11 One-Pan Fried Rice Recipes for Busy Weeknights (Fast, Flavorful & Minimal Mess)

Make weeknight dinners easier—and way more delicious—with these fried rice recipes. They’re fast, flexible, and cooked entirely in one pan.

By
Emily Johnson
Emily Johnson
Emily Johnson
Emily has worked as a food writer and editor for ten years, across publications such as Lucky Peach, Epicurious, Bon Appétit, and The New York Times Cooking.
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Published January 13, 2026
A serving of fried rice with peas and a fried egg on top, being scooped with a spoon from a white bowl

Serious Eats/ Amanda Suarez

Making restaurant-quality fried rice at home takes a bit of finesse and technique. The rice must be dry. You’ll need to get comfortable cooking over very high heat, frying in stages, and layering ingredients to build proper caramelization. You'll also need to resist the urge to over-sauce. None of this is difficult—and once you’ve nailed the method, you’ll have a go-to technique for transforming almost any mix of fridge leftovers into a wonderful meal. Below, we start with a foundational recipe from Kenji Lopez-Alt, followed by 10 of our favorite variations, including a Thai-spiced crab version, a chorizo-studded Mexican take, and more.

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  • Easy Fried Rice

    Vegetable fried rice inside a green ceramic bowl.

    Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg

    In this recipe, Kenji Lopez-Alt debunks the notion that fried rice must be made with day-old rice. While it's essential to use rice that’s dry enough to avoid clumping and achieve the right texture, you can replicate that dryness by spreading freshly cooked rice onto a sheet pan (or any wide, shallow vessel) and letting it rest for just a few minutes. For even better results, let it dry under a fan for about an hour to achieve optimal texture. Two more tips: If possible, use a wok—it creates multiple heat zones and makes tossing and flipping easier. And go lighter on the soy sauce than you might expect; you don’t want to overpower the rice’s natural flavor.

  • Kimchi and Spam Fried Rice

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    J. Kenji López-Alt

    The key to this fried rice—especially if you’re not using a wok—is to cook in stages, giving each ingredient enough time to brown and develop flavor through the Maillard reaction. That means resisting the urge to stir constantly (hard as it may be). Step away—wash a few dishes, even—and let your ingredients, especially the rice, sit undisturbed so a browned crust can form. You’ll also want to drain your kimchi; reducing its moisture helps it fry and caramelize more effectively. But don’t discard the juice—it gets added at the end to sauce the dish and ensure the kimchi’s bold flavor comes through. After all, what’s kimchi fried rice without a punch of kimchi?

  • Sheet-Pan Fried Rice

    A serving of fried rice with peas and a fried egg on top, being scooped with a spoon from a white bowl

    Serious Eats/ Amanda Suarez

    Ever wished your fried rice were crispier? In most versions, the joy lies in the contrast—some chewy bits, some crisp ones. But if you’re a crispy purist, the humble sheet pan is your best friend. Its greatest advantage over even your largest stainless steel skillet? Surface area. Preheat the pan, then spread the rice in an even layer to maximize contact and encourage deep browning as it crisps in the oven.

  • Fried Rice With Blistered Green Beans and Basil

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    J. Kenji López-Alt

    This fried rice gives vegetables equal billing with the rice. Blistered green beans develop deep, savory flavor while retaining their bright snap—making them a perfect addition to crispy-chewy fried rice. As with other versions, the key to achieving the right texture and browning on a relatively weak Western stovetop is to cook in stages and not shy away from high heat.

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  • Easy Mexican Fried Rice With Chorizo and Pickled Jalapeños

    A bowl of Mexicaninspired fried rice topped with garnishes and served on a cloth napkin

    Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

    Stir-frying is endlessly adaptable across flavor profiles, as Octavio Peña demonstrates in this Mexican-inspired fried rice. Chorizo takes center stage alongside the rice—its rendered fat becomes the cooking medium, infusing the dish with warm, spiced flavor. Cabbage and green onion are cooked until deeply charred for added savory depth, while pickled jalapeños stirred in at the end deliver heat and a pop of briny acidity.

  • Thai-Style Crab Fried Rice

    20160221-fried-rice-crab-thai-recipe-kenji-primary.jpg
    J. Kenji López-Alt

    Thai fried rice typically uses a gentler cooking method than the high-heat techniques called for in the recipes above. In this version, rather than starting with blazing-hot oil and finishing with aromatics, you’ll reverse the process: Begin by gently sautéing garlic and Thai bird chili to infuse the oil with their flavor. That said, this recipe still follows several of the same core principles for great fried rice. Season minimally to let the rice—and especially the crab—take center stage. Fry in batches to give each component time to brown and crisp properly. Finish with fish sauce, fresh herbs, and crisp cucumber.

  • Garlic Fried Rice

    20191023-chicken-adobo-vicky-wasik-22
    Vicky Wasik

    This is the simplest fried rice recipe on the list. Originally designed to accompany chicken adobo, it works beautifully as a side for a range of proteins. Or consider using its core technique—infusing oil with garlic, straining it, then frying rice in that fragrant oil—as a jumping-off point for versions with eggs, chicken, or other add-ins. The method prevents the garlic from burning while preserving it to stir in later, giving the entire dish a boost of aromatic intensity. Call it garlic maxing, if you must.

  • Shrimp Fried Rice

    shrimp fried rice in a small bowl
    Serious Eats / Tim Chin

    A common thread runs through all these recipes: Each aims to approximate the intense heat and smoky flavor of wok hei, even in a typical Western home kitchen. This version takes things a step further—Tim Chin recommends using a kitchen blowtorch on the vegetables and shrimp to achieve the right level of smoky char. This method also ensures that the shrimp, added at the very end, stay juicy inside while developing ideal browning on the outside.

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  • Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)

    A plate of rice topped with a fried egg on a plate, garnished with cucumber and tomato slices, and showered with fried shallots. There is another plate to the right periphery of the image, as well as several glasses of liquid in the shot.

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    Indonesia’s take on fried rice features two of the country’s signature ingredients: sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) and shrimp paste (terasi). To amplify the shrimp paste’s flavor, you’ll grind it with shallots, garlic, and chiles using a mortar and pestle; browning this mixture helps the aromatics bloom and deepens the dish’s complexity. The sweet soy sauce adds caramelized notes that balance the intense umami of the shrimp paste.

  • Quick and Easy Pork Fried Rice With Corn and Shishito Peppers

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    J. Kenji López-Alt

    This recipe highlights the inherently improvisational nature of fried rice—nearly any combination of on-hand ingredients can become an inspired stir-fry. In this case, Kenji Lopez-Alt had leftover pork, corn, and shishito peppers. But it’s worth seeking out these ingredients specifically: the corn adds sweetness to balance the salty, fatty pork, and the shishito peppers bring a tender snap and charred savoriness that elevate the dish.

  • Bacon and Egg Fried Rice

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    Sydney Oland

    Fried rice, reimagined for breakfast. Topping this endlessly adaptable dish with a dippy fried egg—rather than scrambling eggs into the rice—and adding bacon nudges it into breakfast territory without straying far from its classic flavor profile. Hot sauce is optional, but let’s be honest: you probably want it.

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