Thai Pineapple Fried Rice holds all the Thai flavors of spicy, sweet, and salty with a perfect tang from the pineapple topped off with crunchy, nutty cashews.  Make it with chicken, shrimp or tofu- a delicious Thai meal in just 30 minutes!

This Pineapple Fried Rice holds all the Thai flavors of spicy, sweet, and salty with a perfect tang from the pineapple and tops off with a crunchy nutty taste of cashew. It is a delicious Thai dish that is fast to put together. Vegan adaptable! #thaipineapplefriedrice #pineapplefriedrice

“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.”

Meister Eckhar

What is Pineapple Fried Rice?

Pineapple fried rice is a Thai-inspired rice dish that uses jasmine rice as the base, with chicken shrimp or tofu, stir fried with veggies and fresh pineapple seasoned with curry powder, fish sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice. Typically topped with toasted cashews or peanuts.

Ingredient Notes

Listed below are helpful kitchen notes on a few ingredients that will help with the success of your chicken pineapple fried rice. The complete ingredient list is in the recipe card at the end of the post.

  • Rice. Use cooked, day-old Jasmine rice – chilled uncovered overnight in the fridge (to remove moisture).
  • Oil. Use a high-heat oil like coconut, avocado, peanut, or high-smoking point oil.
  • Protein. Use chicken, shrimp, or make our crispy tofu.
  • Pineapple. Fresh pineapple is best for this recipe.
  • Curry powder. This recipe uses yellow curry powder or madras curry powder, which is spicier than store-bought. Use less if you prefer less heat, and you can always add more at the end if you’d like your fried rice a tad spicier. Adjust by adding more at the final tasting.
  • Ground black or white pepper. White pepper will give this pineapple fried rice the authentic Thai taste you find in Thailand. 
  • Fish sauce. Not all fish sauce brands are made equal in quality and saltiness. Use a bit at first and adjust more towards the end before plating. 

How to make Pineapple Fried Rice

Mix the fried rice sauce by combining curry powder, sugar, pepper, vinegar, fish sauce, and soy sauce, and mix well. Set aside.

sauce with curry powder in a small round bowl on counter

Cook the protein first. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, wait until the pan is warm, and add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add garlic, and cook for 15 seconds until fragrant.

Add the seasoned chicken ( or shrimp, or make crispy tofu) and stir in well with the garlic. Cook, the chicken for 5-6 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside

Tip: A non-stick pan is best for this recipe.

panfried chicken

Wipe out the pan and add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Once hot, add onions and cook until caramelized about 2 minutes. Add the pineapple, stir with the onion and cook until the pineapple is soft and lightly browned.

Next add the the finely chopped vegetables, including the green onions, and stir and cook until the vegetables are tender crisp, 3-4 minutes more.

sautéed vegetables and pineapple in a pan
Add in the veggies and scallions.

Make the fried rice. Add oil to the pan, add the rice, and stir. Spread the rice grain evenly on the pan’s surface to help brown the rice crisp quicker. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the rice is nice and dry looking with a few golden brown grains.

pan fried jasmine rice

Make a crater in the middle of the pan, add a little more oil if needed and add the lightly whisked eggs. Once the eggs thicken, gently scramble, then fold in the rice . Cook for 2 more minutes, remove to a platter and set aside.

Stir in the cooked chicken and veggies in with the rice cook for another 2 minutes. Turn the heat to high for the rest of the time to help reduce the moisture from all the ingredients added.

fried rice with eggs, chicken and pineapple in a wok

Pour in the fried rice sauce, stir well, and cook the fried rice for 1-2 more minutes.

pineapple fried rice in a wok

Lastly, add the toasted cashews, stir once more, and turn the heat off. Taste and season with more soy sauce, sugar, and lime juice. Or add more curry powder if you’d like a little extra spice. Garnish with chopped cilantro, and enjoy!

pineapple fried rice with cashew in a wok

Expert Tips

  • Use more curry powder for extra spice. Either in the sauce or add more at the end.
  • Before sprinkling them over your fried rice, you can toast your cashew in a skillet without the oil. Toasting the cashew adds extra flavor, nutty flavors, and crunch.
  • Peanuts, almonds, and macadamia nuts are great substitutes instead of cashew.
  • Use shrimp or crispy tofu, tempeh, or all vegetables instead of chicken. Use less cooking time if using tofu or tempeh.
  • Best vegetables for pineapple fried rice: Sweet bell peppers, carrots, pea pods, onions, jalapenos, fresh beans, edamame, and the stemmy soft part of broccoli or broccolini and water chestnuts.
  • You can use rice or apple cider vinegar if you don’t have fresh lime juice.
This Pineapple Fried Rice is easy to make in 30 minutes with your choice of chicken, shrimp or crispy tofu. A tasty Thai meal in minutes!

Recipe Faqs

Can this be made vegan?

Yes, you can use all crispy tofu, tempeh, or all vegetables. Omit the fish sauce and use extra soy sauce instead. Play around with the seasoning at the end to adjust the flavors. Add more soy sauce, sugar, or lime juice to find the perfect blend for your taste bud.

How to Elevate pineapple fried rice?

Use mushroom soy sauce for a light but very flavorful sauce. Also, use golden mountain or maggie seasoning for an authentic Thai taste. They are available at your local Asian market.

More Thai Recipes you may like

I hope you enjoy this recipe! I truly love sharing what I know about making tasty Thai food and bringing a little bit of my Thai culture to your kitchen. Food is a huge part of Thai culture, and we truly believe that sharing and eating food makes life better. I hope this recipe brings great delight to your heart and home!

