Bacon Fried Rice (Better Than Takeout!)

Bacon Fried Rice comes together easily with ingredients you probably already have on hand, and in only 15 minutes! Skip the takeout and make your own (tastier) version at home.

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Confession: Stuff stresses me out!

I tend not to have many belongs besides the enormous amount of kitchen items and my constantly unmanageable clothing collection. But our garage is quickly growing out of control. So much so, that I’ve scheduled time out this week to manage it… You know, take all those Amazon boxes to the recycling center, list some things for sale, etc, etc, etc.

Stuff gives me a panic attack.

I grew up in a home where my mom kept collections of everything. Fabric scraps, my toys from when I was 5 years old, books, vases. We even had an entire room dedicated to puzzles!

And, while the memories are great, and fun to look through when I’m in town, I am COMPLETELY the opposite. I regularly have days that I call “Throw Away 15.” I’ll go through the house and throw out 15 random things that don’t need to be there. From old pens, to a pair of shoes, to that shampoo that just didn’t work for me. It’s oddly exciting for me.

My obsession with getting rid of things is how this fried rice came to be.

I poked around the refrigerator for some odds and ends that just had to go, and found the following:

Leftover rice (from this Mongolian Beef the night before).
Bacon that’s been stashed away in the freezer (leftover from making these).
A bag of frozen peas – Always on hand in case of the spontaneous need for an ice pack.
Shallots (that I always have on hand for making my favorite salad).
Eggs (I never eat them on their own, they’re only used for baking treats like these).
And, who doesn’t have those almost used up bottles of soy sauce and oyster sauce sitting around in their fridge?

Sweet relief! I checked off 7 of my 15 items for the day!

But the sweetest part?

This amazing Bacon Fried Rice that magically made its way into my life that night!

Ingredients needed

Ingredients for bacon fried rice labeled on counter.

Cooked Rice – You can use any medium to long grain rice. I enjoy white rice, basmati rice and jasmine rice, you can even use brown rice. It should be cooled before using in this recipe.
Bacon
Butter
Large Eggs
Shallot + Garlic
Frozen Peas
Green Onions
Soy Sauce – You can use low sodium soy sauce if you prefer, or tamari.
Oyster Sauce
Salt + Black Pepper

How to make it

It’s super simple to make fried rice. It’s best if you have leftover rice on hand, but you can start from scratch and cook a fresh batch of rice. Just be sure to let it cool before making this fried rice. That will ensure that your rice doesn’t get too mushy and soggy.

PS – I love making rice in the Instant Pot. It’s super quick and easy. Or, try this rice cooker rice.

We’ll start by frying up some diced bacon. Then, remove the bacon from the skillet using a slotted spoon. Leave about a tablespoon of the bacon grease in there.

Next we’ll stir-fry the eggs in that same skillet, flavoring them with the bacon fat. Then goes in some shallot, frozen peas, rice, green onions and some soy sauce and oyster sauce.

The flavor in this Bacon Fried Rice is unbelievable!

Note: For a flavor alternative, try swapping out the regular soy sauce for some kecap manis (sweet soy sauce). Or, try adding in some kimchi.

The secret to the BEST fried rice

Use day old rice – If you use warm, freshly made rice, your fried rice will be soggy instead of crispy and delicious. Using day old (cooled) rice is best here!
Use what you have on hand – Don’t have shallots? Use onions and garlic. No bacon? Leave it out, just add in a bit more butter for sauteeing the veggies. Have some carrots in the fridge? Throw those in there too!
Use a BIG skillet – This makes a lot of fried rice. You want to make sure things aren’t overflowing, and you want as much rice in contact with the bottom of the pan as possible. For this reason, I prefer to use a skillet instead of a wok.
Get things hot! Make sure that you have your heat turned up, and be sure to let that rice get nice and crispy at the end. We actually want to fry the rice.

And the best part? This Bacon Fried Rice takes only 15 minutes to make! Leaving more time to hunt for those other 8 items that need to get tossed away…

Can you freeze fried rice?

You can definitely freeze fried rice. It will keep in the freezer for up to three months. I like to package it into individual Ziploc sandwich bags and freeze it laying flat.

To cook frozen fried rice, thaw it overnight in the fridge. Then, heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a medium skillet. Add fried rice and cook until warmed through, about 5-7 minutes.

Bacon fried rice in serving bowl with chopsticks next to bowl of soy sauce.

What to serve with it

Wine pairings

Try a Prosecco or Gewurztraminer with this dish. Eggs can often be tricky to pair with wine, but these light, fruity varieties actually help to bring out all the salty, smoky flavors in this dish.

More Asian inspired recipes

Overhead close up of bacon fried rice in black bowl with chopsticks.

More rice recipes

Did you try this bacon fried rice recipe?

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Overhead shot of bacon fried rice in black bowl on teal counter.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon, until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels.
Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high. Add eggs and scramble. Once fully cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
Add 1 tablespoon butter to the now-empty skillet and heat until melted. Add the shallot and season with salt and pepper. Sautee for 2-3 minutes, until the shallot has softened. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds longer, until fragrant.
Increase the heat to high and add in remaining tablespoon butter. Once melted, add the rice, peas, green onions, soy sauce and oyster sauce, stir to combine.
Fry over high heat for approximately 3 minutes, until it’s getting nice and brown, and crispy.
Add the bacon and eggs and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Storage + Freezing:

Leftover fried rice will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Or, store it in the freezer for up to three months. I like to package it into individual Ziploc sandwich bags and freeze it laying flat.

To cook frozen fried rice, thaw it overnight in the fridge. Then, heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a medium skillet. Add fried rice and cook until warmed through, about 5-7 minutes.

This fried rice with bacon recipe was originally published in 2016. It was updated in 2025 to update the content. The bacon rice recipe remains the same. Enjoy!