Make this easy Ham Fried Rice for a meal that the whole family will love! This takeout-style fried rice pairs well with so many dishes and is ready in a flash.
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This ham fried rice is a fantastic meal for repurposing delicious leftover ham and veggies from your crisper drawer or freezer.
This dish is easily adaptable to use what you have on hand, and you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite takeout-style rice in the comfort of your own home. Pants are even optional!
After making this ham fried rice, if you’re still working your way through leftover ham, check out our other leftover ham recipes like Ham and Cheese Pinwheels, Ham and Beans, Ham Pasta, Ham and Swiss Quiche, and Bacon and Egg Rolls.
Ingredients and Variations
You’ll find the measurements in the recipe card below, but I’ll walk you through the ingredients here with some helpful notes:
- Leftover cold rice – day-old preferred
- Diced cooked ham – I used some from our Instant Pot Ham
- Salted butter – yes, butter! We learned this tip from my husband’s coworker who makes amazing homemade fried rice. If you need to make this dairy-free, replace it with avocado or olive oil.
- Veggies – I keep it simple and fast with frozen peas and carrots. And some sliced green onions, but feel free to leave them out if it’s not your thing.
- Soy sauce – I recommend low sodium
- Oyster sauce – it adds an incredible depth of flavor, but if you don’t have any, that’s ok!
- Toasted sesame oil
- Avocado or olive oil
- Eggs
- Flavor squad – ginger and garlic
Use this leftover ham fried rice as the perfect opportunity to clean out your crisper drawer. I recommend frozen peas and carrots, but really, the vegetable possibilities are endless! Try adding: mushrooms, peppers, green beans, broccoli, or bean sprouts.
What Kind of Rice Can You Use for Fried Rice?
Any leftover cold rice works great. I prefer white rice, but leftover brown rice, or even wild rice will be delicious.
You can also use cauliflower rice for this recipe, but the overall cooking time will increase. Cauliflower rice will release a lot of water as it cooks, so you’ll need to stir fry everything together until the water has cooked off.
Why Do You Need to Use Cold Rice For Fried Rice?
Cold, day-old rice is the only rice I’ll use for making homemade fried rice. Warm rice will clump together and become mush once mixed with the other ingredients.
Whereas cold rice will crisp up when stir-fried, and the sauce will cling to each grain, making for a more flavorful homemade fried rice.
If you don’t have leftover cold rice, make a batch of rice, spread it out on a rimmed baking sheet, and freeze it for 30-60 minutes. The rice will quickly dry out as it cools, which makes for better stir-frying.
How to Make Ham Fried Rice
*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc.
First up, if you have a vent over your stove, turn that on now. The wok gets very hot and I always make sure my vent is going when making fried rice.
The trick to perfect fried rice is to have everything ready to go before you even turn on the stove. The sauces should be mixed, the eggs should be beaten, garlic and ginger minced, the veggies sliced, etc. Be prepared because this moves quickly!
In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, and oyster sauce. In another small bowl, whisk the eggs until well combined. Set both bowls aside.
Heat a wok or a deep large skillet over medium-high heat. It is fully preheated when the skillet starts to lightly smoke.
Add the butter, ginger, and garlic to the hot wok. Stir constantly with a silicone spatula for 30-60 seconds to keep the garlic from burning. The butter is going to start to brown and you’re going to get nervous. Stay with me on this!
Add the rice, carrots, peas, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil, and stir to combine. Stir for 2-3 minutes or until the rice becomes warmed through.
Push the rice out of the middle of the wok until you can see a small part of the bottom of the wok/skillet. Add the avocado (or olive) oil to the hole and let it heat up for 30 seconds.
Add the beaten eggs to the hole and gently push the rice over the top of the eggs. Let that sit for another 30 seconds.
Stir the rice for 1-2 minutes or until the egg is distributed throughout the rice and cooked through.
Add the ham, green onion, and black pepper, and stir to combine. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until everything is heated through and well combined.
Can You Freeze Fried Rice?
