Air Fryer Fried Rice (Ham fried rice)

Ham fried rice that’s made in the air fryer. This is an Incredibly delicious and flavorful family friendly dish. Making air fryer fried rice requires a few ingredients that’s tossed together with cold rice. This is one of the best ways to use up leftover white rice straight from the refrigerator.

Air fryer Ham Fried Rice recipe.

Leftover ham comes to life with this easy dinner recipe. We make this often around the Easter and thanksgiving holidays for obvious reasons, the abundance of ham.

We love Ham recipes here that’s probably why ham and cheese hot pockets are one of favorite flavors.

You should also try our Panda Express fried rice copycat recipe as well. It’s one of our favs and is very similar to our air fryer ham fried but made with slightly different ingredients. It’s so yummy!

Why my air fryer fried rice checks all the boxes.

Have you tried making fried rice in your air fryer before? If you haven’t you need drop everything now and go ahead and make some. Especially if you have some leftover rice sitting in the refrigerator.

This is about the easiest recipe you can make without having to turn on your stove. It’s a dump, mix and cook one pot recipe and gets dinner on the table in less than 30 mins. Honestly it’s that good!

What you need (Ingredients & tools)

Ingredients:

• Cold rice preferably a day old
• Tamari gluten free soy sauce you can use regular gluten free soy sauce if your are not sensitive to gluten.
• Garlic powder
• Ginger powder
• Frozen vegetables. The one I used had green peas, green beans, carrots, edamame and sweet corn. I have also use the ones with only green peas and carrots.
• Oil ( I used canola oil. You can use a mix of toasted sesame oil and canola to add more depth of flavor)
• Spring onions
• Cayenne pepper add

Tools:

• Air fryer
• An 8 by 3 inch baking pan or any oven safe container that would fit into your air fryer basket.
• A spatula to mix the rice

How to make Air fryer fried rice with ham step by step

First you gather your ingredients. Mix every thing together in a bowl, preferably the dish that it would be cooked in.

Transfer to the air fryer basket and bake at 350°F / 177°C for 15 mins. Be sure to stir every 5 mins.

How to cook rice for fried rice.

The best rice for Asian style fried rice is leftover cold long grain rice. You can either cook it on the stove top, microwave, oven on in a pressure cooker.

To cook it on the stove top, wash 2 cups of white long grain rice till it runs clear, transfer to a pot, add 3 cups of water and cook for 20-25 mins. Turn off heat and let it rest for about 10 mins then fluff up rice. This should yield about 5 cups.

Cooking the rice in the instant pot pressure cooker is also a great alternative. I use a water to rice ratio of 1:1. Cook the rice for 5 minutes and do a natural pressure release for 8 mins then a quick release.

If you intend to use it the next day, Let it cool, then transfer to a Bowl and refrigerate overnight. To use it immediately, you would need to get dry and ready. Spread it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and put in the freest for 5 mins. Bring it out and use immediately.

What to serve with fried rice

There are a variety of sides that compliment this easy dinner recipe. It goes particularly well with salads, meats or eggs. I’ve included some our favorites.

• Crispy chicken drumsticks
• Sticky teriyaki chicken
• Coleslaw
• Cucumber salad
• Air fryer steak
• Juicy tender chicken breasts

Variations

• Ham and Egg fried rice
• Easy Ham and pineapple fried rice (also Hawaiian fried rice)

Tips for success

• If making a larger batch you can remove the air fryer basket and put the ingredients directly in the basket base. (I did that with my Chin chin recipe. You can see a visual in this air fryer peanuts video) This won’t work for all air fryers. Some air fryers don’t have this feature.
• Use cold rice not freshly cooked rice to prevent the grains from sticking together.
• Stir the rice every 5 minutes as it reheats so that it cooks evenly.
• I like to use low sodium soy sauce so I can have control of the salt. This way you can adjust the seasoning with more salt or bouillon powder.
• Use Tamari soy sauce if you are gluten free.

Your Frequently Asked Questions Answered

What is the best rice for fried rice?

Cooked Long grain white rice is best for fried rice or stir fries. Parboiled rice, Jasmine rice or Basmati rice.

How to dry out freshly cooked rice?

The secret to rice stir fries with separate grains is the use of day old cold rice. What do you do when what you have is freshly cooked rice. Spread the rice on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for 5 mins. It’s would help cool and dry out the rice.

Can I use brown rice?

Yes you can use brown rice. However the grains are likely to be sticky instead of singular.

What is the best oil for fried rice?

Any oil with a high smoking point would be good got stir fries and therefore good for fried rice. Oils like Canola oil, Peanut oil, Sesame oil and Avocado oil are great choices. However my preference would be a high smoke point with a light flavor like canola oil, sesame oil and avocado.

We’ve got more air fryer recipes you’d love.

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Check out all our >>>Air fryer Recipes!

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Happy Air frying!

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