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Shrimp Fried Rice is better than any restaurant that you have had! Made with fresh shrimp, peas, carrots, egg, rice and topped with green onions, you will never have takeout again!

Fried rice is a staple in our house, and there are so many ways you can make it amazing. Try Original, Bacon or even Cauliflower fried rice!

Shrimp fried rice in a bowl.

Easy Shrimp Fried Rice

After I perfected the better than takeout fried rice… (seriously it is so much better than takeout!) ย  I knew that a shrimp version had to make the debut. The hubby loves shrimp and I have to admit it is starting to grow on me. But when you add it to some fried rice I am in love with it! There is nothing better than rice, peas, carrots, eggs, with shrimp hidden inside!

There are a few secrets to getting that restaurant quality taste. My sister in law who is Chinese made us the most amazing fried rice for a family dinner. She suggests that day old chilled rice is the best.ย  If you have to make the rice that day, it is still delicious! And the secret flavor is the sesame oil. And boy oh boy this rice is good. This is great eaten as a side or by itself. You are going to love the tender shrimp hidden inside. This will become an instant family favorite that will make you have better than takeout meal right at home!

Ingredients for Homemade Shrimp Fried Rice

Super easy and insanely delicious, these ingredients meld together in the most perfect way.

  • Shrimp: Peeled and deveined, can use fresh or frozen that’s been thawed.
  • Vegetable Oil: For sautรฉing.
  • Sesame oil: The secret to incredible flavor.
  • Cooked Rice:ย Use cold day old rice if you have it.
  • Onion:ย I used a small white onion for good flavor.
  • Frozen Peas and Carrots:ย These should be thawed.
  • Soy Sauce: Use more or less to taste. Low sodium is ok to use.
  • Eggs: Lightly beat your eggs.
  • Green Onion: These are optional, but in my opinion should not be skipped.

Let’s Make Amazing Shrimp Fried Rice!

You will not want to take out again after you taste this shrimp fried rice. It is fast easy and cheaper!

  1. Prep:ย Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Add vegetable oil and sesame oil
  2. Sautรฉ:ย Add the shrimp to the skillet and salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  3. Vegetables:ย Add the white onion, peas and carrots and fry until tender.
  4. Egg: Slide the onion, peas and carrots to the side and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs, once cooked mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
  5. Rice:ย Add the rice and shrimp to the veggie and egg mixture.
  6. Finish: Pour the soy sauce and another Tablespoon of sesame oil on top. Stir and fry the rice and vegetable mixture until heated through and combined. Add chopped green onions if desired.

The Recipe Critic Pro Tip

Cold rice is a Must! If it is a day old cold rice even better. You want the rice cold so it’ll fry when it hits the pan. Using freshly cooked, or even lukewarm rice it will go soggy and clump together. If you need to cook your rice the same day, never fear you can get the same results. Take your cooked rice and spread it out on a sheet pan in thin layer. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for up to 30 minutes or freezer for 15, you do not want it frozen, just cold. Trust me on this one.

Sauteing shrimp, vegetables, eggs and rice for Shrimp fried rice.

Tips for the Best Fried Rice with Shrimp

There are a few things that really truly need to be done so this tastes absolutely amazing.

  • Use some Butter:ย For impeccable flavor use some butter with your oil or even sub out the oil for butter. It adds so much flavor and goodness.
  • Use High Heat:ย  This will keep the rice from steaming and fry it well.
  • Sesame Oil:ย This is a Must have for the best authentic fried rice flavor. Keep in mind it’s a finishing oil, not a frying oil You need to add it at the end and off the heat.
  • Use Fresh Shrimp:ย Using precooked shrimp can make your shrimp rubbery when you warm it up.

Variations and Storing Chinese Fried Rice

This recipe for shrimp fried rice is a classic, but you add, delete and vary ingredients to make it your own.

  • Vegetables:ย For a heavy on the vegetable shrimp fried rice, add diced peppers or sautรฉed mushrooms, and zucchini. You can also use broccoli, cauliflower. Cabbage, green beans or sugar snap peas.
  • Rice: Substitute brown rice or quinoa for the white rice if you desire. You can even make this with cauliflower rice.
  • Protein:ย Add bacon, ham, chicken or tofu to up the protein.
  • Storage:ย This shrimp fried rice will keep nicely in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. Warm up in a skillet or wok to get that fried texture back.

