Air fryer chicken fried rice recipe

5 from 1 vote

Discover how to make delicious and gluten-free air fryer chicken fried rice. Perfect for busy weeknights and ready in under 30 minutes!

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, American Chinese

Keyword: Air fryer chicken and rice, Air fryer chicken fried rice

Servings: servings

3 cups cooked rice refrigerated and cold, jasmine, basmati, or short grain rice.
1.5 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1.5 tbsp avocado oil
¼ tsp coarse sea salt
½ tsp garlic granule
¼ tsp onion granule
¼ tsp ground white pepper or black pepper
8 oz cooked chicken either breast, thighs, or a combination, about 1.75 cup after diced to small bite sizes
2 bulb scallion diced and separate white and green parts
0.5 tbsp light soy sauce
0.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
Sprinkle Furikake seasoning optional

In a large mixing bowl, add the cold rice, frozen vegetables, and oil. Gently toss and coat the oil evenly over the rice grains. Use your hands to gently separate the rice grains so they won’t clump together. This will help the rice “fry” up evenly. I recommend wearing a kitchen glove and using your hand to do this for easy control.
Add dry spices: Add the salt, garlic and onion granule, and ground pepper. Toss again to combine well.

Transfer the rice mixture into an oven friendly cake pan that’s big enough to hold the rice but small enough to fit inside of your air fryer basket. My cake pan size is 7.5-inch height x 3.5-inch wide for a 6-qt. air fryer.
Spread the rice out into an even height and air fryer at 380°F (193°C ), uncovered, for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, dice the chicken to small bite sizes and prepare the scallions.

Carefully remove the cake pan from the air fryer. Some rice grains on the surface might get a little browned and crisp and that is totally okay.

Use a wooden spoon to stir the rice mixture and add in the chicken and white scallion parts, and drizzle in the light and dark soy sauces. Stir again to coat well and spread out the rice into an even layer before sending back to the air fryer,

Drop the air fryer temperature to 360°F (182°C) and air fry for 5 minutes. Remove the cake pan from the air fryer basket and stir the rice mixture to fluff the rice. Transfer it to a large serving plate.

Garnish with green scallion parts and furikake, if using. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper seasonings, if needed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Garnish: You can garnish the rice with toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds before serving.
Make-Ahead: Use day-old, chilled rice for the best fried rice texture.
Storage: Allow the rice to cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Best if used within 3-4 days.
Reheating: Sprinkle the rice with a few drops of water and air fry at 360°F (182°C) for 3-5 minutes.
Separated Grains: To achieve separated grains, season and toss the rice with oil and dry seasonings before air frying. Cook partway before adding liquid seasonings to ensure the grains fry up evenly.
Adding Eggs: Raw eggs can stick to the rice in an air fryer, affecting texture. For best results, cook eggs separately in the air fryer or on the stovetop, then mix them into the fried rice. See our scrambled eggs in air fryer recipe (coming soon) or air fryer fried egg.