Can You Freeze Rice?

Freezing cooked rice may not be something you have thought of because you can perfectly store rice in the refrigerator for several days. However, if you are tired of cooking rice everyday, you can certainly freeze rice and keep it for several months.

Raw rice itself can be kept in room temperature for long periods of time. Depending on the type of rice, it can be stored from 6 months to a couple of years. What you might not have heard of is that you can also freeze raw rice.

How To Freeze Rice

These are the steps you should take:

1. Cook rice as you normally do. It could be brown rice or any type of white rice you like.

2. Once its cooked, let it cool down a little bit.

3. When the rice is still warm you will store it in quantities of desired servings. You can put the rice directly into freezer bags, or wrap them in cling film before you insert them in the bags. Flatten the rice out into a thin, single layer about an inch thick. In that way you will be able to store them in the freezer quite nicely. You can also freeze rice in small, rigid plastic containers. Make sure to allow for some expansion for cooked rice that now has moisture in it.

4. Label it properly with contents and date and store in the freezer. Frozen rice can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Frozen rice in zip bags

Defrosting and Reheating Frozen Rice

You can reheat rice even if it is still frozen so it is not necessary to defrost it. It will depend on your preference, how you stored it, and what dish you will use the rice for.

Defrosting

Defrosting can be done in the fridge over night or by using warm, running water in the sink. If you froze the the rice in cling film, using warm water will soften up the plastic so that you can easily unwrap it and reheat it quickly.

Reheating

The quickest, most convenient, and probably the best way to reheat frozen rice is to use the microwave. Transfer the frozen rice to a microwave-safe container (if it wasn’t already stored in one), cover it and heat in the microwave in approximately 1-minute intervals if it is your first time doing it. Check the texture and how hot the rice is in between intervals. If the rice is getting to dry as you are microwaving it, you can add a small amount of water to help the rice from drying out. The amount of time to reheat the rice will really depend on how much you are reheating and if you are using full power or not. A normal serving size should probably take around 2-3 minutes to reheat.

Another easy way to reheat frozen rice is to place it directly into a stovetop recipe as you are preparing it. Why not add frozen rice to your next stew or for your next fried rice recipe? Just cook it up long enough so it is blends in well with all the ingredients.

Once rice is reheated it should be used and not be refrozen.

Cooking Frozen Rice Is Great

Frozen rice is extremely versatile and can be used in all kinds of rice dishes. The good thing with frozen rice is that it does not need to be thawed before you reheat it. You can follow the instructions for reheating rice and eat it as is, or you can add it to a nice stew or soup. Some rice varieties may be better than others to freeze, but varieties like Jasmine and Japanese rice work well.

FAQs

Does rice freeze well?

Cooked rice does freeze well if you package it properly. Freezing cooked rice (including freezing brown rice) can be done after following the necessary cooking or preparation instructions.

Can you freeze fried rice?

It is also possible to freeze fried rice the same way you would with cooked rice as explained above. You can reheat it in the microwave and it will come out delicious.