Turmeric chicken fried rice with veggies makes for a flavorful, colorful side dish (or dinner!). Make it in bulk to meal prep for the week or to serve alongside your favorite entrée.
If you ask me, protein with your carb and carb with your protein is life! For this reason, protein-infused fried rice is EVERYTHING!
Rice is my favorite source of resistant starch and carbohydrate. Having dealt with chronic gut issues, I find rice to be incredibly easy and soothing on my digestive system, aid with regular digestion and is an easy-to-digest carb for refueling exercise.
I don’t claim to eat a paleo diet (or any diet for that matter), but because many of the recipes I post are paleo, at one point I felt the need to provide explanation as to whether or not rice was considered okay to eat on the paleo diet. For that reason, I wrote a whole post titled Is Rice Paleo, where I discuss the ins and outs of rice as it pertains to blood sugar, gut health, nutrient absorption, and more.
Following up that post, I wrote How to Cook Rice and Potatoes for Optimal Digestion to ensure you get the most out of your resistant starch intake.
Fried rice is a major staple in my life. I love to make it every which way! Lately, I’ve been changing up the add-ins and flavors to keep it vibrant and interesting.
For this edition of turmeric chicken fried rice, we have all the usual fried rice suspects (carrot, peas, bell pepper, green onion and scrambled egg), but with ground turmeric and chicken thighs all nestled in for a nutrient infusion.
What Type of Chicken Do I Use?:
This recipe calls for cooked chicken, which can be sourced in numerous ways. For this recipe, I used my Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken, but you can also use any type of leftover chicken, store-bought chicken, or simply saute up a chicken breast or chicken thighs.
For me, one of the appeals of this recipe is it is a marvelous utilization for leftover chicken. Don’t let a gem like cooked chicken go to waste when you can re-purpose it in a delicious fried rice dish!
Let’s whip it out!
How to Make Turmeric Chicken Fried Rice:
Soak the white rice 15 minutes. Drain. Add water, 1 tablespoon of oil, ¼ tsp sea salt, and ground turmeric.
Cover, bring to a full boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook 10 to 15 minutes according to package instructions.
While the rice is cooking, sauté the vegetables.
Add 3 tablespoons of oil to a skillet and add the chopped carrot, bell pepper, and green onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the green beans and cooked chicken and cook until heated through. Add the cooked rice and stir well.
Scramble the eggs in a separate skillet and stir into the fried rice. Serve alongside your favorite entrée.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Add 1 cup chopped yellow onion and 3 cloves garlic if you don’t follow a Low-FODMAP diet.
- Toss in additional vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, etc for more vegetation.
- Make it a tri-protein situation by adding shrimp
- Toss in raisins, dried cranberries, pine nuts, and/or cashews for more flavor and texture.
Entrée Suggestions:
Need ideas for a main event? The following main dishes go great with this turmeric chicken fried rice!
- Paleo Orange Chicken
- Orange Butter Lemon Salmon
- Pressure Cooker Korean Beef Bulgogi
- Red Curry Meatballs
- Thai Paleo Panang Curry
What are your favorite fried rice add-ins?
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If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Turmeric Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups white rice soaked*
- 4 Tbsp avocado oil divided
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 large carrot peeled and diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup peas
- 1 bunch green onion
- 2 cups cooked chicken chopped
- 3 large eggs scrambled
Instructions
- Soak the white rice 15 minutes. Drain. Add water, 1 tablespoon of oil, ¼ tsp sea salt, and ground turmeric. Cover, bring to a full boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook 10 to 15 minutes according to package instructions. If you're using leftover cooked rice, skip this step and add the turmeric in step 3.
- While the rice is cooking, sauté the vegetables. Add 3 tablespoons of oil to a skillet and add the chopped carrot, bell pepper, and green onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the green beans and cooked chicken and cook until heated through. Add the cooked rice and stir well.
- Scramble the eggs in a separate skillet and stir into the fried rice. Serve alongside your favorite entrée.
Notes
Nutrition
Great recipe. Thank you for posting.
I noticed the recipe instructions include the addition of green beans yet no green beans appear in the list of ingredients. Are the green beans already cooked since they are added later?
How much water should I put in with the rice when I’m cooking it?
Hi Cecelia, I use 3 cups of water for 1 1/2 cups of white rice. If the package instructions indicate a different amount of water, use the amount specified on the package 🙂 Hope you enjoy!! xo
I have curry powder in my pantry, but no plain turmeric. Could it be a decent substitute?
Absolutely! You can definitely use curry powder instead of the turmeric. It will be delicious! xoxox
@Julia, trying this for dinner tomorrow! Thanks for your help! <3
The recipe you shared is full of vegetables and healthy. Can’t wait to try it out. Hope it turns well. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure! So happy you like it, Vania!
I roasted a chicken this weekend spicing it up with turmeric. This recipe could very well be a main dish! We will try it out tonight! (I will send photos if they are presentable!)..