavored sauce, it is truly the best fried rice recipe around!
Other rice dishes we could live off of include this cilantro lime rice recipe, easy Spanish rice, and the best rice pilaf recipe!
While in college, I lived off of Ramen noodles, baked potatoes, and fried rice. Who didn’t, right? Fried rice is truly the ideal one-pot meal for anyone on a budget. It’s super inexpensive to make, containing protein and vegetables, cooks in a matter of minutes, and is quite filling. Not to mention delicious!
All these years later, I have eaten my weight probably five times over in fried rice. This recipe is one of my favorite ways to make it.
What is Fried Rice?
Fried rice is a dish consisting of (day old) cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok (or a frying pan), combined with other ingredients, like vegetables, eggs, meat, or seafood. You can enjoy it as a side dish or full meal.
For this particular recipe, I include bacon, and peas and carrots are my chosen veggies. A lot of fried rice recipes only use soy sauce, but I also add in some oyster sauce and sesame oil. All the flavors are fantastic!
How to make fried rice
Here is a quick summary of how to prepare and cook fried rice
(Don’t miss the video and complete recipe card below with details.)
- Warm oil in a wok, cast iron pan, or nonstick skillet and cook the eggs. Transfer to a plate.
- Add bacon and cook until crisp. Transfer to a towel-lined plate, reserving some of the drippings.
- Toss in the peas and carrots, onion, and scallions and saute until soft.
- Stir in the ginger and garlic until fragrant. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Fry the cooked day-old rice.
- Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Add the cooked bacon and eggs back to the pan; toss to combine.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
Is Fried Rice Healthy?
Fried rice is such a tasty and satisfying dish, but is not considered healthy because of the high fat and calorie content. Here are a few ways to make it healthier:
- Use low-sodium soy sauce.
- Replace the vegetable oil with olive oil.
- Reduce the number of eggs from 3 to 2.
- Omit the bacon and make it purely vegetarian.
- Try using brown rice instead of white.
Is Fried Rice Gluten-Free? No. Fried rice is typically not gluten-free due to the wheat in soy sauce and oyster sauce. You can make it gluten-free by using gluten-free soy sauce and oyster sauce, or swapping them out for tamari sauce.
How many calories in fried rice? This recipe only calls for 1 tablespoon of oil because you’ll use some of the bacon drippings in its place. The end result is 333 calories per cup.
How Many Cups Dry Rice for Cooked Rice
Generally, most rice will triple in volume when cooked, so 1 cup of raw rice will yield 3 cups cooked. This recipe calls for 4 cups of cooked white rice, so you’ll need 1 1/3 cups of dry rice.
Tips for Success
- Use day-old cooked, chilled rice. Rice is the star in this dish, obviously, and it’s so important that you use rice that is dry. If it’s at all wet, the rice ends up mushy instead of crisp. Break large rice clumps up with your hands before beginning.
- Ingredients should be uniform in size – dice up your bacon and egg the same size at the peas and carrots.
- Have your ingredients ready to go! Just like any stir fry, have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go because this dish cooks fast.
- Fry the rice – don’t just simply heat the rice through. (Cook for 4 minutes, alternating 1 minute of rest with 1 minute of tossing.) You want to fry it and allow the oil and sauce to get absorbed, that’s what makes it crispy and flavorful.
- Lightly season with salt and pepper – soy sauce, oyster sauce, and bacon are all salty, so don’t be heavy handed with additional salt and pepper. Taste as you go and adjust as necessary.
How to Store and Reheat
- To store: Allow any leftovers to cool completely, then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.
- To freeze: Fried rice can be frozen in a tightly sealed container or resealable freezer bags up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- How to reheat: Fried rice can easily be reheated in a skillet over medium heat on the stovetop, using a little bit of oil and a splash of water if it seems dry. Another option is to put a portion in a microwave safe dish and use the microwave, but the rice won’t crisp up.
What to serve with fried rice
- Egg Rolls
- Crab Rangoon
- Teriyaki Glazed Roasted Snap Peas
- Panko Crusted Pan Fried Pork Chops
- Honey Soy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Easy Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs , lightly beaten
- 6 slices bacon diced small
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
- 1 medium sweet onion , diced small
- 2 scallions , diced small
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- salt and pepper , to taste
- 4 cups day-old cooked, chilled white rice , any large clumps broken up
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
Instructions
- Warm the vegetable oil in a wok, cast iron pan, or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add egg, and cook until just scrambled, stirring occasionally. Remove egg, and transfer to a separate plate.
- Add bacon and cook until crisp. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a towel-lined plate to drain, reserving 1 1/2 tablespoons of the drippings in the skillet.
- Add in the peas and carrots, onion, and scallions; saute until vegetables are soft and onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add in the ginger and garlic; saute for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Stir in the rice and cook for about 4 minutes total (alternating 1 minute of rest, 1 minute of tossing.)
- Add in the soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and a pinch of salt and pepper; continue stirring for another minute.
- Add the cooked bacon and egg back in and toss to combine.
- (If the mixture still seems a little too wet, you can reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook a few minutes longer to dry the rice a little, but watch it carefully, so it doesn't burn or brown too much.)
- Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
- Serve immediately in bowls and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Other Notes
This was super easy and I love the flavor of the sauce, it was perfect!
thank you so much for the beautiful and good recepies very appreciate
We love fried rice and this post reminds me it’s time to make it again with your recipe. Love all your helpful hints.