This easy, quick, and healthy shrimp fried rice recipe is better than takeout! You can make it in less than 30 minutes with store-bought shrimp and other quick and easy ingredients.
Shrimp fried rice is a tasty and popular dish found on many Asian restaurant menus. But is this flavorful meal a smart choice if you’re trying to lose weight? As a nutritionist, I’m often asked if shrimp fried rice can be part of a healthy weight loss diet In this article, I’ll take an in-depth look at the nutrition of shrimp fried rice and whether it supports or hinders weight loss goals
A Closer Look at Shrimp Fried Rice Nutrition
To determine if shrimp fried rice is good for weight loss, we need to break down its nutritional components. Here is the nutrition information for a 1 cup serving of shrimp fried rice (339 calories)
- Protein: 24.5g
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Fat: 5.4g
- Fiber: 1.5g
Shrimp fried rice provides a hefty dose of protein, which helps promote satiety and preserves lean muscle mass when dieting. The fiber content is also decent, which slows digestion and prevents blood sugar spikes.
However, a good portion of the calories in shrimp fried rice comes from carbohydrates. Fried rice is made from white rice, which is higher in starchy carbs and lower in fiber than brown rice. The onion, carrots, peas and shrimp also contribute some additional carbs.
Lastly, shrimp fried rice contains cooking oil, adding nearly 5.5 grams of (mostly unsaturated) fat per serving. Fried rice is stir fried, rather than deep fried, so the fat content could be worse. Still, the oil does drive up the calorie count.
The Role of Shrimp Fried Rice in Weight Loss
Now that we know what’s in shrimp fried rice nutrition-wise, the question remains: can it help or hinder weight loss goals? Here are some key factors to consider:
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Portion control is key – At 339 calories in 1 cup, shrimp fried rice can fit into a reduced calorie diet, but portion sizes must be monitored. Eating multiple large servings can easily sabotage weight loss.
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Eat it alongside vegetables – Pairing shrimp fried rice with a low calorie vegetable side dish can help fill you up while limiting total calories.
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Frequency matters – Shrimp fried rice shouldn’t be eaten daily, but enjoying it 1-2 times per week as part of a balanced diet shouldn’t impact weight loss.
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Watch the add-ons – Loading fried rice with fatty meats, sugary sauces, etc. turns an otherwise balanced meal into a diet disaster. Stick to light soy or tamari sauce.
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Opt for brown rice – Ask for brown rice fried rice when possible to increase fiber and cut some carbs. But white rice is OK in moderation.
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Burn extra calories – Completing cardio exercise on days you eat higher calorie foods like fried rice can create a calorie deficit.
Healthy Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe for Weight Loss
To make sure your shrimp fried rice fits into your weight loss plan, opt for the following healthier recipe:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 lb peeled shrimp, diced
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- Sriracha or chili garlic sauce (optional)
Instructions:
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In a large non-stick wok or skillet, heat sesame oil over medium high heat. Add beaten eggs and scramble until just set, then transfer to a plate.
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Add onions, carrots, and garlic to skillet. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until starting to soften.
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Add shrimp and continue stir frying 3-4 minutes until pink.
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Stir in peas and cooked rice. Toss together 1-2 minutes to heat through.
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Stir in scrambled eggs.
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Drizzle soy sauce over rice and toss to coat evenly.
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Remove from heat and serve. Sprinkle with Sriracha if desired.
This version uses brown rice, limits oil, and incorporates lots of extra vegetables to create a healthier shrimp fried rice recipe. Enjoy it in moderation as part of a balanced weight loss diet.
The Bottom Line: Yes, Shrimp Fried Rice Can Support Weight Loss
At the end of the day, if eaten in sensible portions alongside other nutritious foods, shrimp fried rice can be part of an overall healthy weight loss diet. While not low in calories or carbs, it provides ample protein, some fiber, and micronutrients.
The keys are watching your portion sizes, limiting frequency to 1-2 times per week, and balancing shrimp fried rice out with lower calorie foods at other meals. Prepare it in a healthy way, avoiding greasy take-out versions laden with MSG and extra oils.
