Pineapple Fried Rice
A quick and easy weeknight meal that’s so much cheaper, tastier and healthier than take-out!
I am such a sucker for pineapple fried rice. It’s my absolute favorite of all fried rices, and there’s quite a bit of variations out there. But every time I order take-out or order pineapple fried rice from a restaurant, the pineapple chunks are always so huge! It’s my biggest pet peeve, so I just had to make a homemade version to share with you all.
Now this is a version that is conveniently loaded with bite-sized pineapple chunks, just bursting with all of their their juicy sweetness. It’s also super easy to whip up and it can easily be a clean-out-the-fridge meal with all those lingering veggies.
And feel free to use your favorite kind of protein – ham, chicken, or shrimp, or you can even keep it vegetarian with just the pineapple. Either way, once you drizzle on that Sriracha goodness, you’ll have the best combination of sweet and spicy flavors. Plus, this makes for awesome leftovers the next day!
Pineapple Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and grated
- ½ cup frozen corn
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 cups diced pineapple, canned or fresh
- ½ cup diced ham
- 2 green onions, sliced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger powder and white pepper; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion to the skillet, and cook, stirring often, until onions have become translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in carrots, corn and peas, and cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in rice, pineapple, ham, green onions and soy sauce mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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I was looking for a quick yet delicious recipe using pineapple and rice and found this little gem. I made it last night to have as a side item with the chicken katsu and it was perfect pairing! my husband loved the fried rice! Colorful, beautiful looking, and tasted as colorful too. Definitely a keeper! (Next time I will try this with shrimp.)
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I used jasmine rice instead. I also added bean sprouts because my hubby won’t have any kind of fried rice unless it has bean sprouts in it. Great recipe. Will definitely make it again. Very easy too.
This recipe, minus the ham, would be an excellent accompaniment for the Hawaiian chicken recipe recently posted. I would substitute snow peas or snap peas for the regular frozen peas, and maybe throw in some mini corn cobs for fun and additional colour.
What do you think about adding bok choy to this dish?
Thank you for your cooking inspirations.
Bok choy sounds like a great addition!
Mange tout finely sliced was perfect instead of maybe peas or sweet corn but I just wanted use my fridge veggies
Every time I look up recipes I see one I like – click on it to find out it is yours!
It is NO surprise since I am already a huge fan!!!
Thanks so much for this recipe, I can’t wait to try it tomorrow. Do you think it would freeze well? I’m wondering about doing a batch of pineapple chicken & pineapple chicken fried rice and freezing portions so I can have some nice lunches ready for work. Thanks x
I was psyched to try this recipe, but found that the white pepper absolutely ruined it– that’s all I could taste. I managed to salvage it with some hoisin sauce. I think it’s probably a good recipe, but I’ll omit the white pepper in future, thanks!
I cooked this for my nephews while babysitting, made the recipe exactly as is and I’m now officially the family chef! Thanks for scoring me points with the little dudes… fantastic recipe!
Wonder how it would be without the ham? A few weeks back I head a toxic ingredient was being added to ham and they had a petition to sign to get the chemical removed. Not sure what has happened about it. I have not bought any ham and will not until I hear it is safe.
Jan, please feel free to omit the ham as needed.
I made this for dinner last night and it was a huge hit. I used 1 T of olive oil and low sodium soy sauce because my husband is on a diet. It was easy to make and delicious AND I have some for lunch today too!
Are the onions spring onions or the white round onions? Also, do you drain the pineapple? ( I imagine so ) …
Excited to try this for dinner tonight.
Thank you! 🙂
If canned pineapple is used, it would be best to drain prior to using. Also, the recipe calls for both onions and green onions.
Do you refrigerate your rice first. I have found over the years that, especially if using regular white rice, that if the rice is freshly cooked the fried rice ends up gummy. If I use left over rice that has been refrigerated the fried rice turns out perfect.
BTW, never had pineapple fried rice but will try your recipe. Sounds yummy.
I tend to use day-old rice, but not refrigerated. I’m not a particular fan of refrigerated rice as it becomes very hard and clunky!
I put leftover rice in a gallon ziplock bag and press so that it is 1/2-1 inch. Store it flat in the fridge. It heats up fine in the fridg I warmed it in the microwave (no water added). It was perfect! I had made broccoli and beef. Both were delish!
HI! So if you don’t refrigerate the cooked rice, how do you store until use? Thanks
If it is cooked the same day, it can be set at room temperature until ready to use.
I wanted to say thanks for all of the delicious recipes! This recipe has become a family favorite. We live with multiple food allergies and sometimes finding yummy, easy & safe recipes are hard.
I also link to this recipe a lot from my blog because I menu plan (we can’t eat out due to the severity of my daughter’s food allergies.) This is a recipe I look forward to every time I make it!
So, again, I say thanks! 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight, so damn delish!!!! I subbed quinoa for rice because that is what I had on hand. It was really good. If I hadn’t needed to feed others I would have happily eaten it out of the pan over the stove 🙂
Pineapple rice are my favorite wherever I visit a local Chinese place! Specially the sweetness of pineapple make rice taste so gooood! try it soon!
This recipe looks really good and I can hardly wait to try it. I have recently developed a very severe allergy to sesame seeds and oil. I have been looking for a suitable substitute with more flavour than regular cooking oil. I was wondering if you would have any suggestions?
If you are allergic to sesame seeds and oil, I recommend omitting it entirely rather than finding a substitute.
As soon as I found this recipe I had to try it! I love the taste of the warm pineapple, and the sauce was just the right blend with ginger and sesame oil with the soya! very good!
Oh my goodness looks like such a good recipe, I literally can’t wait to make it. Ever since I went
to my favorite Chinese restaurant I’ve been craving this dish 🙂 😀
There is no mention of Sriracha in the list of ingredients although it is refered to above, could you clarify what this is please as I have never heard of it.
Sriracha is an Asian style hot sauce which can be used as an optional condiment for serving.
Thanks, I’m in the UK and have not heard of this but will try to find some.
This looks amazing! Love the addition of the pineapple! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
Just wanted to say thank you for this recipe. I just made it for today’s dinner and it is pretty tasty, I didn’t have all the vegetables in hand so I used the few I had and it still came out good. It was very easy to prepare too.
if i use white rice, should i use jasmine rice or just regular sticky rice?
Elissa, that really depends on what you prefer – I personally like to use Japanese rice for my fried rice dishes.