Bacon Mushroom Kale Fried Rice

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Fried rice picks up a ton of flavor when the rice is fried in bacon fat. Eggs, kale, and umami-packed shiitake mushrooms complete this quick dish, which is great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

When I shared my recipe for Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Fried Rice, I talked about how much we love rice. Jonathan eats rice nearly every day. Since we moved in together, I’ve been eating rice 3-4 days a week. I always cook a little bit more than I think we’ll need, in case we’re extra hungry. As a result, we usually have some leftover rice in the fridge.

And you know what’s the best thing to do with leftover rice?

Make fried rice, of course.

Unlike fresh steamed rice, which is kind of watery, leftover rice dries out, making it perfect for stir-frying. We’ve made many different types of fried rice.

Today’s version, with bacon and eggs, is a little breakfast-y. While we ate it for dinner, I think it would be great for brunch too. In my last fried rice recipe, I only used one slice of bacon because I didn’t want the bacon to overpower the smoked salmon. With this recipe, bacon is the star. I used plenty of bacon to flavor the rice. I added some kale and shiitake mushrooms for vegetables and a couple eggs for a little bit of protein. Finishing the fried rice with a drop of sesame oil gives it the perfect flavor.

Here are the main ingredients: leftover cooked white rice, Tuscan kale, eggs, shiitake mushrooms, and bacon. I do encourage substitutions based on what you have on hand. Cooked brown rice, regular button mushrooms, spinach, and other greens are all good.

I cooked the mushrooms first.

Next I scrambled the eggs. Then I cooked the bacon to render the fat to use to fry the rice.

The bacon fat adds so much flavor to the dish and really goes well with the other ingredients. This is one of those quick and simple dinners that is so good, you’ll want to make it over and over again.

Make a pot of rice ASAP so you have leftover rice to use up!

5 from 3 votes

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Bacon Mushroom Kale Fried Rice

Fried rice picks up a ton of flavor when the rice is fried in bacon fat. Eggs, kale, and umami-packed shiitake mushrooms complete this quick dish, which is great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Course Dinner, Main Dish

Cuisine Asian

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 3 teaspoons grapeseed or canola oil, divided
• 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms stems removed, thinly sliced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 small bunch Tuscan kale, deveined and chopped
• 3 cups leftover cooked rice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

1. Heat 1 ½ teaspoons grapeseed or canola oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Remove mushrooms from wok and set aside.
2. Add remaining 1 ½ teaspoons grapeseed or canola oil to wok. Scramble the eggs. Remove eggs from wok and set aside.
3. Lower heat to medium. Add bacon to wok and cook, stirring frequently, until browned and some of fat has rendered, 8-10 minutes. Remove bacon from the wok with a slotted spoon. Leave bacon grease in the wok.
4. Add kale to the bacon grease and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Add rice to the kale and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring to break up the rice.
6. Add the mushrooms, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sesame oil to the wok. Mix everything and cook 3 more minutes, stirring frequently, until rice is slightly crispy and everything is heated through.

Bon Appétit!