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Easy Ham Fried Rice

5 from 2 votes
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posted: 04/16/22

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy

Ham Fried Rice is a delicious and very simple dinner. Made with just a handful of ingredients, but easy to switch up, your family will love this fried rice recipe.

close up of a white bowl full of ham fried rice recipe

When you are looking for leftover ham recipes, I have one I know you will love – Ham Fried Rice. Making fried rice at home is just about the easiest dinner recipe, and it is sure to be a hit with parents and kids. Fried Rice is always a home run.

In this ham and rice recipe, we are adding in just a few simple ingredients. It makes this not only a fast recipe, but a recipe that you probably already have everything you need for. Those are my favorite kinds of dinners.

Reader Review

We love this recipe! One of our favorites💕

How to Make Ham Fried Rice

This is a brief overview of how to make this easy recipe. For the full recipe with all of the measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

  1. Make sure you have left over rice. This recipe can only be made with day old rice. I have more on this below, but it is essential to this recipe.
  2. Scramble the eggs. We start this recipe by making scrambled eggs in butter. Remove them from the pan and cover to keep warm.
  3. Fry everything else. Add some sesame oil to the pan and cook until it is smoking. Toss in the rice, garlic, ham, and soy sauce. Cook until everything is well coated, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Finally, add in the frozen peas, green onions, and the cooked egg.
overhead of a pan of ham fried rice

What Ham to Use

I specifically made this recipe so that those with leftover ham from Christmas and Easter would have a great way to use it. When I have made this, I used my leftover Honey Baked Ham and it was absolutely fantastic.

But this is a great recipe to make all year. Buy a ham steak from your grocery store, cube it, and use it in place of the leftover ham listed here.

Importance of Leftover Rice

When rice is first cooked, it is soft, and pillowy. We make rice several times a week to eat with our Chicken Tacos and our Butter Chicken. Fresh rice is like a gift from the heavens.

That being said, if you were to use that soft warm cooked rice in fried rice recipes, you would end up with a big gooey mess. Allowing rice to cool and dry out a little makes for that perfect fried rice consistency that you are used to.

a small white bowl full of a fried rice recipe

Do Not Thaw the Peas

When I make recipes using frozen peas, readers often ask me if they are thawed first. They are not, and the reason why is because frozen peas are completely cooked. They are ready to eat.

If you were to thaw them before putting them in your hot dish, they would end up mushy. By putting them in a steaming hot dish at the very end, the heat of the dish thaws them just enough to keep them plump and bright green.

Substitutions and Variations

  • Swap the peas out for carrots or bell peppers. If your family doesn’t like peas, you can sauté other vegetables in the oil in step 3 before you add in the rice.
  • Add in pineapple. I think that pineapple and ham go perfectly together. Some well drained pineapple tidbits would be perfect here. Just throw them in at the very end in the same step you add the scallions.
  • Leave out the eggs. If you have an egg allergy in your house, you can simple leave them out. Start the recipe on step 3.

Storing Leftovers

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to four days. When reheating, only reheat the amount you plan on eating as leftovers should not be reheated more than once. As with all recipes, use your best discretion when it comes to leftovers.

overhead of a bowl of fried rice with ham in it

Other Leftover Ham Recipes

If you are looking for more great ways to use your left over ham, consider making:

If you make this easy Ham Fried Rice recipe or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

close up of a white bowl full of ham fried rice recipe
5 from 2 votes

Ham Fried Rice

Serves: 4 servings
(tap # to scale)
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Ham Fried Rice is a delicious and very simple dinner. Made with just a handful of ingredients, but easy to switch up, your family will love this fried rice recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3 eggs whisked
  • 4 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 4 cups rice (cooked, cooled, and refrigerated at least four hours)
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups cooked ham cubed
  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 4 green onions diced
  • 1 cup frozen peas

Instructions

  • Heat a skillet over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and melt.
    2 tablespoons butter
  • Add the beaten eggs, using a spatula, scrape from the outsides to the center, flipping them as you cook them. Cook until just done, remove from the pan and cover to keep warm. (If the pan has a lot of residual eggs, clean it and then return it to the heat.)
    3 eggs
  • Add the sesame oil to the pan. Heat until smoking. Add in the rice, garlic, ham, and soy sauce, tossing until well coated in oil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
    4 tablespoons sesame oil, 4 cups rice, 2 cloves garlic, 2 cups cooked ham, 4 tablespoons soy sauce
  • Stir in the green onions, frozen peas, and the eggs. Serve and enjoy.
    4 green onions, 1 cup frozen peas

Notes

Please note that this recipe serves about 5 people. Nutritional information is based on 1 cup of the recipe and the recipe makes 7 cups total.
Serving: 1cup Calories: 251kcal (13%) Carbohydrates: 24g (8%) Protein: 20g (40%) Fat: 8g (12%) Saturated Fat: 1g (6%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g Monounsaturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 122mg (41%) Sodium: 500mg (22%) Potassium: 128mg (4%) Fiber: 2g (8%) Sugar: 2g (2%)
Author: Lisa Longley
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
close up of a white bowl full of ham fried rice recipe

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Ham Fried Rice

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Hi! I'm Lisa Longley, and I am committed to giving you simple dinner ideas and recipes that are easy to make; recipes that will fill your home with joy. I am the owner and author of SimpleJoy.com and I'm so glad that you are here.

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  1. Kathleen Thomson says

    My family really enjoyed this recipe, which I made with chicken instead of ham. One quick question, please: the printed recipe states “4T. sesame oil, DIVIDED” but I couldn’t find where/when I was supposed to add the divided portion of the oil. Can you please let me know?
    Thank you so much!!

    • Lisa Longley says

      Thank you so much for catching that error, Kathleen! It shouldn’t say divided. I’m glad that your family enjoyed it!

  2. Amanda says

    Delish! Can I freeze the leftovers?

    • Lisa Longley says

      I haven’t ever tried freezing fried rice (we never have any left, lol!) but it looks like others have with good success.

  3. Heather says

    5 stars
    We love this recipe! One of our favorites💕

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so happy to hear that, Heather!

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