This savory fried rice is fast to make and can be eaten as a side dish or main course for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
I love making fried rice for quick lunches or sides for dinner, and yes, occasionally, we will have this fried rice for breakfast!
Fried rice is so adaptable to whatever your family likes. This simple version has smoky, salty ham, tender egg ribbons, and sweet peas.
It’s also a very toddler-friendly meal. Just dice up your meat and veggies really small!
Ingredients for Ham and Egg Fried Rice
To make this recipe cook up quickly, try to have your rice steamed the night before.
Cold, day old rice makes the absolute best fried rice. I find that freshly steamed rice is too clumpy. It really does need that full day to cool off and dry out slightly.
Note: I mix 1 cup of quinoa in with 3 cups of white rice for our family. You can use plain white rice, brown rice, or all quinoa if you want.
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 3/4 cup diced ham
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 1/2 Tbsp oil
- 3 eggs lightly beaten with a pinch of salt
- salt and pepper
How to Make Ham and Egg Fried Rice
Let me walk you through how I make ham and egg fried rice.
I’ll also have a printable recipe available for you below.
TIP: Have all your ingredients precut and pre-measured, as this rice cooks up very quickly.
Heat 2 Tbsp oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet or wok.
Toss garlic in and stir, making sure not to let it brown. You don’t want crisp garlic, just soft, tender garlic.
Turn the heat up to high and add the ham.
Add the frozen peas once the ham starts to brown.
Lastly, add the rice. Break up the rice as you saute the ingredients. The grains should be more or less individual pieces with no large clumps.
Plate the fried rice and set aside while you make the egg ribbons.
Making Egg Ribbons
Heat 1/2 Tbsp of oil in the same pan you used to cook the rice. I like to keep the heat high so that the egg cooks super fast.
Pour the beaten egg in the center of the oil and swirl it around so that it coats the entire pan. Kind of like making a crepe.
If you have a thick layer of egg, you may need to flip it once to cook the top side before the bottom gets too brown.
Fold the egg over on itself and slide it onto a cutting board. Cut it into ribbons and top the rice with the eggs.
I know it seems like a lot of steps, but it really does cook up quickly!
Delicious Variations on Ham and Egg Fried Rice
- Swap ham for bacon… this is probably my absolute favorite even though bacon takes a little longer to cook!
- Cook eggs over easy instead of making egg ribbons. I love how the rice soaks up the “sauce” from the egg!
- Swap peas for chopped sweet bell pepper.
- Double the garlic for an extra garlicky rice.
My oldest doesn’t typically like rice as much as my youngest does, but they both will eat this dish up in record time.
They think the egg ribbons are way more delicious than scrambled eggs. Little do they know, egg ribbons have the exact same ingredients as scrambled eggs!
Printable Recipe for Ham and Egg Fried Rice
Ham and Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 3/4 cup diced ham
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 1/2 Tbsp oil
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten with a pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Heat 2 Tbsp oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet or wok.
- Toss garlic in and stir, making sure not to let it brown. You don’t want crisp garlic, just soft, tender garlic.
- Turn the heat up to high and add the ham.
- Add the frozen peas once the ham starts to brown.
- Lastly, add the rice. Break up the rice as you saute the ingredients. The grains should be more or less individual pieces with no large clumps.
- Plate the rice and set aside while you make the egg ribbons.
- Heat 1/2 Tbsp of oil in the same pan you used to cook the rice. I like to keep the heat high so that the egg cooks super fast.
- Pour the beaten egg in the center of the oil and swirl it around so that it coats the entire pan.
- If you have a thick layer of egg, you may need to flip it once to cook the top side before the bottom gets too brown.
- Fold the egg over on itself and slide it onto a cutting board. Cut it into ribbons and top the rice with the eggs.
Notes
- Swap ham for bacon… this is probably my absolute favorite even though bacon takes a little longer to cook!
- Cook eggs over easy instead of making egg ribbons. I love how the rice soaks up the “sauce” from the egg!
- Swap peas for chopped sweet bell pepper.
- Double the garlic for an extra garlicky rice.
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