I’ve got another post to share today from my Love Your Leftovers series and this time it’s all about using up leftover rice. It’s such a flexible ingredient and there are so many easy ways to turn it into a whole new meal. 😊
Rice is one of those brilliant ingredients that can stretch into so many quick meals with hardly any effort at all. It bulks things out beautifully, works with almost anything you’ve already got in the fridge and can be turned into a whole new dish in minutes. Whether you’ve accidentally cooked too much (this is me every time 😂) or you’ve got a bowl left from last night’s tea, leftover rice can be such a handy little base for another budget-friendly meal.
But… rice is one of those foods people get a little bit nervous about, so let’s quickly talk about safety before we get into the ideas.
Leftover rice is absolutely safe to eat as long as it’s cooled quickly and stored properly. The worry around reheating rice comes from cooked rice being left out too long, which allows bacteria to multiply. Reheating won’t fix it once that’s happened, so it’s all about the storage.
The good news? It’s very easy to do it safely:
• Cool cooked rice quickly (spreading it out on a tray helps)
• Refrigerate within one hour
• Use within 24 hours
• Reheat until piping hot all the way through
• Only reheat once
Do that and leftover rice becomes one of the best, cheapest ingredients to transform into another meal.
Here are some of my favourite ways to use it up… 😊
Egg fried rice
Leftover rice makes the best fried rice because it dries out slightly overnight and gives a much nicer texture. Fry garlic, peas and spring onions, stir in the rice, add soy sauce and scramble in a beaten egg. So quick and so tasty.
Burrito-style filling
Warm leftover rice with paprika, cumin, chilli powder and a squeeze of lime. Stir through beans, sweetcorn, peppers or leftover chicken. Wrap it all up with cheese and salsa for a cosy, filling meal.
Rice-stuffed peppers
Mix rice with chopped veg, leftover meat or beans, add a spoonful of tomato sauce or salsa and stuff into halved peppers. Bake until everything is piping hot. Such a good way to stretch tiny amounts of leftovers.
These are my pumpkin peppers so you can get an idea of how I make them but I do tend to make them more with green peppers if I’m honest as I prefer green ones.
Rice frittata or egg muffins
Stir leftover rice into beaten eggs with cheese and veg. Bake in a dish for a frittata or spoon into silicone muffin cases for quick grab-and-go breakfasts. Surprisingly filling and a great fridge clearer.
Speedy rice bowls
Warm the rice and top with whatever you have — leftover chicken or gammon, veg, a fried egg, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce or even mayo and sriracha. It’s a fast, cheap lunch and works with almost anything.
Tomato & rice soup
Add leftover rice to tomato soup to bulk it out and make it more of a meal. It changes the texture completely and makes it feel like a cosy, homemade lunch.
Leftover rice can be such a great base for quick meals when it’s stored safely and used the next day. It’s budget friendly, filling and works with so many fridge leftovers. Hopefully these ideas give you a bit of inspiration next time you make more rice than you meant to. 😊
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