Leftover rice and a few sad fridge vegetables are basically a love language to me, and this Spicy Bacon Fried Rice is what I make with them on repeat. It is a fast, savory fried rice built on crispy bacon, day-old white rice, scrambled egg and peas, all tossed in a punchy soy, rice vinegar and sambal sauce with sliced avocado on top to cool it down. The whole thing comes together in one pan in about 20 minutes, which is the entire point. If you love a good fried rice as much as I do, my Korean Meatball Rice Bowls are the next cozy rice dinner to put in the rotation, my Sesame Ginger Noodles cover the nights you want noodles instead, and my Spicy Stir Fried Eggplant is the perfect spicy veggie side to round it out.
Spicy Bacon Fried Rice at a Glance
- 🕒 Total Time: 20 minutes (with cooked or day-old rice)
- 👪 Servings: 4
- 🍝 Cuisine Type: Asian / Chinese-style fried rice (Americanized, with bacon and sambal)
- 🧂 Flavor Profile: Smoky bacon, savory soy, tangy rice vinegar, sambal heat, with cool creamy avocado to balance
- 📖 Dietary Info: Contains pork and egg; naturally dairy-free; gluten-free if you use tamari in place of soy sauce
- 📦 Storage Notes: Refrigerate covered for 3 to 4 days; reheat in a hot skillet with a splash of oil to re-crisp; freezing not recommended (egg and avocado do not thaw well)
- ⭐Why You'll Love It: A one-pan, 20-minute fried rice that turns leftover rice and crispy bacon into dinner. Punchy with soy, rice vinegar and sambal, then cooled down with avocado. The ultimate use-what-you-have weeknight meal.
Summarize and save this content on
Why I Love This Recipe
Last week on the podcast someone called in to ask about what to do with all the leftover rice / bags of rice they panic bought at a few weeks back and it occurred to me that we didn't have a fried rice recipe here on WGC! Clearly that needed to change as Fried Rice is something I made probably once every week or two.
Fried Rice is the easiest way to use up 1: leftovers veggies in your friend 2: random rice that didn't get eaten a few nights before and 3: some of your pantry staples that stare at you in your pantry. It's filling, incredibly flavorful and Thomas absolutely loves it.
Below you'll see my recipe but truth be told... it's more of a formula than a recipe. For example: if you don't have peas, that's cool! Just add some chopped leftover veggies of whatever is in your fridge!
Jump to:
Ingredients & Substitutions
Substitutions
- Bacon / Pancetta
- Frozen peas / Frozen Corn / Frozen Broccoli / Frozen Carrots
- White Rice / Brown Rice
- And feel free to add any fresh veg when you're sautéing in step 2! Asparagus tips, diced onions, quartered artichoke hearts, skies the limit!
Ingredients
- Bacon
- Sesame Oil
- Garlic
- Green Onions
- Frozen Peas
- White Rice cooked
- Soy Sauce
- Rice Vinegar
- Sambal or Sriracha
- Eggs
- Avocado
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
How to Make Spicy Bacon Fried Rice
Step 1: Cook the bacon until crispy, let cool, then tear into small pieces.
Step 2: In a large non stick skillet over medium heat, heat sesame oil. Add garlic, green onions and peas and cook, stirring, until green onions are softened and peas are warmed through, about 3 minutes.
Step 3: Add cooked rice and toss to combine, breaking up any clumps. Let the veggies and rice cook until slightly browned, about 6 minutes.
Step 4: In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, rice vinegar and sambal.
Step 5: Pour mixture over fried rice, then add bacon and stir well.
Step 6: Scrape rice to one side of the pan and pour eggs into the other side; stir immediately to scramble the eggs as they cook. As the eggs begin to scramble, stir rice into eggs. Taste and season with more soy sauce and/or Sambal, as desired.
Step 7: Serve with avocado and extra green onions if desired.
How to Store Spicy Bacon Fried Rice
You can store these in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days. With rice, make sure to refrigerate promptly, once cool.
How to Freeze Spicy Bacon Fried Rice
You can also freeze fried rice for a month. As with refrigeration, do not leave rice out for too long, however do make sure it is properly cooled down before freezing (you can also pop it into the fridge for a bit). Pack them in freezer bags, and make sure you remove all the extra air from the bag. When its time to eat, thaw in the fridge overnight, and use the stove or microwave to heat it through.
🥓🍚🌶️ Tips & Tricks for the Best Spicy Bacon Fried Rice
Crispy bacon, separate grains and real wok heat, the fried rice that actually tastes takeout-good
- Use cold, day-old rice. Leftover rice is drier and firmer, so it fries up separate instead of clumping. Fresh warm rice steams into mush.
- No leftovers? Dry rice fast. Spread fresh rice on a sheet pan and chill it in the fridge or freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. That quick cool-and-dry mimics day-old rice.
