What to do with leftover rice (and how to keep it safe)

By Bill · 10 November 2026 · 3 minute read

[Bill: write your opening here. Two or three lines in your voice about the tub of rice that always sits at the back of the fridge.]

Is leftover rice safe?

Yes, if you handle it right. Uncooked rice can carry spores that survive cooking. If cooked rice sits around warm, they can grow and make toxins that reheating won't destroy. So the clock starts as soon as it's cooked.

• Spread it out on a plate or tray so it cools quickly, and get it in the fridge within an hour.
• Eat it within 24 hours.
• Reheat it once, until it's steaming hot all the way through.

Source: NHS food safety guidance and the Food Standards Agency.

Five suppers for leftover rice

1. Egg fried rice. Cold rice, a couple of eggs, frozen peas and soy sauce. About 15 minutes.
2. Kimchi fried rice. The same idea with a kick. A fried egg on top.
3. Chicken fried rice. Uses up leftover roast chicken as well.
4. Stuffed peppers. Rice, tinned tomatoes and whatever cheese is in the fridge.
5. Rice pudding. Rice, milk, a little sugar and a slow simmer, for when you fancy something sweet.

Can you freeze cooked rice?

Yes. Cool it fast, bag it flat and freeze it on the day you cooked it. Defrost it in the fridge or microwave it straight from frozen, then eat it that day.