What’s the best method to store cooked rice? Simply freeze the rice in airtight containers and reheat to enjoy later on! This is by far the best approach to keep your rice fresh and moist.
I often get questions from readers about how I store cooked rice. I usually make extra rice so that we always have some extra cooked rice ready at hand. What’s the best way to store cooked rice?
What’s the Best Way To Store Cooked Rice
When you end up with extra rice in your rice cooker after a meal, you have several options to store it.
- Option 1 – Keep in your rice cooker with “keep warm” function on
- Option 2 – Keep at room temperature
- Option 3 – Store in your refrigerator
- Option 4 – Store in your freezer
Which option do you normally use?
From my experience, freezing the rice is the best way to store cooked rice, and I freeze cooked rice even if I plan to use it the next day. Here’s why.
3 Reasons Why You Should Freeze Rice
1. Stay Moist, Fresh, and Delicious
There are many Japanese articles online that prove frozen then reheated rice tastes the best (by testing different storage methods).
You might have tried to refrigerate rice, but the texture becomes hard and dry. Unless you have plans to make fried rice the next few days, refrigerated leftover rice doesn’t taste good, even the next day!
With the freezing method, pack up the freshly cooked rice with steam (moisture) in an airtight container and close the lid immediately. So when you reheat the frozen rice, the rice is moist, fresh, and delicious just like freshly cooked rice!
2. Store Up To 1 Month
The freezing method allows you to store the cooked rice up to 1 month, so you don’t feel obligated to use it immediately or 2-3 days.
Here’s how long the cooked rice last, comparing with other storing options.
- Option 1 (rice cooker) – Up to 3 hours (best quality) to 1 day
- Option 2 (room temperature) – Up to 6 hours (summer) to 1 day (winter)
- Option 3 (refrigerator) – 3 days
- Option 4 (freezer) – Up to 1 month
3. Save Money & Time
If you need to cook rice for just 1 to 2 servings every day, cooking rice every day might not make sense. It’s great that you can eat freshly cooked rice, but it does not save your money and time. And rice tastes better when you cook (at least) 2 cups of rice.
Therefore, I highly recommend making extra rice and freeze it. That way, you can just cook rice when you are running out of the frozen rice.
How To Freeze Cooked Rice
1. Pack Immediately
Ideally, as soon as the rice is finished cooking, pack away the amount of rice you do not need or plan to keep. Make sure to pack the rice with steam and cover the lid immediately to trap the steam and moisture.
Sometimes, you didn’t plan to leave any leftover rice. In that case, just pack the leftover (you can add some water when you’re reheating).
2. Let cool completely
You do not want to spoil your food in the freezer with your hot/warm rice. So make sure to cool the rice containers first before storing it in the freezer.
3. Put in the Freezer
The rice quality will stay well for up to 1 month!
Best Container for Freezing Cooked Rice
1. Glass Container with a Lid
I recommend a glass container with a lid such as Pyrex 4-Cup Round Dish Storage Container with Cover. The 4 cup container fits 2 servings of cooked rice, which is perfect for my children’s lunchbox (2 lunch boxes). Pyrex 2 -Cup Round Dish Storage Container with Cover works great for a single rice bowl portion.
Japanese Rice Container with Air Vent
In Japanese grocery stores, you might find these plastic containers that are specifically made for freezing and then microwaving rice.
Microwave-safe Plastic Wrap or Freezer Bag
This may not be the most environmentally-friendly method with so much plastic usage. However, if your freezer is tiny and cannot fit the glass containers (I used to live in a dormitory with a tiny freezer space), this might be your only option.
Here’s how you prepare the “frozen rice package”. You can use the same method when you use a freezer bag.
How to Reheat the Frozen Rice in Microwave
When you need rice, here’s what you need to do.
>> Reheat Frozen Rice in the Airtight Containers
- Take out the frozen rice container from the freezer.
- Open the lid and loosely cover it with a paper towel.
- Microwave until the rice is hot all the way through.
For this particular 4-cup container, it requires to microwave for 4 minutes (1100 w). You might want to experiment with your microwave to see how long it takes to defrost properly.
>> Reheat Frozen Rice in the Plastic Wrap/Bag
- Defrost the rice package in the refrigerator or on the counter until the plastic wrap comes off.
- Transfer to a bowl/plate.
- Sprinkle a little bit of water to add some moisture.
- Loosely cover it with a paper towel.
- Microwave for 1 ½ to 2 minutes, or until hot all the way through.
How to Reheat the Frozen Rice in Steamer
When you need rice, here’s what you need to do:
- Take out the rice from the freezer and open the lid.
- Prepare the steamer using a large pot (See the pictures below).
- Bring the water to a boil and steam the frozen rice in the glass container until the rice is defrosted and warm.
Hungry?
Here are quick rice recipes you can make after defrosting the frozen rice.
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on June 10, 2013. The post has been updated with new pictures and more detailed content in January 2020.