- Render the bacon first and keep the fat. Crisp the bacon, then cook everything else in that rendered fat. It is the single biggest flavor move in the whole dish.
- Get the pan screaming hot. Fried rice is a high-heat dish. A hot wok or cast iron sears the rice and gives you that toasty wok flavor instead of steamed grains.
- Work in a single layer and resist stirring. Let the rice sit against the hot pan for a few seconds to crisp before you toss. Constant stirring keeps it soggy.
- Scramble the egg in its own corner. Push the rice aside, pour the beaten egg into the cleared space, let it set, then fold it back in. Pieces of egg beat a scrambled coating.
- Pour the soy down the side of the hot pan. Hitting the metal first caramelizes the soy for a deeper, smokier flavor than pouring it straight onto the rice.
- Add the sambal to taste, in stages. Start with less, taste, and build. You can always add heat, but you cannot pull it back out once the rice is coated.
- Add the avocado off the heat. Slice it on at the very end so it stays cool and creamy against the hot, spicy rice. Cooked avocado turns bitter and mushy.
- Finish with extra green onion and a splash of vinegar. A handful of raw scallion and a hit of rice vinegar right before serving wakes the whole bowl up.
FAQs
What is bacon fried rice?
Bacon fried rice is a savory, stir-fried rice dish that swaps the usual pork or chicken for crispy bacon, tossed with day-old rice, egg, vegetables and a soy-based sauce. This spicy version adds sambal or sriracha and finishes with avocado. It is a fast, one-pan way to turn leftover rice into dinner.
Do I need leftover rice for fried rice?
Day-old rice is ideal because it is drier and fries up separate instead of mushy, but you can cook rice fresh in a pinch. Spread the warm rice on a sheet pan and chill it in the fridge or freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to dry it out first. Cold, dry rice is the real secret to good fried rice.
Can I make bacon fried rice vegetarian?
Yes, skip the bacon and cook the vegetables in a little extra sesame oil, then add extra egg or crispy tofu for protein and heft. Use a vegetarian-friendly chili sauce and check that your soy sauce has no fish ingredients. It is just as satisfying without the pork.
How do you make fried rice that is not mushy?
Use cold day-old rice, get your pan or wok screaming hot, and work in batches so the rice sears instead of steams. Do not over-stir; let the rice sit against the hot pan to crisp before tossing. Too much sauce or warm rice is what turns it gummy.
Is this fried rice gluten-free?
It can be. Swap the soy sauce for tamari or coconut aminos and confirm your sambal or sriracha is gluten-free, which most are. Everything else in the dish is naturally gluten-free.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Spicy Bacon Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 4 cups cooked white rice
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sambal or Sriracha
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 avocado
Instructions
- Cook the bacon until crispy, let cool, then tear into small pieces.
- In a large non stick skillet over medium heat, heat sesame oil. Add garlic, green onions and peas and cook, stirring, until green onions are softened and peas are warmed through, about 3 minutes. Add cooked rice and toss to combine, breaking up any clumps. Let the veggies and rice cook until slightly browned, about 6 minutes
- In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, rice vinegar and sambal. Pour mixture over fried rice, then add bacon and stir well. Scrape rice to one side of the pan and pour eggs into the other side; stir immediately to scramble the eggs as they cook. As the eggs begin to scramble, stir rice into eggs. Taste and season with more soy sauce and/or Sambal, as desired
- Serve with avocado and extra green onions if desired.
Notes
Ingredient Swaps for Fried Rice
- Bacon / Pancetta
- Frozen peas / Frozen Corn / Frozen Broccoli / Frozen Carrots
- White Rice / Brown Rice
- And feel free to add any fresh veg when you’re sautéing in step 2! Asparagus tips, diced onions, quartered artichoke hearts, skies the limit!
I had left over thai veggies and frozen quinoa. Threw it all together with your recipe and it was delish! Mmm yum!
It was delicious...I add spinach and the rest of cooked chicken....really good...i'll do it again for sure
This was amazing and I totally forgot about the avocado, I made it with your butter lettuce , avacado chive salad so it made up for the missing avacado in the rice. Will be a regular in our house.
So good and so easy!
I am happy to hear you have a new cookbook coming soon. I went to Amazon just now and Pre-ordered it and I am so excited to get it. Thank you.
Another winner! This was so easy and delicious. I’ll definitely be making this again.
This was delicious! Made it last week and making it again already this week!
This was my first time putting bacon and avocado on fried rice with soy sauce! It was soooo good. I’ll definitely do it again!
Could I use Harissa paste in place of sambal or Sriracha?
absolutely
Delicious and super easy. My family and I make an Ecuadorian fried rice and this reminded me of it. Loved the bacon in it.
Would this work with cauliflower rice?
yes but cauliflower rice only needs a few minutes to cook so I would cut the cook time down by half!
I love new ways to use up leftovers!
Hi with what can I substitute the soy sauce, too much sodium
coconut aminos!