This fast fried rice with Minute Rice—or another instant rice—is ready in about 10 minutes, with no leftover rice needed. All you need is a hot skillet and a few pantry staples.
Keep it plain as fried rice without vegetables, or add egg, vegetables, or both. Add chicken or shrimp to turn it into a quick meal.
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Featured Comment by Jerri:
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"This dish has made it into our regular meal rotation. My husband loves it!"
🤔 TL;DR — Recipe Summary
What: Quick fried rice made with Minute Rice or another instant rice—no leftover rice needed.
Why: Ready in about 10 minutes and easy to customize—make it without vegetables or add egg, vegetables, chicken, or shrimp.
How: Cook the rice in broth, combine it with soy sauce and your chosen add-ins, then fry until lightly browned.
🍚 Ingredients for Fried Rice with Minute Rice
Main Ingredients
- Instant rice: Minute Rice or a similar instant rice.
- Chicken broth: Adds more flavor than water.
- Butter or oil: For cooking the onion and frying the rice.
- Soy sauce: Provides the classic savory fried-rice flavor.
Optional Add-Ins
- Onion: Adds flavor but may be omitted.
- Egg: Use one or two, or leave it out.
- Vegetables: Peas, carrots, bell pepper, broccoli, cabbage, or snow peas.
- Protein: Precooked chicken, shrimp, ham, or pork.
- Sesame oil: A small amount adds traditional toasted flavor.
- Oyster sauce: Adds richer savory flavor; use it with or in place of some soy sauce.
- Green onion: Add as a garnish before serving.
Vegetables and proteins added during cooking should be fully cooked and hot because this quick recipe does not provide enough time to cook them from raw.
👨🍳 How to Make Fried Rice with Minute Rice
1. Stir the instant rice into boiling chicken broth, using the amount listed in this recipe—not the package directions. Remove from the heat, cover for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
2. If using onion, sauté it in butter. Add the egg, if using, and scramble just until barely set.
3. Transfer the rice to the skillet and add the soy sauce. Mix in the onion and egg, if using, along with sesame oil or any hot, precooked add-ins.
4. Stir-fry everything over medium-high heat for 3–4 minutes, letting it sit briefly between stirs to develop some color.
✅ Pro Tip: A little browning means more flavor—don’t rush the frying.
👇 This is a quick overview, not the full recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for complete instructions and exact measurements.
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😊 Tips for Minute Rice Fried Rice
- Use the recipe’s liquid ratio: Cook 1⅓ cups of instant rice with 1 cup of broth. Using less liquid than the package directions keeps the rice drier so it fries better.
- Heat add-ins first: Fully cook and warm any meat before adding it. Microwave frozen vegetables until hot so they don’t cool the skillet or remain undercooked.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Serve this quick fried rice as a side dish with one of these Chinese-style main dishes:
❄️ Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerate: Cool promptly and store in an airtight container for 3–4 days.
- Freeze: Freeze for up to 2 months. The rice may be slightly softer after thawing.
- Reheat: Microwave in short intervals or warm in a skillet with a splash of water or broth until hot.
❓ FAQs
Yes. Cook Minute Rice in broth, then stir-fry it with soy sauce and your choice of add-ins. No leftover rice is needed, and it is ready in about 10 minutes.
Yes. For fried rice without vegetables, omit the onion and all other vegetables. The egg is also optional and can be omitted independently. Add a precooked protein if desired.
Instant rice, such as Minute Rice, has been fully cooked and dehydrated, so it cooks quickly when hot liquid is added. For this recipe, use 1 cup of broth with 1⅓ cups of rice for the best stir-fry texture.
Use tamari labeled gluten-free instead of regular soy sauce. Also check the labels on the broth and any additional sauces or precooked ingredients.
📖The Recipe Card
Fried Rice with Minute Rice (Easy 10-Minute Recipe)
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cup instant rice - like Minute® Rice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1–2 eggs
- 1 small onion (diced)
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- sliced green onion - for topping
- bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, snow peas, or cabbage - cooked and hot
- shrimp, ham, pork, or chicken - cooked and hot
Step-by-Step Instructions
Cook the rice in broth
- Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in the instant rice, remove from the heat, and cover for 5 minutes. Microwave any frozen vegetables until hot.
Cook the optional onion and egg
- While the rice rests, melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. If using onion, sauté it for 1–2 minutes. Add the egg, if using, and scramble just until set.
Combine the rice and add-ins
- Fluff the rice and add it to the skillet with the soy sauce. Stir in sesame oil and any hot, fully cooked vegetables or proteins, if using.
