7 Ways to Use Leftover Rice

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Leftover or day-old rice is actually ideal for making fried rice because the grains are slightly more firm and less likely to get sticky and gummy when stirred in with sauce or other ingredients. So, toss whatever vegetables you have in your fridge or freezer into a skillet, a scrambled egg, add your leftover rice, and drizzle them with a delicious sauce. Dinner is DONE.
2. You can also add rice to traditional stir fries. Use it either as a bed for the stir fry or combine it right in the skillet to make a fried rice/stir fry hybrid.
3. Breakfast bowls are my jam, but “bowl meals” are actually great any time of the day. Here’s the idea: grab whatever protein, vegetable, and sauce you have in the fridge and pile them on top of a bowl of rice. Heat, eat, and be happy. They’re so fast and easy and you can make “one offs” to accommodate whatever leftovers you have on hand. At least 50% of my meals follow this format.
4. Okay, this one is not going to be news for anyone living in Louisiana because we add rice to everything, but I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who don’t know how much a simple scoop of cooked rice can add to a bowl of soup or stew. If you don’t have a nice loaf of crusty bread to dip in your soup, add a scoop of rice instead! This is perfect for when you have just a small amount of rice that needs to be used.
5. Similar to fried rice, day-old rice is actually ideal for casseroles and skillet meals. The grains are slightly dryer and more firm, allowing them to mix easily with other ingredients and absorb extra liquid and flavor. So, turn last night’s leftovers into a whole new meal with a comforting casserole, or quick skillet meal.
6. Leftover rice makes a great addition to both meatloaf and meatballs and absorbs excess moisture in the same way that breadcrumbs can! This is a great alternative for those with sensitivities to wheat. You may need to play around with the proportions as it probably won’t be a 1:1 substitution for bread crumbs.
7. Transform your leftover rice into a rich, creamy, and COZY dessert with just a few ingredients. It really doesn’t get any better than this!
8. Okay, I haven’t made this one in ages, as you can probably tell by the photos, but it’s still one of my favorite ways to use up leftover rice. Simply mix your rice with an egg to hold everything together and a few yummy flavorings like cinnamon and vanilla, then cook them in a skillet. Now that I’m thinking about it, I bet these would be really awesome cooked in a waffle iron, too!
9. And if all else fails and you just can’t find an immediate use for your leftover rice, be sure to pack it up and freeze it for later use. Having single portions of cooked rice stashed in the freezer makes last-minute meals (like those bowl meals!) really easy. A quick microwave and you’re on your way.