Easy Ham Fried Rice made with leftover rice and thrown together in less than 20 minutes! This is a go-to quick weeknight meal!
We all love quick and easy recipes that can be made in less than 30 minutes! If you’re looking for more easy recipes you may enjoy this Black Bean Quesadilla, Chicken Caesar Wraps, and Pulled Pork Nachos.
What I LOVE about this recipe:
- Main dish or side dish. Most people think of fried rice as a side dish served with Chinese food. This could absolutely be served that way (like with this general tso’s chicken or this kung pao chicken), BUT, it also has all of the makings of a great main dish.
- Kid and family approved. It’s completely delicious and my whole family–toddlers included–asked for seconds.
- Use that leftover rice. The key with great fried rice is to use cold leftover rice. If you try to use fresh hot rice it will get clumpy and stick together.
How to Make Ham Fried Rice:
1. Cook eggs. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or frying pan. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and add to the pan when the oil is hot. Stir gently with a wooden spoon just until cooked. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Sauté veggies and ham. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add peas, carrots and ham and sauté for several minutes. Remove to the bowl with the eggs.
3. Fry rice. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the rice and toss every 30 seconds until it’s lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
4. Combine. Add the chicken stock, soy sauce and green onion and toss to combine.
Dietary Restrictions and Adaptations:
- Gluten free: This ham fried rice is pretty much gluten free by nature but many soy sauces include gluten so be sure to find a gluten free soy sauce.
- Vegetarian: for vegetarian ham fried rice, sub small bits of sautéed tofu or simply add additional vegetables and omit the ham.
- Sub Brown rice: Sub cooked brown rice at a 1:1 ratio for a healthier ham fried rice.
- Add vegetables: consider adding additional vegetables including sauteed onions, asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, etc.
Make Ahead And Freezing Instructions:
To make ahead: Use leftover, cooked rice that can be prepared and refrigerated several days ahead of time.
To freeze: Allow ham fried rice to cool completely and store it in a freezer safe bag, pushing all the air out before zipping closed. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rewarming.
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Recipe
Ham Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked, cold leftover rice
- 2 large eggs
- 4 Tablespoons sesame oil (or peanut oil)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup carrot , peeled and diced
- 3/4 cup chopped ham
- 2 Tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce , or more, to taste
- 3 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Leftover cooked and cooled rice works best, and could be made earlier in the day and refrigerated until cold. Use wet fingers to separate the rice grains.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a wok or frying pan. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and add to the pan when the oil is hot.
- Stir gently with a wooden spoon just until cooked. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add peas, carrots and ham and saute for several minutes. Remove to the bowl with the eggs.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the rice and toss every 30 seconds until it’s lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock, soy sauce and green onion and toss to combine. Return eggs and veggies to the pan.
- Add more soy sauce, to taste, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Gluten free: This ham fried rice is pretty much gluten free by nature but many soy sauces include gluten so be sure to find a gluten free soy sauce.
- Vegetarian: for vegetarian ham fried rice, sub small bits of sautéed tofu or simply add additional vegetables and omit the ham.
- Sub Brown rice: Sub cooked brown rice at a 1:1 ratio for a healthier ham fried rice.
- Add vegetables: consider adding additional vegetables including sauteed onions, asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, etc.
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe April 2016. Updated March 2021.
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Easy to make & the whole family loved it & even asked for seconds!
Very quick, easy and tasty. Didn’t have sesame oil, so toasted sesame seeds in wok first, then removed and added back in at end. The ingredients list indicates 4T sesame oil but the instructions only uses 3. Is 4th used as”drizzle” when complete? Definitely adding to the rotation-with sesame oil next time am sure it will be awesome!
Fried rice has been a go-to for me for years; a great way to get vegetables into a meal, and a great way to use up leftovers too! I use LOTS of veggies, and everyone in my family loves this. Passing along your recipe to my kids!
I love Ham Fried Rice. I get it at a local Chinese restaurant. I can’t wait to try this recipe, I think I’ll try it with broccoli. Thank you for sharing it.
We LOVE this recipe. We found it a few months ago and now we make it often. We make it as written, except we don’t care for green onions so we saute a small yellow onion with the ham and other vegetables. It even fits well on my WW plan!
My son loved this. Surprisingly because he doesn’t really like anything. My husband also approved.
I made this for dinner tonight and loved it! Very quick and easy and I know I’ll make it regularly. Thanks for including freezer instructions too, always a good thing to get a few meals ahead!
I made this recipe tonight and it was excellent! I had leftover ham from Easter
(I used your yummy pineapple/brown sugar glaze for the ham…. delicious!!) As Taryn suggests, you could add just about anything and it would be great. Thank you for your food blog! I have made lots of your recipes and every one of them has been so good.
Wow, easy and delicious! I love being able to use whatever left over veggies you have on hand too. I added onion, garlic and cabbage. Next time I’ll experiment with more veggies, even some cauliflower rice to lighten it a bit. Thank you!
Just wondering which to use. In the ingredients it says chicken broth. Then in the directions it says chicken stock. Can you use either one?
Either will work great.
You took the fear out of making fried rice. This recipe is easy and the outcome was very yummy.
I appreciate the oil option and tip for making same day rice, both were applicable to me.
In the absence of chicken stock, I used my ham stock (I always save meat juices/drippings.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Great dish, added finely chopped mushroom into dish with 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce.
Just the best recipe ever, as is! This is now a #1 favorite for me.
Delicious!!! My husband loves Chinese food and he was very impressed that this was from a recipe that I made. Thanks for such an easy, tasteful recipe.
Great recipe! I used brown rice to make it a little healthier and it was so good! Will make in the future!