Fry until lightly browned
- Stir-fry over medium-high heat for 3–4 minutes. Let the rice sit briefly between stirrings, so it develops a little browning.
Recipe Notes
Tips
- Add-ins: Fully cook and heat any meat or vegetables before adding them. Microwave frozen vegetables until hot because the brief stir-fry time will not cook them from raw.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days.
- Freeze for up to 2 months, but the texture may soften.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's Note: Originally Published May 14, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and improved organization.
Amber Smith says
Made this egg fried rice tonight with your recipe for boneless Chinese spare ribs. Oh my goodness, it was delicious, we absolutely loved it! I look forward to adding a bit of shrimp or chicken to the fried rice and making it the main course. So glad I found your recipe blog. I have a small family (2 adults and a 7 year old) and your recipes are the perfect size for the 3 of us. I've made a few dishes from your blog and my family has loved them all . Looking forward to trying more of them in the future. Thank you so much for sharing your delicious, quick dinner recipes.
Thea says
This dish should not be labeled as gluten free on pinterest by the way because it is not. There is wheat in regular soy sauce. Other than that great recipe.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Thea,
Welcome to the blog. That labeling is entirely on Pinterest and bloggers have nothing to do with it.
As you probably already know, soy sauce is made with soy and crushed wheat—so it is loaded with gluten.
Japanese tamari is a perfect substitute for soy sauce. It is usually made with only fermented soy, but some traditional versions may have a small amount of wheat, so check the label.
I just added this into the recipe post.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Dan
Jerri says
This dish has made it into our regular meal rotation. My husband loves it!
Sandi says
Could this be made with cauliflower rice or would it be too soggy?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Sandi,
I see a couple of issues with the cauliflower but I will start by saying I have never used cauliflower rice for anything, this is based on my understanding of what it is.
First, you don't rehydrate it like rice so the first part with the chicken broth is out. So you lost that taste.
Next, I understand that the longer you cook it, the softer it becomes, so the second part where we "fry" the dish to firm up the rice for the texture we want, it would seem to soften cauliflower rice instead.
Just my thoughts but I would say not a good choice.
Dan
Tabitha Surowiec says
So easy and so delicious! Will make many many more times! Thank you!!
Hailey says
Best fried rice recipe EVER!!!!!
Rich says
I really liked this and will certainly be making again. Didn't have broth or veggies on hand so I used water and some minced onion flakes. I used to much soy sauce (~1/4 cup)
and then I added some teriyaki sauce so it was a bit on the salty side. I will probably use low sodium soy sauce next time. It went quite well with fried chicken chunks and sweet Thai chile sauce.
Alisha Ross says
Ok, you have just made my day. I was just talking to my husband about wanting to make more things from scratch. This is awesome.
Regards
Ariel says
Thank you so much for posting this recipe!! I have crohns and love fried rice but with my diet I can't eat much fried in oil but this is amazing!! It works with my diet and actually doesn't make my stomach hurt thank you!!
Yukti Arora says
so tasty rice recipe i loved it, so keep posting.
Lina Di Marco says
Our bermese dog passed away not long ago so your dogs are lovely to look at...TY! Must one use minute rice; not a fan but did notice someone used reg rice.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Lina,
Welcome to the blog.
So sorry to hear about your Bernese. We are a "dog" house and were planning to wait a year or two after our previous golden died. But we couldn't take it more than 6 months and the doubled down with two. But they are cute.
Back to the recipe. I'm sure this recipe will work with some adjustments with regular long-grain rice. Just cook it a little dry and proceed.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Im says
When you say 1 1/2 cups minute rice are you saying 1/2 cup or 1 and 1/2?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Im,
Welcome to the blog.
This is 1 and 1/3 cup. I just changed the format of the number. I got a new recipe plugins and it has a better font so I update the look a bit.
Dan
Elizabeth Sandoval says
Great base recipe. Thanks.... I added a little of all the "scraps" I had on hand to go along with pork chops... So delicious.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Elizabeth,
Welcome to the blog and sorry for the delayed reply.
Glad is it is working well for you. When I look at this recipe, I always hope people will take it further but if I specify how, they will feel restrained. I hope people will see your comment.
Thanks for the note and rating. And again, sorry for the delayed response.
Dan
Nicole S says
Tried this tonight- thanks for sharing!!!
DrDan says
Hi Nicole,
Welcome to the blog. Thanks for the note and Happy Holidays.
Dan