Yes, absolutely! Freezing fried rice is a fantastic way to prep once and cook twice. Need a fast meal? Just grab some fried rice out of the freezer and reheat.
Allow the rice to cool fully before putting it into the freezer-safe containers. I like to freeze leftover fried rice in 1-cup Souper Cubes. Once frozen, remove from the trays and store in freezer-proof bags for up to 3 months.
Leftover Ham Fried Rice Storage and Reheating
Allow any leftover fried rice to fully cool before storing it in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
This dish reheats amazingly well. Microwave it (covered) for 60-90 seconds. Pro tip: add an ice cube to the bowl before microwaving it. The ice cube will help the rice reheat with a bit of moisture without causing it to be soggy. Discard any portion of the ice cube that remains after microwaving.
What to Serve With Ham Fried Rice
This dish works great as a main dish, or a side to other delicious recipes like Air Fryer Orange Chicken, Air Fryer Tofu, Instant Pot Orange Chicken, and Air Fryer Egg Rolls.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- I prefer to use a wok for this recipe, but any large deep skillet will work. You’ll want to give yourself enough space for stirring all the ingredients around, without making a giant mess on your stovetop.
- Separate any large clumps of rice before adding it to the skillet/wok. This allows for everything to heat together equally.
- Sub in your favorite meat if you don’t have any leftover ham hanging around.
- Don’t thaw the frozen peas and carrots before adding them to the wok/skillet.
- Some people prefer to scramble the eggs before adding them to the rice. To do that, mix eggs with a bit of sesame oil or melted butter, and add them to the hot pan. Cook on one side and then flip and allow the eggs to fully cook on the other side. Transfer to a cutting board or plate and cut into strips. Add the cooked eggs to the fried rice in step 7 in the recipe card below.
- Throw in some chopped fresh, frozen, or canned pineapple for ham and pineapple fried rice.
Ham Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tbsp ginger {grated or finely minced}
- 2 cloves garlic {finely minced}
- 5 cups white rice {cooled. Day old preferred}
- 1.5 cups frozen diced carrots and peas blend {or 1 cup diced carrots, 1/2 cup frozen peas}
- 1 tbsp avocado oil {olive oil is a decent substitute}
- 2 eggs {beaten}
- 2 cups ham {cooked and diced}
- 1/4 cup green onion {sliced}
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil. Set aside.1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- Preheat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. It is ready when it starts to lightly smoke. Pro tip: use your kitchen vent with this recipe.
- Add butter, ginger, and garlic to the hot wok. Stir constantly for 30-60 seconds to keep the garlic from burning.4 tbsp salted butter, 1 tbsp ginger, 2 cloves garlic
- Add the white rice, carrots, peas, and soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil and stir to combine. Stir for 2-3 minutes or until the rice becomes warmed through.1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 5 cups white rice, 1.5 cups frozen diced carrots and peas blend, 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- Make a well (hole) in the middle of the rice, and add the avocado oil. Let it sit for 30 seconds to heat up.1 tbsp avocado oil
- Add the beaten eggs in the hole on top of the avocado oil and gently push rice over the top of the eggs. Let sit for 30 seconds.2 eggs
- Stir the rice for 1-2 minutes or until the egg is distributed throughout the rice and cooked through.
- Add the ham, green onion, and black pepper, and stir to combine.2 cups ham, 1/4 cup green onion, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- Cook for 1-2 additional minutes or until ham is heated through.
Notes
- Separate any large clumps of rice before adding it to the skillet/wok.
- Don’t thaw the frozen peas and carrots before adding them to the wok/skillet.
- Throw in some chopped fresh, frozen, or canned pineapple for ham and pineapple fried rice.
- Allow any leftover fried rice to fully cool before storing it in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
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Yum! I make this but use Spam instead of ham. Having grown up in Hawaii, Spam is a must. Plus I add some fish sauce for that additional umami flavor. So good!
My friend is from Hawaii and I’ve had many Spam recipes from her. They’re always so tasty!!
Fish sauce is fantastic, but I got a similar flavor from the oyster sauce. And I was out of fish sauce. HA!