Close up of Shrimp fried rice in a pan.

More Better Than Take Out From Home!

There are lots of reasons why you should want to have a few good restaurant worthy recipes in your back pocket. First of all they will always taste better than take out, they are cheaper than take out, and you can control the ingredients and flavors just the way you want them. I have many tried and true restaurant worthy recipes on the blog, but here are just a few favorites to try.

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Better than Takeout Shrimp Fried Rice

4.83 from 28 votes
By: Alyssa Rivers
Better than Takeout Shrimp Fried Rice is better than any restaurant that you have had! ย Made with fresh shrimp, peas, carrots, egg, rice and topped with green onions, you will never have takeout again!!ย 
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 8 People

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Add vegetable oil, 1 Tablespoon sesame oil and shrimp to the skillet and salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  • Add white onion and peas and carrots and fry until tender. Slide the onion, peas and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side.
  • Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
  • Add the rice and shrimp to the veggie and egg mixture. Pour the soy sauce and 1 Tablespoons sesame oil on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through and combined. Add chopped green onions if desired.
  • *Use day old cold cooked rice for best results. If you don't have precooked rice, it is just fine to cook the rice the same day.

Video

Notes

Updated on February 27, 2021
Originally Posted on August 13, 2017

Nutrition

Calories: 129kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 14gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 204mgSodium: 715mgPotassium: 78mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 90IUVitamin C: 2.3mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 1.6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Asian American, Chinese
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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92 Comments

  1. I will try your shrimp fried rice recipe hope it comes out as delicious as it looks. Thanks for sharing.

  2. I love your recipes, but wish you would include the nutrition value for those of us who must monitor our food intake

    1. I love using myfitnesspal.com or skinny taste.com for any nutritional value. Hope that helps and you can find what you are looking for on one of those sites. Thanks so much! XOXO

  3. 4 stars
    There is a * by the rice but no comment after. Is there a specific way to cook the rice for the flavor?

    1. The rice is always best when a day or two old in the fridge. Fresh will still work and taste just as good! XOXO

  4. 5 stars
    I have made this once as presented and it was delicious!. Then the next time I decided to add cooked diced chicken breast meat (about 1 cup) and cooked rice in chicken broth to give it more flavor. I’m making it again today.

  5. Fixed BETTER THAN TAKEOUT SHRIMP FRIED RICE last night. I included bean sprouts. Just because i like them. What a hit! My husband Added something to make his hot and I added a bit more soy sauce to mine. We will be having this next week when our granddaughter comes to visit.

    1. I like to use skinnytaste.com or myfitnesspal.com to help with sugar count and being able to substitute anything for it. Otherwise there is not any extra sugar added to this meal. Hope that helps and you can find what you are looking for. Thanks so much for following along with me! XOXO

  6. The recipe says to cook the shrimp 2-3 minutes or until no longer pink. Don’t you want to cook them until they ARE pink? I can see if this was a chicken recipe…but I cook shrimp until they go from grayish to pink ๐Ÿ™‚ It looks great – I’m making it tonight.

  7. Just made this tonight for my family! Omg!! AMAZING! I’ve made a few of your recipes and they always come out so good! Thank you!

    1. That makes my heart so happy! I am so glad you are enjoying some recipes of mine. I love hearing from my followers. Thanks so much for sharing! XOXO

  8. 5 stars
    Amazing photography of shrimp rice recipe. I love rice very much , so its a perfect recipe for me. Thank you for sharing such a tasty & easy recipe. Keep sharing such type of recipes with us.

    1. Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your compliments! That is so sweet of you! Thank you for following along with me! I really appreciate it. XOXO

  9. Hi Alyssa, I just found your site. Doing your fried rice and shrimp because it looks so good. And I love fried rice, make it all the time but not with vegies and shrimp. So now I have to do this. Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes as they all look delicious. Hope this doesn’t rent teice, I keep getting bumped off when I put name.

    1. That sounds great! It is a great recipe and so yummy with all the flavors! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do! XOXO

      1. I believe that refers to a comment at the top that indicates that day old rice is better but the recipe is good even if you cook the rice the day you are goi g to prepare the rice.

    1. In the paragraphs above the recipe it notes that day old chilled rice works the best. I’m pretty sure that’s what the * is for!