Easy Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice Recipe

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This easy pineapple chicken fried rice recipe is just what you need for an easy weeknight meal! It features juicy pineapple chunks, fresh veggies, tender chicken, scrambled eggs, and a teriyaki inspired rice sauce.

Pineapple fried rice in a pineapple bowl.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
Equipment You’ll Need
Step by Step Directions
Tips & Variations
FAQ
Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This chicken pineapple fried rice is inspired by the flavors you would find in a Thai restaurant. While it is not necessarily authentic, we find this simplified version to be a great way to enjoy many of the same wonderful flavors.
This chicken and pineapple fried rice makes for a wonderful, balanced main dish—it is a complete meal on its own! But it can be used as a side dish for other Asian food as well.
This stir fry rice is easy to make and is a <30 minute meal! The ease and delicious flavor will turn this into a family favorite!
This Thai pineapple fried rice recipe with chicken uses simple ingredients that you likely have at home already! We don't use fish sauce, hoisin sauce, or oyster sauce in this recipe because we find that we are able to achieve a great flavor without them and we often don't use a full container of those sauces before they go bad.

Ingredient Notes

Chicken breast, rice, bell pepper, green onion, soy sauce, pineapple, olive oil, ginger, garlic, roasted cashews, eggs, honey.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts - the savory chicken is such a tasty addition to this recipe! We like to cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces. Ground chicken could also work for this recipe and is a great option for a lean protein to include.
Olive oil or avocado oil - you will need one tbsp oil for this recipe. If you are a fan of sesame oil, you can also use that to add a little bit of sesame flavor.
Cooked rice - rice is the main ingredient for this dish! If this is your first time making a fried rice dish, here is a tip for best results! We find that it is better to use leftover rice when making fried rice. This is because hot rice is too warm and moist—when you try to make fried rice with it, it will often become soggy, sticky, and minimize the overall flavor of the dish. Day-old rice is more dry and will result in a better texture and stronger overall flavor for the dish. We typically use a Thai jasmine rice, but you can use whichever kind of rice you prefer: white rice, brown rice, long grain rice, or short grain rice—whichever you prefer! You could even use leftovers of our favorite coconut rice recipe!
Red bell peppers - you will need to dice one red bell pepper for this recipe.
Green onions - you will need one bunch of chopped green onions for this recipe.
Minced garlic and minced ginger - these two ingredients are essential for the flavor of this fried rice! You can mince fresh garlic and ginger, used pre-minced garlic and ginger from a bottle/jar, or use the frozen garlic and ginger cubes.
Soy sauce - salty soy sauce gives the perfect flavor to this recipe. If you need a gluten free option, simply substitute the soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos, which can generally be found at any large grocery store.
Honey - gives the perfect sweetness to counter the salty flavors.
Eggs - we love adding scrambled eggs to our fried rice! You will need two eggs for this recipe.
Fresh pineapple - the diced, sweet pineapple is the star of this recipe! We love the tropical twist that it adds. We like to use a fresh pineapple for this recipe—we think it's the best pineapple! However, you can use canned, diced pineapple if needed, just make sure to drain the pineapple juice before adding it in.
Cashews - we love adding roasted, salted cashews to this recipe! You can mix them into the rice at the same time as the pineapple if you prefer, but we love to add them on top of each individual serving as the saltiness and crunchiness that comes from it is stronger this way.

See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and measurements.

Equipment You’ll Need

Cutting boards and knives
A large skillet
A rubber spatula or wooden spoon
Measuring cups and spoons
A small bowl

Step by Step Directions

For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Step 1: Begin by cutting the chicken into small, bite sized pieces. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken to the pan. Let the chicken cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. Drain any excess liquid.

Step 2: While the chicken is cooking, dice the red bell pepper and chop the green onion into small pieces. Dice the pineapple into small pieces.

Step 3: Add the red bell pepper, green onion, garlic, and ginger to the hot wok/pan. Stir well and allow the veggies to soften for 1 minute.

Step 4: Next, add the rice and mix until combined.

Step 5: Add the soy sauce and honey and stir well.

Pan of pineapple fried rice with eggs in the center.

Step 6: In a separate small bowl, whisk two eggs together. Create a “well” in the center of the pan by pushing all of the rice to the side of the wok or frying pan. Pour the egg into the center of the pan and stir the eggs until they are cooked through and scrambled. Mix the scrambled eggs into the rice.

Step 7: Remove the rice from the heat and mix in pineapple. Top each individual serving with the chopped cashews.

Tips & Variations

If you want an extra fun presentation for the whole family to enjoy, hollow out half of a pineapple and serve the rice inside the pineapple bowl! You can also sprinkle with extra green onion and some sesame seeds.
Feel free to swap out the veggies in our recipe for some different varieties such as carrots, peas, corn, broccoli, diced onion or cabbage.
If you like some spice, feel free to add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes or a drizzle of Sriracha (or other chili garlic sauce) to make a spicy pineapple fried rice.

FAQ

How should I store leftovers?

We recommend storing leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. If you are using this recipe for meal prep, simply store each serving in an individual container.

How should I reheat leftovers?

We know leftover rice can be difficult to reheat in a way that makes it taste and feel fresh. If you are looking to eat leftovers the next day, here are a few tips! If microwaving, try adding about 1 tbsp of water to each cup of rice to help add some moisture back into the rice. Or you can simply add a glass of water into the microwave the same time you are microwaving the rice to help add moisture. If reheating over a skillet, again, add a few spoonfuls of water to the skillet to reintroduce moisture to the rice.

Is it (GF/DF/V/VG)?

This recipe is dairy-free.
Make it gluten-free: replace the soy sauce with coconut aminos or tamari.
Make it vegetarian: simply omit the chicken. Feel free to add an extra egg or two if desired!
Make it vegan: omit the chicken and the eggs. Feel free to add in some tofu! Replace the honey with maple syrup.

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If you make this pineapple fried rice with chicken, please let us know how it turns out in the comments below and/or rate the recipe! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram to show us your finished product—it makes our day every time we see you trying the recipes we love!