This Healthy Fried Rice Recipe is packed with chicken, veggies and brown rice. Full of flavor + so delicious – just like takeout chicken fried rice at home! This post is sponsored by our friends at ButcherBox.
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This healthy fried rice is one of our favorite quick and easy weeknight dinners. It’s light while still being filling and delicious. Plus, it’s much better than takeout fried rice!
If you’re looking for more healthy dinner recipes, check out this Chicken Broccoli Casserole.
Is Fried Rice Healthy? This Recipe Is!
Here’s what makes this fried rice better for you:
- Lower salt– Fried rice is typically loaded with salt. This recipe uses coconut aminos, which are lower in salt than soy sauce, and does not have any other added salt to it.
- Veggie Loaded- We added carrots, bell peppers and peas for a veggie loaded meal. You could add whatever veggies you have at home – mushrooms, cabbage.. pretty much anything will work!
- High Protein- This fried rice is made with ButcherBox organic chicken breasts that are low in fat and high in protein.
- Healthy carbs– We used brown rice to add whole grains to this dish. Brown rice is a complex carb and it can help you stay full for longer.
Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE takeout. After cooking all week… sometimes on Friday night the only thing I want to do is veg out in my sweatpants and eat something someone else has cooked for me.
It always seems like the best idea in the moment, but then the next day I usually don’t feel great.
That’s why I came up with healthier versions of my favorite takeout foods like Healthy Chicken Pad Thai , Spicy Ground Turkey Stir Fry, Cashew Chicken, and Healthy Orange Chicken!
This lighter fried rice is right up there with healthy takeout fakeout food!
Healthy Ingredients for Fried Rice:
To make this healthy fried rice you’ll need:
- toasted sesame oil
- ButcherBox Organic Chicken Breasts
- onion, garlic, peppers, carrots
- ground ginger, pepper
- coconut aminos
- red pepper flakes
- eggs
- frozen peas
- cooked rice (white or brown)
We have listed substitutions/ways to customize this recipe with what you have on hand below in the green shaded box.
Whenever we are cooking, we like to use ButcherBox meat. If you’ve never heard of ButcherBox, they’re a meat delivery company that delivers the best quality meat right to your door! They have grass fed & grass finished beef, free range, organic chicken, wild caught seafood, and so much more.
We’ve used their boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this recipe. It’s my absolute favorite chicken to cook with. It has barely any fat on it and it cooks up to be so tender and juicy!
If you want to learn more about ButcherBox, we wrote a whole ButcherBox Review that you can read here.
Want free ground beef? Right Now when you join ButcherBox you can get free ground beef for a year and $10 off! That’s up to 24 pounds of ground beef for free!
Important Note: This is not an authentic fried rice recipe. My goal is always to share recipes that are a bit healthier and made with affordable, accessible ingredients so everyone can enjoy them regardless of their food allergies or dietary restrictions. If you are looking for an authentic fried rice recipe – check out this recipe!
How to Make Healthy Homemade Fried Rice:`
Making fried rice is super simple!
- In a pan sauté ButcherBox chicken for 15-20 minutes until brown on edges. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan sauté onions and garlic for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes add in peppers and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Push the veggie mixture to one side of the pan. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs until combined. Add eggs to the pan and scramble on the empty side of the pan.
- Once eggs are cooked (about 1-2 minutes), stir together with veggie mixture.
- Add pepper, ginger, red pepper flakes, toasted sesame oil, coconut aminos, thawed peas, cooked rice and cooked chicken back to the pot. Stir over low heat until combined and warm.
If you want to make fried rice in your instant pot, check out our Instant Pot Fried Rice recipe.
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We love our Caraway Pans for cooking quick meals like this. They’re completely nontoxic and non stick! Check out our Caraway Cookware Review.
Substitutions for this Healthy Fried Rice Recipe:
Rice: You can use any type of rice in this recipe. Brown or white rice will work. You can also use cauliflower rice.
Egg free: You can simply omit the eggs.
Oil: You can sub toasted sesame oil with olive oil, avocado oil or canola oil. It will not be as flavorful and we really recommend using toasted sesame oil.
Vegetables: Bulk up the dish by adding more carrots or peppers! I’ve also added mushrooms and match-stick sliced zucchini and it was yummy! If you love veggies & chicken together – try this Chicken Vegetable Soup.
Vegetarian: Feel free to skip the chicken and bulk up on veggies to make this vegetarian or check out our cauliflower fried rice recipe!