Suwanee

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This Pineapple Fried Rice holds all the Thai flavors of spicy, sweet, and salty with a perfect tang from the pineapple and tops off with a crunchy nutty taste of cashew. It is a delicious Thai dish that is fast to put together. Vegan adaptable! #thaipineapplefriedrice #pineapplefriedrice

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 9 reviews
  • Author: Suwanee | Feasting at Home
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Fried rice
  • Method: stirfry
  • Cuisine: Thai

Description

This Pineapple Fried Rice holds all the Thai flavors of spicy, sweet, and salty with a perfect tang from the pineapple and tops off with a crunchy nutty taste of cashew. It is a delicious Thai dish that is fast to put together. Vegan adaptable!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 tablespoon coconut, peanut or avocado oil, divided
  • 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 8-10 ounces chicken breast, thinly sliced into thin, small pieces, or sub shrimp or make this Crispy Tofu.
  • 1/3 cup onions, diced small
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple sliced into small bite-sized pieces
  • 1/3 cup red bell peppers, diced small
  • 1/3 cup carrots diced small
  • 1/2 cup green onions, sliced small
  • 2 cups cooked Jasmine rice (day-old rice is best, left uncovered in the fridge, to “dry out” a bit)
  • 2 eggs, lightly whisked before cooking
  • 1/3 cup cashews, whole if possible- see notes!

Garnish: lime wedges, cilantro, Sriracha

Stir Fry Sauce:


Instructions

  1. Make the sauce by combining curry powder, sugar, pepper, lime juice, fish sauce, and soy sauce, and mix well.
  2. In a large skillet, heat to medium-high heat, and add the oil. Once hot, add garlic and fry until lightly golden brown and fragrant, 30 seconds or so.Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned. 4-5 minutes, lowering heat if needed. Set aside. 
  3. Wipe out the pan, add a little more oil, and the onion, stir fry 2 minutes, then add the pineapple, and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the vegetables, green onions, and cook until the vegetables are tender, 3-4 minutes. Set aside with the chicken. 
  4. Add a little more oil, stir fry the rice, make a well in the center and scramble the egg. Add chicken and veggies back into the pan. 
  5. Add the sauce, stir well, and let the fried rice cook for 1-2 more minutes.  Add the cashews and cilantro. Stir well, turn the heat off, taste, and season as needed with soy sauce, sugar, and lime juice. Or add more curry powder if you’d like a little spice.
  6. Serve warm with a side of lime wedges and garnish with chopped cilantro and optional Sriracha

Notes

  • Add more curry powder for extra spice. Either in the sauce or add more at the end.
  • Cashews: Before sprinkling them over your fried rice, you can toast your cashews in a dry skillet without the oil. This adds extra flavor, nutty flavors, and crunch. Roasted Peanuts, almonds, and macadamia nuts are great substitutes instead of cashew.
  • Protein: Use shrimp or crispy tofu or all vegetables instead of chicken.
  • Best vegetables for pineapple fried rice:Bell peppers, carrots, pea pods, onions, jalapenos, fresh beans, edamame, and the stemmy soft part of broccoli or broccolini and water chestnuts.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1.25 cup
  • Calories: 453
  • Sugar: 11.9 g
  • Sodium: 642.8 mg
  • Fat: 21.5 g
  • Saturated Fat: 3.7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 44.9 g
  • Fiber: 2.3 g
  • Protein: 21.1 g
  • Cholesterol: 134.4 mg

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Comments

  1. Better tasting, better for you (IMO), and less expensive than the take-out we had last week, and it was easy to make on a weeknight. Had everything on hand except for the pineapple. Bought a fresh one for this but will try it with canned when fresh is not available.
    Thank you for another great recipe! This will definitely be on frequent repeat.

  2. This is an absolute favorite of ours! Is it possible to freeze this after it is cooked? I’d love to double the recipe and store half in the freezer for another week, but not sure the best way to do this. Thanks!






  3. What a beautiful rainbow of carrot, red bell peppers, peas, broccoli, cilantro, and a touch of red cabbage! Delicious sauce- doubled the recipe of everything and enjoyed his for two nights in a row. The pineapple was the touch that made it feel like such a restaurant-quality meal. Will make again when I have time 🙂






  4. Really nice! This is in our dinner recipe rotation. I use the whole onion and bell pepper, keep the chicken amount the same, then double the rest of the recipe.






  5. This recipe is so Delicious! Wow! My husband who does not like pineapple loved this dish. Thank you for demystifying Thai food.

  6. I’ve never combined curry with pineapple, but WOW! This was delicious. So light and tasty. Everyone loved it.

  7. This recipe is perfect! We did crab meat as the protein and it reminded me of our favorite Thai restaurant back home. Thanks!






  8. This was so good!! I added some broccoli florets, but other than that, followed the recipe exactly. The sauce is yummy- I may double it next time just to have a little more to pour on or use for the leftovers. This is a keeper at our house! Thanks!






  9. this is incredibly delicious and will be on repeat for us. made it last night with your Crispy Tofu and bumped up the veggies a little. bye bye takeout! this tops them all






  10. I’m excited to try this recipe. The pictures show a step where you cook onion and pineapple together before adding the other onions and vegetables. This step seems to be omitted in the instructions, but seems like a good idea. Do you still recommend that? Thanks for posting.

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