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Rice is one of the most useful things to cook ahead, and the one leftover people are most unsure about. The short answer from the UK Food Standards Agency is that reheated rice is safe, as long as it was cooled quickly and kept cold. It is how the rice was stored, not the reheating itself, that causes problems.
Why rice is different
Uncooked rice can contain spores of a bacterium called Bacillus cereus, and those spores can survive cooking. The FSA explains in its home food fact checker that the longer cooked rice sits at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria or their toxins make it unsafe to eat. Reheating does not undo that.
That is why the usual “it’ll be fine, it’s been cooked” instinct does not apply to rice left out on the hob.
The rules, from the FSA
- Cool it fast: chill leftover rice as quickly as possible, ideally within one hour.
- Don’t cool it in the pan: do not leave rice in the rice cooker, steamer or pan to cool down.
- Eat it within 24 hours: keep rice in the fridge for no more than one day before you reheat or eat it.
- Reheat once only: never reheat rice more than once.
- Steaming hot all the way through when you do reheat it.
Cold rice is fine to eat, for example in a rice salad or a lunchbox, as long as it was cooled down quickly and eaten within 24 hours.
How to cool rice quickly
Rice holds heat, and a deep container of it takes a long time to cool. What helps:
- Spread it out in a thin layer on a tray or wide plate so the heat can escape.
- Divide it into smaller portions, which the FSA also suggests.
- Stand the container in a bowl of cold water, as the FSA suggests for rice going into the freezer, then cover it and refrigerate.
Freezing rice
Rice freezes well, and freezing it in portions is often easier than trying to use it within a day. The FSA’s advice: cool it quickly, portion it, and get it into the freezer within an hour of cooking. Defrost it in the fridge, then reheat until steaming hot and eat it straight away.
Takeaway rice
The FSA advises extra care with takeaway rice. Eat it soon after it arrives, because some businesses pre-cook rice and reheat it before serving, and it should not be reheated more than once in total.
Recipes that use leftover rice
- Vegetable fried rice: made with cold rice from the fridge, within its 24 hours
- One-pan chicken, rice and broccoli
- How long other leftovers last
