Rice Reimagined: Here's How Savvy Home Cooks Transform Leftover Rice Into Entirely New Dishes

Wilder Shaw is a staff writer at Cheapism covering food, specializing in taste tests and fast food. He has over a decade of food-writing experience, and his work has appeared in Thrillist, The Washington Post, L.A. Taco, Time Out, and numerous other publications.

Veg Chinese Fried Rice Recipe By Sonia Goyal

Veg Chinese Fried Rice Recipe By Sonia Goyal by Soniya Goyal (CC BY-SA)

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Veg Chinese Fried Rice Recipe By Sonia Goyal
Veg Chinese Fried Rice Recipe By Sonia Goyal by Soniya Goyal (CC BY-SA)

Rice, Rice, Baby

A little bit goes a long way with rice, and chances are, whether you’re ordering takeout or cooking it yourself, your meals might end up with lots left over. What should you do with those extra takeout cartons? What about all the leftover cooked rice in the pot? Here are five leftover rice recipe ideas from a recent Reddit thread about what to do with leftover rice.

spicy tuna with crispy rice
spicy tuna with crispy rice by Prayitno (CC BY)

Fried Rice Cakes / Rice Fritters

This is a terrific suggestion. Add some egg, green onions, soy sauce, and any seasonings you have on hand to the leftover rice and pan fry it up into little rice cakes. If you’ve got some spicy tuna to spare, you’re in business.


Recipe: Another Tablespoon

One-Pan Meal: Cilantro Lime Brown Rice Skillet
nata_vkusidey/istockphoto

Cilantro Rice

It’s easy to add leftover rice into a stir fry — and there are tons of fried rice recipes out there — but turning your leftovers into cilantro rice is one of the best upgrades you can manage.


One user even recommended making the cilantro purée in large batches and freezing it in ice cube trays to have multiple portions ready to go. I’m trying this one immediately.


Recipe: Girl Cooks World

Pressure Cooker: Rice Pudding
robynmac/istockphoto

Rice Pudding

Rice pudding made with leftover rice is a no-brainer. “Saffron is used in desserts, so it will lend itself nicely to making a pudding,” says user u/reijasunshine. Pre-cooked rice is here for your sweet tooth, too.


Recipe: Taste of Home

Carrot Soup
kajakiki/istockphoto
Homemade Bean and Cheese Burrito
bhofack2/istockphoto

Frozen Burritos

Multiple users suggested portioning the rice out into bean and rice burritos or other simple wraps. Ground beef, chicken, and rice all make for burritos that are easy to freeze and save for later. If you plan it right, you can even create burritos and wraps composed entirely of leftovers. Not a bad goal to shoot for.


Recipe: The Spruce Eats


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