Fried Rice Breakfast
Break out a big cast iron skillet and feed a crowd with this Breakfast Fried Rice. Full of sausage, eggs and lots of veggies, this will keep you fueled all morning.
In culinary school, one of the early classes I took was called “Breakfast & Pantry.” Each morning, the class was responsible for putting on a HUGE brunch buffet that was open to the public for a shockingly small fee. When I say huge, I mean huge. The class was divided into groups.
One group would do eggs, another would do meats, a third group would make pancakes and waffles and french toast, and the fourth group was responsible for fruit, salads, sandwiches and any other miscellaneous items.
On the finished buffet, there would be omelets, vegetarian quiche, scrambled eggs, eggs benedict, deviled eggs and frittatas on one line.
There was waffles AND pancakes AND crepes AND French toast brioche in another section. Another area would have multiple kinds of sandwiches and a few salads.
There was a huge fruit platter or cups of fruit salad. There was sausage AND bacon (school was where I learned how to cook bacon in the oven and how to cook sausage in the oven), AND ham, AND usually a smoked salmon platter.
As if that wasn’t enough, there was always homemade biscuits with sausage gravy, homemade pastries and breads, and probably a bunch of other things I’m forgetting. Oh, and breakfast fried rice.
The best part was that I believe this buffet was $10 or less. I mean, this was back in 2010, but still – what a deal. Seriously, if you have a culinary school locally, see if they have a student-run restaurant that you can go to!
I’ve already shared many culinary school techniques and recipes with you, and today we’ll be chatting about breakfast rice!
Why You’ll Love This Breakfast Fried Rice Recipe
- It has eggs, sausage, a little bit of carbs to get you going for the day, and you can fill this cast iron fried rice with a decent amount of veggies if you want, too.
- Break out the biggest cast iron skillet you have (or two for a double batch if you need it), and you can feed the whole crew with one easy dish with this sausage fried rice.
Breakfast Rice Ingredients
- sausage – you’ll want to use the type that’s sold in a roll for this cast iron fried rice (like Jimmy Dean or Bob Evans), so you can crumble it as it cooks. Pork sausage is super flavorful, but turkey sausage (like Jennie-O) is a lower fat alternative.
- rice – you’ll need 4 cups of precooked white rice before you start making fried rice. It’s even better if it’s made the day before and cooled down.
- yellow onion – I used yellow onion for this breakfast fried rice recipe, but white onion is great, too.
- green onions – yes, two types of onions! This is what we did in culinary school, so it’s what I’m doing now. Feel free to omit the green onions if one type of onion is enough for you.
- eggs – it’s not fried rice without scrambled egg bits! You will need 3 large eggs.
- spinach – I sneak an entire box of spinach into my breakfast rice to get started on my veggie intake for the day. It wilts right down into practically nothing in this fried rice with sausage. I also love sneaking it into my sweet potato breakfast casserole and salmon spaghetti.
- peas – I’m not a huge pea lover when eaten on their own, but I love them in fried rice. I sneak them into rigatoni meat sauce and fettuccine bolognese sometimes, too. I used frozen peas here.
- nonstick cooking spray – this will be helpful for cooking the eggs without having them stick to your skillet.
- soy sauce – this is the traditional seasoning for fried rice. It’s also my secret weapon for the best gravy recipe and balsamic glaze!
- maple syrup – this is certainly UNtraditional for fried rice, but I love the touch of sweetness it adds, and after all, it’s breakfast!
- ground black pepper – for seasoning the sausage fried rice. You can also use ground white pepper!
- avocado – sliced, ripe avocado makes a great garnish and adds fiber (also so good on Sonoran hot dogs), but this part is optional.
- sriracha – for serving, if anybody wants to add a little heat to their fried rice for breakfast.
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How to Make Breakfast Fried Rice
1. SAUSAGE. Cook the sausage in a large cast iron or other heavy skillet until it’s almost cooked through, breaking it up as it cooks.
2. ONION. Add the onion and cook until the onion is softened and the sausage is fully cooked.
3. EGGS. Push the sausage mixture to the outside edges of the pan, reduce the heat, and pour the eggs into the center of the pan and scramble them.
4. VEGGIES, RICE AND SEASONING. Stir in the spinach, green onions, rice, peas, maple syrup, soy sauce and pepper. Cook until the spinach is wilted and everything is warmed through.
5. SERVE. Serve the rice topped with avocado and srirarcha.
Breakfast Rice Home Chef Tips
- For a spicier breakfast, consider using hot Italian sausage here, or adding some crushed red pepper flakes in Step 4.
- To save time in the morning, you can chop the yellow onion and slice the green onions the night before. Using pre-washed spinach also cuts down on prep work.
How to Serve this Egg and Rice Breakfast
With this breakfast fried rice recipe being so easy and coming together in one pan (if you’ve cooked the rice the day before), you should have a bit of extra time to make a special brunch drink!
Mimosas and bloody marys are classics, of course. Don’t forget the everything bagel bloody mary rim salt and an epic bloody mary garnishes, too!
You could also try your hand at a fancy coffeehouse style drink at home by using my homemade caramel coffee syrup recipe to make my caramel latte recipe or caramel iced coffee recipe to serve with this breakfast rice.
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Breakfast Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 package roll sausage (pork or turkey) 16 ounce
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 package fresh baby spinach 5 ounces
- 4 green onions thinly sliced
- 4 cups prepared white rice
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Avocado for serving (optional)
- Sriracha for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Heat large cast iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage to skillet and cook 8 minutes or until sausage is almost cooked through, breaking up sausage with back of spoon as it cooks.
- Add yellow onion to skillet and cook 3 to 5 minutes or until onion is softened and sausage is cooked all the way through, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to medium; push sausage mixture to outside edges of pan. Spray center of pan with cooking spray; pour eggs into center of pan. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until eggs are hard scrambled, stirring constantly.
- Stir in spinach, green onions, rice, peas, maple syrup, soy sauce and pepper. Cook 4 to 5 minutes or until spinach is wilted and everything is warmed through, stirring frequently.
- Serve topped with avocado and sriracha, if desired.
Notes
- Home Chef Tip: Fried rice works best with day-old rice! Use leftovers from Chinese carryout, or make a batch of rice the night before. Spread the cooked rice on a small rimmed baking pan lined with parchment paper. Transfer to refrigerator and let sit, uncovered, overnight.
