My instant pot chicken fried rice is a healthy version of the takeaway classic. Just as tasty and in my opinion, even better! Packed full of tasty chicken, peppers rice and scrambled egg.
Much cheaper than from the takeaway and super quick and easy to make.
How to make instant pot chicken fried rice
My chicken fried rice is really easy and quick to make. You could have it ready in the time it takes to get a takeaway!
First, prepare the rice by rinsing under a cold tap until the water comes out almost clear (around 2 minutes). Now set the pot to saute and add the oil. Once the oil is hot add the egg and scramble (see the video if you don't know how to do this). When the egg is scrambled, remove it and set aside (no need to clean the pot). Add more oil and then fry the onion until softened (around 3 minutes). Now add the pepper garlic and carrots. Add the diced chicken and roughly brown. Now add the rice and chicken stock. Thoroughly deglaze the pot if necessary and then put the lid on. Seal the lid and set it on high pressure for 3 minutes. Leave it under pressure for another 10 minutes and then do a quick release. When the pin drops, remove the lid and stir everything together. Add the peas, soy sauce sesame oil and reserved scrambled egg. Mix well together and put the lid back on loosely to allow the peas and egg to warm through (around 2 minutes). remove the lid, stir, serve and enjoy!
What are the ingredients in chicken fried rice?
The ingredient list is simple and everything should be easy to obtain at the supermarket or local store.
- Long grain rice (I used basmati)
- Sunflower oil
- Eggs (I used my own free-range eggs)
- Onion (I used white, but red would also be good)
- Garlic
- Pepper (any colour will be fine)
- Carrots
- Chicken breast
- Chicken stock
- Frozen peas
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
I hope you will agree that this is an easy list of readily available ingredients.
What to serve with my instant pot fried rice and chicken?
I served mine with a simple side of steamed broccoli, but any leafy green vegetable would be good. Sesame seeds would make a great garnish for this dish.
Are there any substitutions I can do if I don't have all the ingredients?
Absolutely,
- You could change it from chicken fried rice to pork, beef or even prawn (shrimp). All timings would remain the same.
- Any long grain rice will work well.
- If you have no fresh garlic or onion, powdered would also work well - around 1 tbsp of each should be good.
- You don't need to use chicken stock, vegetable stock or even water would work.
- I used dark soy sauce (low sodium), but light would be just as good.
- Sesame oil can be omitted if you are allergic, however it does add to the overall taste.
This is a really flexible dish and a lack of some ingredients is no excuse for not trying it.
Is my instant pot chicken fried rice recipe healthy?
My fried rice recipe contains all natural ingredients with no added sugars. You won't find any of the bad fats or MSG which you might find from a takeaway. As long as you use low sodium soy sauce, the recipe is reasonably low in salt and contains a good balance of essential nutrients.
Can this recipe be made vegetarian?
By omitting the chicken and not using chicken stock, this recipe would make as great vegetarian fried rice.
Is it possible to scale the recipe up or down?
Yes, it is. You could easily double the recipe in all pots 6l (6qt) and above and the recipe would half well in all size pots. In either case, all timings should remain exactly the same.
Instant pot chicken fried rice
Ingredients
- 500 g Long grain rice (rinsed and drained)
- 2 tbsp Sunflower oil Most vegetable oils will work.
- 4 Large Eggs (whisked)
- 1 Medium Onion (roughly chopped)
- 4 Cloves Garlic (roughly chopped)
- 1 Whole Pepper (bell pepper) - roughly chopped Any colour.
- 200 g Carrots (roughly chopped)
- 600 g Chicken breast (diced)
- 500 ml Chicken stock Vegetable stock or water would also be good.
- 150 g Frozen peas
- 4 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Sesame oil (toasted)
Instructions
- Set the instant pot to saute and add 1 tbsp of the oil to the inner pot. When the oil is hot add the whisked eggs. Scramble the eggs until fully cooked.
- Remove the scrambled egg and set aside.
- Add another tbsp of oil and then fry the onion until softened (around 3 minutes). Now add the garlic, pepper and carrots.
- Add the chicken and fry until roughly browned. Now add the rinsed rice.
- Add the chicken stock and thoroughly deglaze the pot. Put the lid on and set on high pressure for 3 minutes.
- Leave under pressure for a further 10 minutes and then do a quick release. When the pin drops, remove the lid and stir everything together.
- Add the peas, soy sauce, sesame oil and reserved scrambled eggs. Mix everything together and then put the lid back on loosely. Leave for a couple of minutes to warm through the peas and egg.
- Remove the lid. Stir once more. serve and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
I made mine using an 8l (8qt) instant pot and I have also made it in the 6l (6qt) pot. I haven’t made it in the 3l (3qt) pot, but I’m sure it would work just as well with the same timings.
Leftovers will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge and will freeze well for around 6 months. Chicken fried rice will reheat well provided you store it correctly and heat until it is piping hot (either microwave, stovetop or instant pot).
For some interesting information about the history of fried rice, please click here.
If you have enjoyed my recipe for instant pot chicken fried rice, please check out some of my other Chinese inspired recipes below:
- Instant pot firecracker chicken
- Instant pot Chinese chicken
- Instant pot orange chicken
- Instant pot sweet and sour pork
- Instant pot bang bang shrimp
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please leave them in the box below and I would be delighted to help.
Great recipe! Our family loves Chinese food but the takeout versions are always so full of fats (oils) and sugar. We opt for creating our own at home but had not thought of using our instapot. Your recipe has inspired me to try that, maybe even tonight.
As a vegetarian, I like that you offered a possible substitute. We often substitute either seitan or tofu for the meats and use vegetable broth in place of the meat protein. The result is just as good. Thanks for thinking of the vegetarians in the world!
Thank you for inspiring me to try an easier and healthier version of Chinese take-out.
Thanks Diane. I'm sure you will enjoy it.
Yet another great recipe Andy. We made this last night and it was absolutely perfect. I left the chicken out and added some extra veg as we are vegetarians. I will be checking out some more of your recipes.
Thanks for taking your time and providing us with this great recipe!
Thanks Sariyah. I'm sure you will find some more that you will like.