Protein: You can sub in shrimp for the chicken if you’d like. Shrimp take much less time to cook, depending on their size I would cook about 2 minutes on each side until shrimp begin to turn pink. You can also use shaved steak/beef if you prefer! I have not tried this recipe with cooked tofu but I think it would work! ButcherBox also carries wild-caught shrimp and lots of grass-fed beef options! We also love our Shrimp Stir Fry!
Chicken: Boneless skinless thighs or chicken tenders will also work.
Coconut Aminos: If you don’t have coconut aminos – substitute soy sauce or Bragg’s liquid aminos. If you use Bragg’s, use 1/2 the amount as it is much saltier.
How to cook rice:
You can cook your rice on the stovetop, instant pot, or even in the crockpot. You can also buy/use pre cooked or frozen brown rice in this recipe!
Stovetop: Check the back of your rice for instructions on how to cook the rice.
Instant Pot: Different types of rice require different cooking times. Here’s a link to how to cook rice in your instant pot.
Crockpot: I usually make my rice in the instant pot because it’s quicker but here’s a link to cooking rice in the crockpot.
Do you boil rice before frying it? Yes, you need to cook rice completely before frying it. You don’t need to boil it, you can cook it on the stove, instant pot, crockpot, or even in the microwave – but it does need to be cooked before adding it to fried rice.
Best Rice for Fried Rice
Long grain white rice is the best rice for fried rice. It cooks up to be very fluffy but also doesn’t stick together. Jasmine rice is often used for fried rice because it has a light flavor and texture.
Any rice will work in fried rice though. Use up whatever you have!
Is basmati rice good for fried rice? Yes! We recommend using basmati or Jasmine rice for fried rice. Both are long grain white rice and will work very well in fried rice!
Seasoning for Fried Rice
The seasoning for fried rice is a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. The veggies and eggs also add extra flavor to it!
Tips for making Homemade Fried Rice
- Cutting carrots – an easy way to get small pieces of carrot is to peel in ‘ribbons’ and then chop with a knife. They’ll cook perfectly in this recipe that way!
- Precooked rice – You can buy precooked frozen brown rice or make it in the instant pot to save time. For brown rice we do a 2:1 ratio of chicken broth to rice at 14 minutes.
- Veggies – You can buy pre cut veggies to save time. I love the Healthy 8 Mix from Trader Joe’s. Coleslaw mix or broccoli slaw mix will also work! Load it up with as many veggies as you can!
- Extra soy sauce/coconut aminos – You might want your fried rice a little saucier (or saltier!) adding a few extra drops of coconut aminos or soy sauce can help with this
Fried Rice FAQ
Fried rice typically has a lot of fat and carbs, but this healthier version is great for weight loss! You can easily load it up with veggies and protein making it a great weight loss friendly meal!
No! Homemade fried rice isn’t bad for you – it can easily be made super healthy! This recipe has lots of veggies, protein and healthy carbs.
Long grain brown rice is the best rice for fried rice.
The secret to fried rice is a good sauce, and adding in alot of veggies. Fried rice can be boring if you only use a few veggies and a little bit of sauce. Adding in different colors, textures and flavors really helps to bring flavor to good fried rice!
You can add flavor to fried rice by adding more soy sauce or coconut aminos. Toasted sesame oil and ground ginger also help add a lot of flavor to fried rice
Homemade fried rice has an estimated 420 calories per 2 cup servings. Homemade fried rice is higher in protein and lower in fat, sodium and carbs than typical fried rice.
Storing/Serving Healthy Fried Rice
Storing: I keep this healthy fried rice in the refrigerator for up to 4 days
Reheating: You can reheat this fried rice in a pan or in the microwave.
Freezing: We have not tried freezing this healthy fried rice but I think it would work!
Healthy Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ButcherBox Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup onion finely chopped (1 medium onion)
- 1 tablespoon garlic finely minced
- 1 cup red bell pepper diced in small squares (1 large pepper)
- 1 cup carrots peeled then finely chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional- omit if you like less spice
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 1 cup frozen green peas thawed
- 2 cups cooked white or brown rice (about 2/3 dry brown rice)
Instructions
- Cook rice according to the directions. Rice cooking time will vary depending on what type/method you use.
- In a pan, heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Sauté chicken for 15-20 minutes until brown on edges. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, add additional 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Heat the oil and sauté onions and garlic for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes add in peppers and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes until they start to soften.
- Push the veggie mixture to one side of the pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together eggs until combined. Add eggs to the pan and scramble on the empty side of the pan.
- Once eggs are cooked (about 1-2 minutes), stir together with veggie mixture.
- Add pepper, ginger, red pepper flakes, toasted sesame oil, coconut aminos, thawed peas, cooked rice and cooked chicken back to the pot. Stir over low heat until combined and warm.
