This easy ham fried rice is a to-go at our house. It’s quick, and cheap and everybody likes it. In this better than take out fried rice, diced ham, eggs, bacon, vegetables, cold rice and soy sauce are combined to make a delicious meal.
Ham fried rice is the perfect meal to use up leftover white rice. Not to mention the open pack of bacon, and the carton of eggs in the back of your fridge that you bought a few weeks ago.
Actually, most of the ingredients needed for this meal are probably sitting in your fridge already. It’s really easy to make and super good. And, if you find yourself with leftover white rice again, try this bacon fried rice.
This fried rice recipe is also a great way to use up leftover ham after the holidays and so is this ham and cheese casserole.
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Ingredients
- White rice – We use long grain white rice, you can use leftovers or make fresh. You’ll need about 4-5 cups cooked rice. For the best fried rice make sure it’s cold before cooking. For step by step instructions and tips visit our article on how to make white rice.
- Ham – This is a great recipe for leftover ham or you can use ham steaks.
- Bacon – Will add flavor and goes really well with the ham. Plus, we use the drippings to cook the eggs and the fried rice so nothing goes to waste.
- Eggs – Scrambled eggs are a must for fried rice as far as I’m concerned. They add color, flavor and nutrients.
- Vegetables – We go with frozen mixed vegetables in this ham fried rice because they hold their shape and they add flavor and color. Good choices include: peas, carrots, green beans, and corn.
- Soy Sauce – Use low sodium soy sauce because the bacon, ham and rice all have a good amount of salt already.
- Spices – Garlic, ginger powder and green onions will add plenty of flavor to the fried rice.
Recipe tips
- Don’t add salt to the fried rice. Ham, bacon, cooked rice and soy sauce all contain a good amount of salt already, for best results use low-sodium soy sauce. If you are sensitive to salt, then use low sodium ham, low sodium bacon and cut the salt for the white rice.
- Things move quickly in this recipe. Prepare all of the components for the fried rice and have them ready to go. Once you start cooking, there will be no time to stop and chop something. Getting everything ready to go will ensure nothing burns and this meal goes smoothly.
- For the best fried rice, use cold rice. Refrigerate the rice until completely cold and firm, or use leftover rice. The grains of fresh, just made rice are soft. When it’s mixed and fried it will mush and ball up. Cold, refrigerator rice is firm and the grains are separated.
- Cook the frozen vegetables to package directions, but use only half the recommended time on the package. You basically just want to defrost them; they will finish cooking with the fried rice. Drain them well.
If you’re making the white rice and not using leftovers: Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add 1½ cups of white rice and 1 teaspoon of salt and stir. Lower the heat to medium and boil, uncovered, until most of the water has cooked out and you can see the rice on the surface (approximately 5-7 minutes). Stir, lower the heat to low and cover. Cook the rice on low for about 25 minutes until done. Uncover and fluff with a fork. Let it cool some, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until it’s chilled.
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a large, deep, non-stick skillet or wok, over medium heat until crispy. Then use some of the bacon drippings to cook the eggs. Reserve the bacon and scrambled eggs for later.
- Place the skillet/wok back over the heat. When the bacon grease is hot, but not smoking, add the diced ham.
- Add the garlic and ginger.
- Add the mixed vegetables.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the rice. Cook, while stirring until it starts to steam.
- Add the soy sauce and continue stirring until the rice is coated.
- Add the scrambled eggs, then the bacon and green onions. Lower the heat further, cover and let the ham fried rice sit for a few minutes to let the flavors come together.
Serving and storing
Garnish the fried rice with extra green onions, if desired, serve and enjoy.
Store leftover fried rice in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a non-stick skillet or the microwave until heated through.
You may also like the take-out favorites:
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📖 Recipe
Ham Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3-4 Bacon Slices cut into ½ inch pieces
- 4 Large Eggs beaten
- 10-12 ounces Cooked Ham diced into ½ inch cubes (we used ham steak, but leftover ham works well too)
- 2 Garlic Cloves minced or grated
- ½ teaspoon Ginger Powder
- 2 cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables defrosted and drained (use plain mixed vegetables like carrots, peas, green beans, etc.)
- 4-5 cups Cooked White Rice OR 1½ cups white rice, 3 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce plus 1-2 tablespoons if needed
- 3 tablespoons Green Onion finely chopped – plus extra for garnish, if desired
Instructions
Instructions to make white rice if not using leftovers
- Bring 3 cups of water to a boil over high heat. When the water is boiling add 1½ cup of white rice and 1 teaspoon of salt, stir well. Lower the heat to medium and boil, uncovered, until most of the water has cooked out and you can see the rice on the surface (approximately 5-7 minutes). Stir the rice, lower the heat to low and cover. Cook the rice on low for about 25 minutes until done.
- Take the rice off the heat, uncover and fluff with a fork. Let the rice cool. Once it has cooled some, add it to a bowl and refrigerate until it’s chilled.
Cook the bacon
- Cook the bacon in a large, deep, non-stick skillet or wok, over medium heat until crispy, about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove the bacon from the pan using a slotted spoon. Drain all but 1-2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the skillet and reserve about 1 teaspoon for the eggs. Take the skillet off the heat until you’re ready to make the fried rice.
Cook the eggs
- Add the eggs to a bowl and beat until mixed.
- Add about 1 teaspoon of the bacon drippings to a small, non-stick skillet. Cook the eggs, stirring and scrambling as you go, for 2½ - 3 minutes until cooked through. Remove the eggs from the heat and reserve for later.
Defrost the vegetables
- Cook the frozen vegetables to package directions, using half of the recommended time on the package. Drain well and reserve.
Make the fried rice
- Place the large skillet/wok (with the bacon drippings) back over medium-high heat. When the bacon grease is hot, but not smoking, add diced ham and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and ginger, stir and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the mixed vegetables and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the rice. Cook the rice until it warms up and starts to steam about 3-5 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
- Next, add the ¼ cup of soy sauce and continue stirring until the rice is coated.
- Add the eggs and keep stirring, add another 1 or 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce to get everything completely coated, if needed (as a reference we added a little less than 1 tablespoon to ours).
- Lastly, stir in the bacon and green onions and lower the heat to low. Cover the skillet and let the ham fried rice sit for 5-7 minutes to let all the flavors come together.
Notes
- Don’t add salt to the fried rice. Use low-sodium soy sauce and, if you’re sensitive to salt, use low sodium bacon, low sodium ham and cut the salt on the white rice.
- Things move quickly in this recipe. Have all of the ingredients prepped before you start cooking.
- For the best fried rice, use cold rice. Refrigerate the rice until completely cold and firm, or use leftover rice.
- The cook time included does not include making white rice (which will take about 30 minutes). Chilling the rice will be a couple of hours at least.
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
Georgina Camacho
Awesome, delicious , easy to make, perfect, THANK YOU ELIZABETH
Elizabeth
Thank you Georgina. I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it, this one is a personal favorite.