What to Do With Leftover Rice
Almost everyone makes too much rice. That's good news: cold, day-old rice is actually better than fresh for some dishes, because it's drier and the grains stay separate. Here are easy ways to use it up, plus the food-safety basics that matter more for rice than for most leftovers.
First: store it safely
Cooked rice needs a little more care than other leftovers. Uncooked rice can contain spores of a bacterium called Bacillus cereus, which can survive cooking. If cooked rice sits warm for a long time, the bacteria can grow and produce toxins that reheating won't destroy. To stay safe:
- Cool it quickly. Spread rice in a shallow container so it cools fast, and get it into the fridge within about an hour if you can, and no later than two hours after cooking.
- Keep it cold. Store at 40掳F (4掳C) or below.
- Use it within a few days. Many food-safety agencies suggest eating leftover rice within one to four days; sooner is better. If you won't use it in time, freeze it in flat bags.
- Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, and reheat it only once.
If rice was left out overnight, throw it away. For more detail, see FoodSafety.gov's storage charts.
1. Fried rice (the classic)
Cold rice is ideal for fried rice because it doesn't clump or go mushy. Get the pan very hot, add a little oil, scramble an egg or two, then add rice, any vegetables you have (frozen peas and carrots work perfectly), and soy sauce. It's the best "clean out the fridge" dinner there is. Try Crave's Leftover Rice Fried Rice.
2. Rice pudding
Simmer leftover rice in milk with a little sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt until thick and creamy. Add raisins or vanilla if you have them. It turns a plain leftover into dessert or a warm breakfast: Rice Pudding from Leftover Rice.
3. Stuffed peppers
Mix rice with browned ground meat or beans, tomatoes and seasoning, fill halved bell peppers, top with cheese and bake. Leftover rice saves the step of cooking it from scratch: Stuffed Bell Peppers.
4. Burritos and bowls
Warm rice with beans, cheese and salsa, then roll it in a tortilla or pile it in a bowl. It's a five-minute lunch. Crave's Bean & Cheese Burritos and Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls both work with cooked rice.
5. Soup
Stir a cup of cooked rice into a brothy soup in the last few minutes, just long enough to heat through. It makes a light soup more filling. Good with Chicken Vegetable Soup.
6. Casserole
Combine rice with steamed broccoli, a cheese sauce or cream soup, and bake until bubbling. It's a cozy side or a meatless main: Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole.
7. Rice for breakfast
Top warm rice with a fried egg, a little soy sauce or hot sauce, and green onions. Or fry it into crispy patties with egg and cheese.
Tips for reheating
- Sprinkle a spoonful of water over the rice before microwaving, and cover it so it steams instead of drying out.
- Stir halfway through so it heats evenly.
- Frozen rice can go straight into a hot pan for fried rice, or into the microwave.
How to make less waste next time
A common rule of thumb is that one cup of uncooked rice makes about three cups cooked. If you make extra on purpose, plan the second meal right away, such as fried rice two nights later, so the leftovers have a job.
Find recipes for what you have
Crave is free: add the ingredients in your kitchen on the home page and it matches you to recipes that use them. If you'd like a whole month planned around using things up, the 4-Week Zero-Waste Meal Plan + Grocery Lists ($7) gives you 4 weeks of weeknight dinners (5 per week) planned so ingredients carry over between meals, with a printable plan and an editable Excel grocery list for each week.