- Serve with sesame seeds or chopped scallions + enjoy!
Heidi Magnenat says
Very easy and flavorful!
Heather Diane says
Yet another five star winner! I didn’t have any bell pepper or carrots on hand so I swapped with white and red cabbage. Everything else I followed to the letter. Great recipe, and will add to my regular rotation!
G says
Great. But do not put the garlic in that early Jesus 😐 garlic should be in the pan no more than 2 mins
Debra says
How many boil in bag brown rice bags to use for this recipe?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Sorry but I don’t know! You’ll have to google how much cooked rice is in those bags.
Natalie says
I subbed out the aminos for soy sauce as recommended and it was so so salty!! I don’t know if the sauce proportions are wrong, but will not be making this with soy sauce again.
Shannon Hilliker says
This was easy and really good! Fed a family of 4 for dinner and 2 lunches. Leftovers were just as good!
Mindy says
Made this last night and it was delicious! Only tweaks I made were using chicken thighs instead of breasts and adding in some chopped onion and celery. Will definitely keep this recipe in the rotation. Thanks!!
Jenn says
Really great recipe and directions, I added some Fenucreek seasoning only because I just got it and wanted to try it. Thank you so much!
Sara Ann Leonard says
Just to clarify! So it’s 6oz of chicken and 2 cups of the rice/veggie mix= 1 serving??
The Clean Eating Couple says
The serving size is: 6 oz chicken + rice/veggies. Which is about 2 cups total. If you’re counting macros – nutrition facts are just an estimate. Unless you pick out the chicken, weigh it, pick out the rice, weigh it, etc – it’s not going to be accurate
Lisette says
This is such a perfect alternative to Chinese take out that leave you feeling full. This is nice , light and full of fresh ingredients .. Easy recipe to follow and taste delicious !
Anthony Giacomini says
Super easy and seriously delicious! This is definitely making the family dinner rotation!
Kylie says
I loosely followed this recipe, and I really enjoyed the result! After cooking my chicken, I let it marinate in the 1/2 cup of soy sauce. (I used low-sodium soy sauce instead of aminos because I’m a poor college kid.) This helped ensure every bite of chicken had flavor in it. I used a bag of frozen chopped onions and a mixed bag of frozen peas and carrots, which all worked great even without thawing. I added an entire bag of shredded cabbage, 3 eggs instead of 2, about 4 cups of rice, and an extra 1/4 cup of soy sauce. It turned out GREAT and it produced five generous helpings that will get me through most of the week! The only reason I’m giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because I changed so many things, and I don’t know how it would have turned out if I followed the recipe to a T.
The Clean Eating Couple says
If you really enjoyed the result – I’m not sure why you’d leave 4 stars but glad you liked it!
JAX says
1″Cubes of Cubes of chicken so Chicken and Fried rice here … I cut it up like you would for Fried Rice and made it. Not into huge chunks that you would never ever find in any fried rice but the recipe says fried rice not Chicken fried rice all’s Good recipe 👍
Lois says
After our first bite my husband and I exclaimed “This is really good!”. Just recently discovered your site but the recipes I’ve tried have been good. Looking forward to preparing more. I really appreciate you supplying the nutrition facts as there are things I need to track in our diet as my husband has a heart condition. We’re trying to be mindful of what we eat and stay within the cardiologists guidelines. Thank you!
Patricia says
Finally a chicken fried rice that the flavor is amazing! I definitely will make this again
Kelcey Foughty says
One word AMAZING!! 🤩🤩🤩 We didn’t use carrots and added peas and mushrooms! Highly recommend!
Cori says
Make this all the time! Quick and yummy.
Natalie says
I have made this recipe multiple times and I have never stopped loving it. So good and easy! Also is great warmed up for a few days (if you can have it last that long!)
Sam says
Really Tasty, This is a keeper
Lauren says
It is so good!
Tamara says
My new favorite recipe! It’s light and easy. The perfect lunch meal!
Agnieszka says
Can I freeze it?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Check the storage info – We have not tried freezing this healthy fried rice but I think it would work!
Taylor says
I made this dish for the first time today as a meal prep for work and it was amazing! Super easy to make and overall a delicious dish. I will most definitely be making this more often!
Margie says
I made this recipe last night and it is delicious, in fact I am eating the little that was left for breakfast, can’t get enough. I will be making this again for my grandkids I know they will love it also.
Linda says
This is delicious! If you have a refined clean taste bud, maybe go lighter on Coconut Amino’s or switch to organic lite soy sauce. I love it oh and I used yellow pepper.