How To Make Eggs And Rice

Learn how to make Fried Rice the easy way with this simple Egg Fried Rice Recipe. Made with just a few ingredients and packed with flavor, this better than takeout dinner is ready in just 20 minutes!

This recipe can be a complete meal in itself because it's got protein, veggies and carbs all built in! However, we do like to serve egg fried rice with Asian inspired dinners like Crockpot Orange Chicken or Honey Lemon Chicken and Green Beans Stir Fry.

An overhead shot of a skillet filled with rice, veggies and scrambled egg.

Better Than Takeout Egg Fried Rice Recipe

I love this recipe because it's simple to make with ingredients I always have on hand and it's incredibly easy to customize. It's a lot cheaper and tastier than take-out and only takes 20 minutes to make.

Fried Rice can be made with scrambled egg, and sometimes I add chicken, pork or even bacon! I have been making this recipe for at least 15 years, and it's one of my family's favorite meals.

Easy Fried Rice with Egg and vegetables in a large skillet.

Step by Step Instructions

When I say simple, I mean, seriously as simple as it gets. Grab a nonstick deep skillet or Wok and let's make some egg fried rice!

Scramble some eggs in tiny bit of oil or butter. Remove them from the pan and set aside on a plate or in a bowl.
Add a bit more oil or butter to the skillet and saute some onions. I like to keep my onions diced pretty small so my kids don't have to pick them out, because they can't even see them. Let the onions cook until they're soft; about 3 minutes.
Add some thawed frozen veggies and some minced garlic to the pan. Heck you could even toss them in frozen. I add some butter at this point because it helps to flavor the veggies. You could easily swap the frozen for fresh, or add things like bok choy, broccoli or bean sprouts.
Add cold rice to the skillet and stir it with a flat wood spatula.
Once the rice is heated through you can add soy sauce and sesame seeds until you love the flavor, then serve right away.

Four images showing the steps to make egg fried rice.

Storage and Reheating

I think this rice is even better the next day!

Storage: Make sure to refrigerate the rice as soon as possible after serving, and store it in an sealed, airtight container. Refrigerate for 3-4 days or freeze for 3-4 months. If your rice has been sitting out more than two hours, discard it.

Reheating: To reheat fried rice, microwave on high until it's piping hot, stirring a few times. You can also reheat in a skillet on the stove with a little bit of olive oil or butter. Bacteria can grow rapidly between 40-140 degrees, which is why it's so important to reheat your food to 165 degrees.

If frozen, thaw the rice in the fridge, then reheat in a skillet.

How do you know if fried rice is spoiled?

Food that has gone bad will have an unpleasant odor, flavor or appearance, or in the worst case – all three. When it doubt, toss it out!

Expert Tips and FAQs

Does the Rice Have to be Cold? Chilled rice is better than fresh because it's had time to dry out a bit. Fresh, hot rice equals a mushy mess if you try to fry it right away. If you don't have any on hand go ahead and cook the rice in a rice cooker and spread it out on a rimmed baking sheet then pop it in the fridge. In about 30 minutes you'll have perfect chilled rice that you can fry right up. If your fried rice turns out soggy, it's most likely because your rice was too fresh and as a result there was too much moisture in the pan.

Is egg fried rice healthy? Depends what you add to it! Fried Rice is basically a cooked rice that's been fried in oil and the amount of oil that you use can determine how healthy or unhealthy the recipe is. Adding a protein like egg and lots of vegetables can increase the nutritional value. This recipe as written is around 300 calories a bowl.

Use butter instead of oil. I make this dish pretty regularly, and I often switch up using butter or olive oil. Hands down rice made with real butter has the best flavor. If you prefer, you can use olive oil or canola oil, or a combination of both.

Vegetarian Fried Rice: Feel free to omit the egg and just add tons of veggies. This recipe is a great way to use up whatever is leftover in the fridge.

What can I use instead of white rice? Cooked brown rice or quinoa can easily replace the white rice.

A hand holding chopsticks taking a bite of egg fried rice.

More Asian inspired recipes you'll love

Beef and Broccoli
Kung Pao Chicken
Cashew Chicken and Broccoli
The Best Copycat Bang Bang Shrimp
Thai Lettuce Wraps
Chinese Donuts
Korean Short Ribs

If you've made this recipe, please come back and leave us a star rating or a comment below. Or, tag us on social media @yellowblissroad or #yellowblissroad for a chance to be featured.

Butter or olive oil
3 large eggs whisked lightly
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 ½ cups frozen vegetables carrot, peas, corn, etc
4 cups cooked and chilled white rice
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce more or less to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Sesame seeds for garnish
Sliced green onions for garnish

Heat a wok or large, deep skillet over medium-high heat and add a teaspoon of butter.
Whisk in the eggs and cook, stirring often, until set. Transfer to a plate.
Add another tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Add onion and cook until translucent; about 2 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. Stir in garlic, then add frozen vegetables and cook until heated through. Season with a pinch of salt.
Soften 2 tablespoons of butter in the center of the skillet, then add cold rice to the skillet and stir to combine with the vegetables. Press down into the pan to brown the rice lightly for a couple of minutes – you'll hearing popping and sizzling and that's what you want – then stir and repeat a few times. It's ok if the rice is chunky; it will break up a bit as it warms.
Return the egg to the skillet and stir to heat through.
Remove from heat, then stir in 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Use more or less based on your liking.
Garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions and serve immediately.
Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container for up to 3-4 days. Microwave to reheat.

Butter will give your rice the very best flavor. But if you prefer, you can use olive oil.

This recipe is very easy to customize:

Use any veggies you like; fresh instead of frozen, broccoli, bok choy, bean sprouts, etc.
Use any protein you like; chicken, pork, bacon, etc.
Cooked brown rice or quinoa could also be used.

Calories: 285 kcal Carbohydrates: 38 g Protein: 7 g Fat: 11 g Saturated Fat: 3 g Cholesterol: 91 mg Sodium: 354 mg Potassium: 204 mg Fiber: 2 g Sugar: 1 g Vitamin A: 2545 IU Vitamin C: 6.4 mg Calcium: 40 mg Iron: 1.2 mg

Keyword egg fried rice, fried rice

Kristin Maxwell is the creator and main recipe developer, writer, and photographer of Yellow Bliss Road. A self-taught cook and self-appointed foodie, she specializes in easy, flavorful and approachable recipes for any home cook.