You know what I love about leftovers? EVERYTHING! LOL. No, seriously I love when we have leftovers that I can easily spin into a different meal. This easy one-pan chicken fried rice is no different. We had leftover rice and mixed veggies. I cut up an onion, dice up some fresh pineapple (I guess I should have called this chicken & pineapple fried rice) and cut up some thin chicken breast. Add in a few eggs, a little seasoning and some sauce and in about 15-20 minutes, dinner is served. You really can’t beat that.
The great thing is you can think of this like one of those kitchen sink salads. You can basically use whatever leftovers you have to make a simple fried rice. If I happened to have baked a whole chicken (or bought a rotisserie from our grocer), I can always use pieces of that. Leftover steak? Frozen shrimp? A draw full of veggies? Any tropical fruits on hand? You name it and it will make a delicious fried rice. And you know what? You can make the fried rice plain and freeze it for future use. Or you can freeze plain rice and use it for this recipe at any time.
I use a minimal amount of low sodium soy sauce. We like it this way plus for health reasons and due to the kiddos, we keep sodium intake to a minimum but feel free to add a little bit more if you need to. I also add an extra egg to the hubs portion because he loves all things eggs. FYI, the recipe includes scallions which while they can certainly be considered optional, make this rice so much better. I didn’t have any on hand but I included it in the recipe anyway. Do it!
Try this: One Pot Pasta
I also love that this entire dish only requires one pan. You start in segments and then bring everything back together at the end. Yippee for easier cleanup.
One-Pan Chicken Fried Rice
- 2 Tablespoons of sesame seed oil
- 1 cup white onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 4 thin sliced chicken breasts, cubed
- 2 egg
- 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
- 2 cup rice, cooked
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, cubed (optional)
- 2 green onions, chopped (including the green stems)
- Pinch of black pepper
- Place a wok or large deep pan over medium heat and add 1½ tablespoons of sesame seed oil.
- Add in the chopped onions and sauté until translucent. Then add in the minced garlic.
- Add the cubed chicken breasts to the other side and cook until tender.
- Add the mixed veggies to the pan and combine all ingredients together.
- Push the mixture to one side, then add the eggs and scramble it until cooked.
- Stir in the remaining sesame oil, cooked rice, soy sauce, half the green onions and pinch of pepper. Allow the fried rice to cook for an additional 5 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with additional green onions.

What’s your favorite one-pan meal or your favorite “kitchen sink” leftovers dish?
2 Comments
melissa cushing
August 1, 2016 at 8:44 AMThanks so much for sharing this yummy recipe! All of your food recipes look delicious BUT i love a good delicious bowl of homemade fried rice for sure! Thanks so much for sharing! I cannot wait to make it for myself 🙂
M J
August 2, 2016 at 11:38 PMThank you Melissa. Enjoy