Whenever I am very busy, I deliberately make more rice than we can eat so that I can use the leftover another day for a totally new dish saving me a lot of time. We eat a lot of rice in my home.
If you happen to have cooked rice that you ate with your Tomato stew, Sauce, Gravy, Pepper soup or whatever else but now you want something different. You have cooked rice but the accompanying stew has finished this post is just what you need.
Rice is gluten-free and there are many varieties of rice. They come in various sizes, colours, shapes, stickiness, aroma etc. There are also different types of rice, long, medium and short grained, also aromatic rice, black, brown, white, red, purple rice etc.
Rice is grown on every continent on earth except Antarctica. It is the third highest produced agricultural commodity in the world and Asia accounts for 87% of the world’s total rice production. It is eaten in practically every culture of the world and is a staple of over half the population of the world.
Proper handling & storage of cooked rice
Uncooked rice can contain the bacteria Bacillus Cereus whose spores can survive the cooking process. Cooked rice, therefore, needs to be cooled quickly and stored in the refrigerator. The low temperature will prevent the germination and growth of these bacteria.
These bacteria can produce toxins which can cause vomiting and sometimes diarrhoea. You will not know it’s in the rice by smell, taste or look.
- If you cooked enough rice for leftovers, cool your cooked rice down a bit then store in the fridge. It doesn’t need to be cold before storage.
- Cooked rice needs to be cooled quickly before storage. You can achieve this by pouring and spreading the hot rice on a tray. It can also be cooled in a sieve under cold running water.
- Package and store cooked rice in the fridge or freezer. If stored in a fridge, use within 2 days but if stored in the freezer it can last indefinitely but will be best before 3-4 months.
- Thaw your frozen rice before reheating on the stove top or defrost in the microwave and reheat with the lid open.
- Reheated rice should be piping hot before consumption.
- If used in a salad, toss and place in the fridge until ready to eat.
12 Awesome dishes made with leftover rice
Click on image for Recipe
Chinese Fried Rice
Nigerian Tomato Rice recipe using leftover rice
Cabbage rice, Cabbage Fried Rice
Sweet Rice Fritters, Sweet Rice Doughnuts
Meat and Rice filled Buns
Cooked Rice Pancake with Leftover Rice
Nigerian Green curry rice
Egusi Jollof Rice using leftovers
Fish Curry Leaf Rice using leftover rice
Rice milk using cooked rice, Golden rice milk
Rice bread, making bread with cooked rice
Simple Rice Salad
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Chinese Fried Rice
Basic Chinese fried rice a perfect way to repurpose leftover rice, meat and vegetables. Fast, easy, delightfully yummy. It is not the regular Nigerian fried rice. -
Nigerian Tomato Rice recipe using leftover rice
Nigerian Tomato rice, a simple one-pot dish, quick and easy to make with the unique taste of yaji (suya spice) shining through. Use plain leftover rice. -
Cabbage rice, Cabbage Fried Rice
Cabbage rice is a simple, quick and easy dish that makes use of leftover rice. Cabbage is the star of this dish. It is vegan, low calorie, low carb, keto and delicious. -
Sweet Rice Fritters, Sweet Rice Doughnuts
Sweet rice fritters are tender, sweet, puffy and chewy with crispy edges similar to Nigerian buns or akara. This is a basic, easy and simple recipe, it is called Calas in the USA. -
Meat and Rice filled Buns
Meat and rice filled buns are fried bread buns with ground beef and cooked rice stuffing. It is a complete meal-to-go. Use any leftover cooked rice available. -
Cooked Rice Pancake with Leftover Rice
Cooked rice pancake tastes like toasted rice with a crispy edge and tender centre. Made with leftover rice and served with a pepper sauce, a salad etc. -
Nigerian Green curry rice
Nigerian green curry rice is spicy and very flavourful. It borrows from Thai Green curry paste but very Nigerian in its flavours and richness. It uses leftover rice, green shombo, crayfish etc. -
Egusi Jollof Rice using leftovers
Egusi Jollof rice is simple, scrumptious, convenient, inviting, quick and easy to make. It is made with leftover rice and Egusi soup. -
Fish Curry Leaf Rice using leftover rice
Fish curry leaf rice (Partminger leaf) is simple, flavourful and aromatic using leftover rice. Stir in the rice into the intensely delicious broth and you have this delicious dish. -
Rice milk using cooked rice, Golden rice milk
Rice milk is milk made from rice. Good for lactose intolerance, allergy to soy or nut milk, vegans, GERD, low FODMAP, dairy free, electrolyte replacement in infants. Use your leftover rice. -
Rice bread, making bread with cooked rice
Rice bread using cooked rice is moist, soft, spongy and slightly sweet, similar to Potato bread. This recipe is for both sweet and savoury rice bread. -
Simple Rice Salad
Rice salad is a simple salad, use any vegetables, proteins, herbs you have. If you want something light, nourishing and filling, make a bowl of Rice salad using leftover rice.
If you enjoyed my 12 Awesome dishes made with leftover rice, you will also enjoy my 12 Nigerian dishes everyone should know how to cook, Advent Foodie Calendar, Christmas Food Idea, 15 Easy Christmas Food Ideas and Valentine’s Day Menu.
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I am Ganiru, a wife, a mother, a food blogger, a chef, an author and an accountant. I love to cook and write about food, especially Nigerian and afro-centric food...
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Love this! We’re big on rice at our home so this is definitely something to try. Thanks for the helpful post 😃
Thanks, Rosemary for stopping by. We are also big on rice and these recipes have been helpful.
Great ideas for using leftover rice! 🙂
Thanks so much