So go ahead and enjoy some homemade shrimp fried rice occasionally. Just be mindful of your total calorie intake, and make sure to get plenty of activity to burn extra calories when you do indulge. If you keep your overall diet in check, shrimp fried rice in moderation won’t sabotage your weight loss success.
Reasons You’ll Love Recipe
- Better for you than takeout—this recipe is full of healthy things like brown rice and extra vegetables. Get ready to eat this guilt-free!.
- You can prepare this recipe in under 30 minutes. You could have this recipe ready faster if you didn’t order it. And everything is made in one pan for minimal mess.
- Any vegetable can be cut up and added to this easy shrimp fried rice recipe. It calls for frozen stir-fried vegetables. So, use up whatever vegetables are in the fridge.
- You can make this recipe ahead of time. If you make this recipe over the weekend, you can warm it up during the week for a quick dinner. For another meal, you can even freeze shrimp fried rice. I’ll give you more meal prep tips below.
- Shrimp: I use raw medium shrimp, which are 31 to 44 shrimp per pound.
- Brown rice: I use 3 cups of cooked brown rice that I already have. At least one day has passed since the rice was last cooked so that it doesn’t stick together and get mushy.
- Grated ginger and garlic—I like grated ginger and garlic better than chopped in this recipe because it makes it easier for the flavors to soak into the shrimp and keeps them from getting garlic or ginger bites.
- Scallions – I use these for flavor and garnish.
- Frozen stir fry mix—A bag of frozen vegetables is my secret weapon for quickly putting together a lot of different recipes. There are broccoli, carrots, green beans, onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms in a 1-pound stir-fry mix that I use. You can use any favorite veggie mix.
- Teriyaki sauce—For this recipe, I use a good teriyaki sauce.
- Adding soy sauce at the end of the shrimp fried recipe makes it taste better.
- Sesame oil—Adding a few teaspoons of sesame oil and mixing it in also makes it taste great.
- Chili oil—Have chili oil on hand if you like spicy shrimp fried rice. Chili oil adds a tasty spice to any Asian-inspired meal.
How to Make Healthy Shrimp Fried Rice
This recipe cooks fast; having all the ingredients ready ahead of time is essential.
- In a small bowl, mix the shrimp, garlic, ginger, and one tablespoon of olive oil together.
- In a big pan or wok, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and cook them until they are pink and opaque. This step should take about 3-4 minutes.
- Take the shrimp out of the pan and put it in a clean bowl. Take out any extra water from the bowl and then add the teriyaki sauce.
- Beat the eggs and add them to the same pan. Cook until they are almost set. This step takes about 1-2 minutes. Put the eggs on top of the shrimp in the bowl.
- To the same pan, add the frozen vegetables. Cook on medium-high heat for four to five minutes, or until the vegetables are fully heated through. Drain any excess water from the pan. Take the vegetables out of the pan and put them in a bowl.
- Put the rice in the pan and heat up 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Leave the rice to cook in the pan for two minutes. Then stir it and cook for two more minutes. This gets the rice crispy.
- Add the vegetables, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, shrimp, and eggs. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes, or until hot.
- Fresh or frozen shrimp will work, but make sure they are still raw. Cooked shrimp can get rubbery when used in the recipe.
- Get the shrimp ready ahead of time. It takes the most time to clean the shrimp, so try to buy clean, raw shrimp. Clean and prepare the shrimp the day before if you don’t want to waste time and stress the night of the recipe.
- Use brown rice that you have left over. If fried rice is on the meal plan, I make the brown rice over the weekend and put it in the fridge until I’m ready to use it. I often freeze brown rice in small amounts to use in recipes.
- Cook each part separately. Everything cooks in one pan, but by cooking each part separately, you can be sure that the fried rice will be crispy instead of mushy.
- You can use fresh vegetables. Frozen stir-fry vegetables are great because they are easy to use, but you can also use fresh vegetables. This shrimp fried rice recipe tastes great with peas, carrots, bean sprouts, onions, and mushrooms.
Shrimp fried rice is the essential one-pot meal, so you don’t need many sides to complete it. I’ll serve it with steamed or roasted vegetables or a side salad. Sometimes, I’ll grab some fortune cookies to make it fun!.
