Better Than Take-Out Pineapple Fried Rice Recipe (in < 30 min)

You’re going to love this Pineapple Fried Rice! It is super easy to make, and your whole family will love it. This recipe is better than anything you can order at a restaurant: a mix of sweet, savory or umami, salty, bitter, and sour.. I know because I’ve tried it!

Pineapple Fried Rice

So you guys remember pineapple pizza? Of course you do.

Let me tell you a story: I was in college and my roommate and I were eating dinner together. We didn’t have any leftovers to cook, so we went down to the cafeteria and got some fried rice. It was incredible—I mean, it had everything! Sweet pineapple, savory fried rice, salty soy sauce—it was just like the movie version of food. You know those movies where everything is happening at once? That’s how I felt when I ate this fried rice from the cafeteria at school.

So I’ve been thinking about that moment a lot lately because…well, that’s what cooking is all about, right? Trying to recreate something that feels familiar and special in your kitchen even though there are no leftovers for you to eat or memories for you to relive with your friends over dinner. It’s all about trying new things and seeing what works best for you and your family. And if that means finding a way to make fried rice taste even better than it did at the cafeteria (because who doesn’t love more pineapple?), then so be it!

Avoid plain, boring rice forever with some of these flavorful rice recipes. Our Salmon Rice Bowl makes a tasty lunch. This Coconut Rice and our Cilantro Lime Rice are delicious and easy to make too!

Ingredients in Pineapple Fried Rice

This rice recipe tastes like you spent hours and dozens of ingredients but in reality it’s super easy to throw together and with items you probably already have in your refrigerator. Here’s all you need:

• Long grain white rice – Jasmine rice works great too! I prefer using leftover rice or day-old rice. It just seems to add more of a “fried rice” texture. So you could make your batch of rice, store it in an airtight container overnight, and then use the cooled rice to assemble your fried rice.
• Sesame oil – this oil adds so much deep flavor to this dish! You can find it next to the vegetable oils in the grocery store. A little goes a long way, so a small bottle can last a long time.
• Vegetable oil – a tablespoon oil or more added to a large skillet will give your rice the perfect place to fry up and get golden brown. 
• Green onions or regular onions – I love the color that green onions give this pineapple fried rice, but if you don’t have any on hand, a diced yellow onion works great too.
• Minced garlic – a clove or two does the trick. But if you like extra garlic flavor, by all means, toss it in!
• Carrots and peas – dice your carrots so they’re about the same size as a pea so they cook evenly.
• Pineapple – Tidbits, pineapple chunks, fresh pineapple, anything you have in your fridge or pantry.
• Eggs – You’ll want to scramble them up a bit, according to the directions below, then mix in with the rice.
• Soy sauce – use to taste. I like to control the sodium intake by using a low-sodium soy sauce mixture. For extra flavor, toss in a dash or two of fish sauce to the mixture.

Additional Ingredients

• Add shrimp, chicken or beef to turn this fried rice into a one bowl meal. 
• Make it vegan by adding diced tofu.
• ​For more of a Thai pineapple fried rice, add a bit of curry powder or ginger to the recipe.
• Dice in some green bell peppers, red bell pepper, or cashews for extra crunch and color.
• Garnish with some fresh cilantro on top.

How to Make Pineapple Fried Rice

1. Start by cooking your rice. I like to cook the rice in my rice cooker and get everything else ready while it is in there.
2. Next, heat your oil and sauté the onions and garlic. The onions should be tender and translucent and the garlic should be slightly browned. When you can smell the garlic cooking, that’s when you know it’s ready to add more ingredients.
3. After the onions and garlic are cooked, add the peas and carrots, and pineapple. If your peas and carrots are frozen they might pop in the hot oil, so be careful when adding them. Cook until the veggies are tender and heated through.
4. Next, add in the beaten eggs. I like to make a hole in the middle of the pan by pushing all the veggies to the side and then pouring the eggs into the middle. That way it doesn’t coat everything in egg. Give the eggs time to scramble separately before mixing in with the rest of the recipe.
5. After the eggs are cooked, add in your rice and soy sauce. Add the soy sauce a little bit at a time, making sure to taste it so you don’t make it too salty. Serve immediately.

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