Easy Weeknight Chicken Fried Rice

Some nights you just need a quick and easy dinner that can be on the table with minimal prep or stress. This easy weeknight chicken fried rice has you covered. With only four ingredients, it’s also budget-friendly.

Why We Love Easy Weeknight Chicken Fried Rice

I’m a big fan of meals that require little prep work. This recipe uses Trader Joe’s Vegetable Fried Rice, so the only prep you need to do is marinate your chicken. It’s so easy that I can barely call it a recipe.

Secondly, this recipe is kid-friendly. The veggies are mixed in with the rice and all have such a great flavor that nobody complains about eating their vegetables. The extra bonus is that there’s no need to prepare an extra veggie on the side.

Finally, this is still great the next day. We love to double this recipe and use the leftovers for lunches during the week.

Ingredients

• Chicken Breast Tenders
• Teriyaki marinate (or marinade of your choice)
• Trader Joe’s Vegetable Fried Rice (in the freezer section)
• Vegetable Oil

How to Make Easy Weeknight Chicken Fried Rice

• Marinate chicken tenders in teriyaki marinate (or other marinade of your choice) for 30 minutes.
• Heat your flat top grill or skillet to medium high heat. Add your chicken tenders and cook until they reach an internal temperature of 165℉ (about 4-5 minutes per side). Remove chicken from grill or pan and set aside.
• Cook vegetable fried rice according to package instructions. While the rice is cooking, chop the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken to the rice during the last minute of cooking to warm through.
• Top with extra sauce and a few green onions to the chicken fried rice for a pop of extra flavor.

Modifications

• This rice is so versatile, you can use just about any protein. We have used it with shrimp, pork, and even tofu to keep it vegetarian.
• Scramble two eggs and add them to the rice while it cooks to add more flavor and protein.
• To make this recipe even easier, prep some shredded chicken in advance and just toss it in with the rice as it’s cooking. Some days, I prep it in the crockpot with the marinate or pull some premade packets out of the freezer and season them before adding them to the grill.

Easy Chicken Fried Rice

This simple chicken fried rice recipe can be ready in 15 minutes and is sure to please everyone in your family.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4

Equipment

• 1 Flat Top Grill or Skillet

Ingredients

  

• 1 lb chicken breast tenders
• 1/4 cup teriyaki marinade Or marinade of your choice
• 1 bag Trader Joe’s Vegetable Fried Rice
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

 

• Optional:Marinate chicken tenders in teriyaki marinate (or other marinade of your choice) for 30 minutes.
• Heat your flat top grill or skillet to medium high heat. Add your chicken tenders and cook until they reach an internal temperature of 165℉ (about 4-5 minutes per side). Remove chicken from grill or pan and set aside.
• Cook vegetable fried rice according to package instructions. While the rice is cooking, chop the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken to the rice during the last minute of cooking to warm through.

Notes

If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, you can always use any leftover cooked rice and your favorite frozen vegetables instead. You will need about 1.5 cups of rice and 1 cup of vegetables. 

To add extra flavor, top with soy sauce or any other sauce of your choice.

Optional: Scramble two eggs in the pan before adding the rice.

For more easy chicken recipes. Check out this post.