For the week: You can make shrimp fried rice ahead of time and heat it up for a quick lunch or dinner during the week. After the recipe is prepared store it in an airtight glass container and refrigerate. Reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or until hot.
If you want to save some shrimp fried rice for later, you can divide it up and freeze it in single servings. Use glass or plastic containers. You can also freeze in freezer bags. Reheat from frozen in the microwave for 3-4 minutes or until hot.
The traditional shrimp fried rice at your favorite Chinese restaurant is made with white rice, a lot of oil, and MSG. A healthier version of shrimp fried substitutes brown rice and uses higher quality ingredients. You should also make your own shrimp fried rice when you want to enjoy your favorite takeout meals without all the extra fat and calories.
Good news: you can lose weight by eating almost anything as long as you don’t go over your daily needs. However, some foods make it easier to lose weight. For instance, a meal with lean proteins and vegetables will make you feel full longer than a meal with a lot of carbs. Again, making fried rice or any other meal at home gives you control over the ingredients. For example, you could use brown rice instead of white jasmine rice. When you make shrimp fried rice at home, you can add more vegetables and shrimp while reducing rice.
Most shrimp fried rice recipe calls for peas, but I often leave them out. That’s the beauty of making this recipe homemade; you can add or leave out any vegetable you like. A bag of frozen peas should always be in your freezer if you like peas. You can use them in stir-fry recipes.
For best results, shrimp fried rice should use leftover cold rice. This tip helps the rice from bloating and getting mushy when cooking the fried rice.
If the pan isn’t hot enough and there are too many ingredients in it, the fried rice will often get soggy. To get crispy rice, cook each fried rice component separately and then mix everything. It’s also helpful to drain any excess liquid from the pain, especially when using frozen vegetables.
- 1 lb medium raw shrimp peeled and cleaned
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon sliced green onions white parts
- 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
- 2 eggs beaten
- 16 ounce bag of frozen stir fry mixed vegetables
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 3 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili oil
- In a small bowl, mix the shrimp, garlic, ginger, green onions (sliced), and one tablespoon of olive oil.
- Warm up the last tablespoon of olive oil in a big pan or wok over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and cook them until they are pink and opaque. This step should take about 3-4 minutes.
- Take the shrimp out of the pan and put it in a clean bowl. Take out any extra water from the bowl and then add the teriyaki sauce.
- Beat the eggs and add them to the same pan. Cook until they are almost set. This step takes about 1-2 minutes. Put the eggs on top of the shrimp in the bowl.
- To the same pan, add the frozen vegetables. Cook on medium-high heat for four to five minutes, or until the vegetables are fully heated through. Drain any excess water from the pan.
- Put the rice in the pan after heating up one tablespoon of sesame oil. Leave the rice to cook in the pan for two minutes. Then stir it and cook for two more minutes. This step helps to create crispy pieces of rice.
- Add the vegetables, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, shrimp, and eggs. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes, or until hot. Serve hot.
How bad is shrimp fried rice for you?
Is shrimp fried rice good for weight loss?
It depends on the amount in which you consume it. A 1-cup serving of shrimp fried rice contains 339 calories (238 from fried rice and 101 from shrimps), 5.4 grams of fat of which only 1 gram is saturated fat, and 24.5 grams of protein (9). So, in general, fried rice can be good for weight loss. Is Shrimp Good For Weight Loss?
Is rice good for weight loss?
Yes, more specifically brown rice, as its fibers promote a feeling of satiety, and, consequently, you eat less. But white rice can also be present in a diet for weight loss without any problems, it is enough that a salad accompanies it.
Is shrimp fried rice healthy?
Really easy: It doesn’t take much, and I even add in frozen vegetables to make this Shrimp Fried Rice even more simple. Healthy: Packed with protein from shrimp and eggs, plenty of vegetables, and rice, this is a perfectly well-rounded meal. I also chose to skip extra oils like butter and sesame oil to keep the calories lower.
Can you lose weight if you eat fried shrimp?
And that is because eating too much protein and too little carbs may, over time, lead to various health problems (5). Also, fried shrimp is not that healthy or low in calories, and may make you put on some pounds, especially if consumed in big amounts. Can I Lose Weight If I Eat Shrimp?