You’ll love this Thai-style pineapple fried rice. It’s so much fresher than takeout and an easy healthy dinner you can pair with any protein or enjoy as a side dish.
When people ask “what kind of food could you eat for the rest of your life if you had to pick one,” my answer is always: Thai. In fact, I’m heading to Vegas next week (kind of begrudgingly, it’s not a place I love) and I already have two Thai places picked out for dinners.
Since I live in the middle of nowhere and a craving for Thai food can’t be satisfied without a 55 minute drive, I often make my own. Whether it’s something more traditional like this Thai red curry soup or a more loose interpretation like this sticky Thai chicken, you will always find a can of coconut milk, fresh ginger and lime in my house — the essentials for most Thai recipes.
What I love most about the cuisine is how fresh everything tastes. It’s also got a wonderfully comforting vibe to it without being heavy or overly indulgent. This pineapple fried rice is a great example — it’s a quick, easy and healthy meal bursting with lots of fresh flavor and colorful vegetables. Like a pineapple curry that combines sweet and savory flavors, this fried rice does the same.
It works wonderfully as a stand alone dish (which I’ll often add a protein to) or as a side dish to round out a meal. It’s even great for bringing to summer BBQs or any get together, instead of pasta salad, think of it as an Asian-inspired rice salad!
Ingredients To Make It
- Cooked white rice — Leftover rice is actually great for this (save that takeout rice!). Cooked and cooled rice is a great resistant starch which can help tamper the glucose spiking effect of carbs. It also makes for great fried rice as it won’t clump up as much when you cook it.
My Pro Tip
Use Coconut Rice for Extra Flavor
If you want to take the Thai flavors of this pineapple fried rice to the next level, use coconut rice (rice that’s been cooked in coconut milk instead of water). If you do this, add some unsweetened coconut flakes to the fried rice for garnish to really pull out the coconut flavor.
- Sauce — Soy sauce, fish sauce, hoisin, honey, red chili paste, garlic and lime zest are all combined to create an Asian-inspired sauce that coats this fried rice dish. If you need a gluten-free alternative, use tamari or coconut aminos instead.
- Vegetables — Red bell pepper, carrots, edamame and sugar peas make up the veggie component of the pineapple fried rice, but this is easily customizable to what you have on hand. Fresh or frozen is fine, go for color!
- Spices — Ginger and onion powder season the dish and give it a signature Thai taste. If you have fresh ginger on hand, you can certainly use that instead of powder.
- Pineapple — I like to use fresh pineapple for this recipe. Look for a ripe, sweet pineapple when they’re in season. Canned pineapple can still be used (and it’s a heck of a lot faster to prep) but one reason I love using fresh when possible is that serving the fried rice in a hollowed out pineapple half is super fun! If you do use canned, make sure to drain any juices or syrup.
- Garnishes — Cilantro and peanuts finish off this dish for some texture and flavor. You can also use green onion in place of the cilantro but I love the Thai-style flavor cilantro brings to the dish.
How To Make Pineapple Fried Rice
Like many Asian dishes, this recipe comes together quickly once you start cooking so it’s important to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go from the start or you’ll be left panicked and scrambling.
MAKE THE SAUCE
Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl so it’s ready to go.
COOK THE VEGETABLES
Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. Once hot, add the vegetables and cook them for about 5 minutes until they start to soften. They should still have a bit of bite to them, you don’t want mushy vegetables in fried rice. Add the ginger and onion powder and give it a stir to combine.
ADD THE PINEAPPLE & RICE
Turn off the heat, add the chopped pineapple, cooked rice and prepared sauce and toss everything together until well combined and evenly coated in the sauce.
Garnish with the chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro before serving.
My Pro Tip
Can’t Do Peanuts?
Swap the peanuts for cashews if peanuts are a problem. Roasted and unsalted are preferable. You can even roast them again for a little extra nuttiness.
What To Serve It With
With all the Thai flavors going on in this fried rice, it’s obviously wonderful with another Thai dish like this cashew chicken skillet or red curry chicken. It’s great with bang bang chicken skewers too, which is reminiscent of chicken satay.
However, I often make this fried rice the main dish by adding a protein like shrimp, chicken or tofu to it. Tofu is great in fried rice and shrimp are super quick cooking and easy to add from frozen so there’s not much extra effort required. If you have leftover rotisserie chicken on hand, this is a great use for it.
Pineapple fried rice also pairs really well with tropical foods such as jerk chicken or blackened fish like mahi mahi or cod. You could also serve it with this slow cooker honey garlic chicken instead of regular rice.
Why No Eggs?
Traditional Thai-style pineapple fried rice often skips the egg, letting the sweetness of the pineapple take center stage without competing flavors. That said, it all comes down to personal preference. You can definitely add in 1-2 eggs to this recipe if you want. It’s also a meat-free way to increase the protein content if you’re making it your main meal.
Looking For More Takeout Foods You Can Make At Home?
Sweet & spicy pork ramen stir fry is a great mash up of a stir fry and ramen noodle bowl that comes together in just 20 minutes.
Chinese spare ribs might be the most fun takeout dish to make at home if you have the time. They’re sticky, sweet and totally addicting. For quicker takeout fakeouts, try General Tso shrimp or sweet and sour tofu.
If you love fried rice but need a lower-carb option, curry cauliflower rice is a great option and so flavorful you won’t even realize the rice is missing!
Pineapple Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups cooked white rice
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon red chili paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- zest of 1/2 a lime
- juice of 1/2 a lime
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup shelled edamame
- 1 cup sugar peas
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped
- chopped peanuts for garnish
- torn fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Whisk the soy sauce, fish sauce, hoisin, honey, red chili paste, garlic, lime zest and juice together in a small bowl, set aside.
- Place the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the red pepper, carrots, edamame and sugar peas to the skillet, toss to combine and cook for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally until softened.
- Add the ginger and onion powder to the pan, toss again to combine.
- Turn off the heat, add the pineapple, rice and sauce and toss until everything is well coated in the sauce mixture.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, top with peanuts and cilantro and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Pineapple fried rice is my favorite! It’s the closest I’m gonna get to the tropics ;) Cant wait to try this version!
A lovely recipe. Thank you.
Dear Gina, your fried rice sounds wonderful and I love all the colors in it. This is a perfect side dish and I cannot wait to try it next time. xo, Catherine
Yum! This recipe looks wonderful and super family-friendly!
I love all the flavors in this dish and I am definitely going to have to try this out for dinner!
I was just talking about Durian Fried Rice on my post today and here you are with Thai Pineapple Fried Rice. What a fun way to bring tropical weather in and this one is so colorful! Love this…and Cabo, too!
I’m totally trying this for dinner!
Sounds like y’all had a blast in Cabo! And – sounds like I’d have a blast indulging in this fabulous fried rice! Love love love the combo of pineapple soy sauce and chili paste!
So many incredible flavors in this dish! Id love to try it with cauliflower rice!
great idea! I might give that a shot too!