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I heard that You can then keep the rice in the fridge (but for no more than one day) before reheating. And if the rice is left standing at room temperature after it’s been boiled, the spores can grow into bacteria, which will ultimately multiply and may produce toxins that cause vomiting or diarrhea.
Hi Cindy! It’s probably best to take extra precautions and have a shorter period of time because not everyone is aware of food safety. The Japanese eat rice every day and these numbers (how long the rice is safe etc) are pretty standard there. However, on almost every cookbook/online source recommends freezing rice as #1 choice because the taste and quality of rice are the best when frozen. 🙂
What does the little balls of aluminum foil do when reheating frozen rice?
Hi Wendy! You don’t have to use the aluminum foil balls, but those are to raise the plate so you can put water under the plate for steaming. 🙂
A benefit of freezing rice is that it leads to a smaller blood glucose response.
Hi Lynne! I had no idea, thanks for sharing your information!
Hello
I’m planning to do Bento Style meals with this kind of rice. If I wanted to have rice as a bento box option, whats the best thing to do I’m preparation as I’ve read that reheating foods made the night before can be problematics and lead to bateria if placed in a bento box immediately after reheating.
What would you recommend to prevent this from happening?
こんにちは、リアン！ Yes, that’s true because bacteria like a “warm” environment. To prevent it, we let cool the reheated food first before packing into the lunch box so it avoids condensation. Also Japanese put umeboshi (pickled plum) to prevent the rice from spoiling. But if you do it right, you don’t need to. Season the food slightly strong also keeps the food safe. I grew up eating bento and back then we didn’t put ice pack or insulated bag… now people care and more cautious, so it’s much less chance.
Here’s some article on bento safety: https://www.justonecookbook.com/food-safety-tips-for-bento/
My Japanese mom showed me how to portion cooked gohan straight from the rice cooker, to small snack sized zipper bags …in single portions…making sure I take the air out of the bags. . Then I leave the steamy bags on the counter to cool a little bit, before stacking them in a larger freezer storage bag. Since I’m now the only one in the house still eating rice, this is perfect for me. I now know that I punch in time as 111 on my 1300 watt microwave and voilá…my rice is fresh tasting and the right temperature. And definitely recycling my bags. 👍🏼 I’m loving everyone’s tips and stories.
Hi Margaret! I used to do that in college too, because that’s what most Japanese people do in Japan and it saves space in the freezer… However, people are more conscious about the excessive plastic usage (not so much in Japan, unfortunately) and being careful about putting hot food on plastic, so I have changed my method to a glass container. From my experience using both ways, it’s a lot easier to clean the container (dishwasher safe, too) than washing the Ziploc bag and dry upside down waiting to completely dry. However, freezer space can be an issue… 🙂
because i know rice doesnt last long in my house, like to store the rice in a regular container with a wet paper towel and that keeps it from drying up. the rice is usually used with 24 hours.
Hi Racquel! Thanks for sharing your tip with us!
Thank you for the tips on storing cooked rice. Will try it for my next batch of rice.
Dear Nami – Your site is a discovery for me – thank you!
I want to ask. If I prepare the rice in for bento box in the evening (8-9 p.m), leave them to cool at room temperature in a tight container and just put them in the bento for my daughter in the morning – will they be good enough for lunch? (There is no possibility to warm up in bento at school). Thank you in advance.
Hi Daiva! Germs like the lukewarm environment, so it’s most dangerous when the food is cooling down and it has that “warm” stage… so if you leave it at room temperature, there is a long period of “warm” food and it can grow bacteria (you just don’t see it). And since there is no way your daughter can heat up in school, there is no way to kill bacteria before consuming. It’s tricky…. I really don’t like putting cooked rice in the refrigerator as rice gets hard. We always pack the rice in the morning, let cool quickly (shorter “warm” period) with ice packs and have kids bring it to school. 🙂
Thank you Nami, will cook the rice in the morning and let them cool with ice cubes as you advised! Unfortunately it is not possible to buy short grain japanese rice in Lithuania, but there are so-called ‘sushi’ rice. This is probably the closest thing you can get?
Hi Daiva! Oh you’re in Lithuania! Wow, thank you so much for trying my recipes from all the way from there! I think, sushi rice is the same as short-grain rice. In Western countries, people call short-grain rice “Sushi Rice”. In Japan, we call sushi rice ONLY when steamed rice is seasoned with sushi vinegar to make all the sushi rolls, etc. 🙂
Thank you, Nami, my daughter (12) is is fascinated by Japan culture, food, movie, fashion etc. The great film by Hayao Miyazaki Spirited Away is her favourite 🙂
So your site for me is a way to get to Japan for a couple of minutes.
Hi Daiva,
We couldn’t be happier to hear how much joy and excitement Nami’s recipe has brought to you and your family! Please check https://www.justonecookbook.com/categories/japanese-culture/ to learn more about Japan as well!
Thank you!