These fun little Rice Pancakes were something my mom used to make when we were growing up. If there was leftover rice from the night before, instead of letting it go to waste, it would get whipped up into this special breakfast treat. They’re not fancy, but they’re a nice change of pace from your regular breakfast routine, and waaaay easier than traditional pancakes, IMHO! Make sure to read below for tips about rice safety and making sure your leftovers are good for use the next day!
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Is Leftover Rice Safe to Eat?
Yes, IF it has been cooled and stored properly after cooking. Rice can naturally contain a bacteria called Bacillus cereus, which has spores that are resistant to cooking. After cooking, these spores can “hatch” if the rice is left at warm temperatures (between 40-140ºF) for too long. Once the spores hatch, the bacteria goes to work eating the rice and producing a toxin that can make us sick. While reheating the previously cooked rice may kill the active bacteria, it does not kill the spores or eliminate the toxins in the rice, making the rice still potentially dangerous.
How to Properly Store Cooked Rice
Bacillus cereus contamination does not produce any visible signs or smells, so it’s of utmost importance that rice be cooled properly immediately after cooking. Transfer your cooked rice to a new container (do not leave it in the hot container it was cooked in), divide the rice into smaller portions if cooked in a large batch, and then place it in the refrigerator to cool. Do not let your rice sit out at room temperature. The goal is to cool the rice to below 40ºF in under two hours, so the sooner it gets in the fridge, the better.
Fun fact: I used to be a microbiologist and worked with Bacillus cereus on a daily basis! It’s one of those environmental organisms that is on the surface of almost everything and is usually benign, unless it gets someplace that it shouldn’t be, like our food.
What Are Rice Pancakes Like?
Rice pancakes taste a little like rice pudding, but have a wonderfully crispy-crunchy exterior. If you’re not a fan of crispy rice (like you’d find on the bottom of a bowl of authentic bibimbap), then you might not be a fan of rice pancakes. I don’t put a lot of sugar in my rice pancakes because I usually drizzle some maple syrup over top, so the rice pancake itself is not very sweet. If you want the pancake to be a little sweeter on its own, try adding 1-2 tsp sugar to the batter.
How to Serve Rice Pancakes
I like to drizzle maple syrup over my pancakes, which goes really well with the very cinnamon-y flavor of the pancake. A little butter on top, if I’m feeling really indulgent, but since the pancakes are fried, that isn’t always needed. Sometimes I also like to smear a little peanut butter on top of the pancakes, too! 😋
How Much Does This Recipe Make?
This is a small batch recipe, perfect for when you just have a couple cups of leftover rice. This recipe makes two servings of three small pancakes. If you wish to make a larger batch, simply change the number of servings in the recipe card below, and the ingredient amounts will change to match your desired number of servings.
Rice Pancakes
Servings 2 3 small pancakes eachIngredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice (cooled) ($0.26)
- 1 large egg ($0.23)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
Instructions
- Combine the leftover rice, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl until it is evenly mixed.
- Add 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil to a large, non-stick skillet (cast iron, ceramic, or teflon, your choice). Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop some of the rice mixture onto the hot skillet. Use a spatula to press the mound of rice down until it is about 1/2 inch thick.
- Cook the pancakes for a few minutes on each side, until they are firm, a little browned, and crispy on the outside. Do not try to flip the pancakes before the eggs have set, or they won't hold together. Make sure the entire pancake is on the spatula before attempting to flip.
- After cooking the first three pancakes, add the second ½ Tbsp cooking oil to the skillet and cook the second batch in the same manner.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Want more ideas for using up leftover rice? Check out these 7 Ways to Use Leftover Rice.
How to Make Rice Pancakes – Step By Step Photos
Start with 1.5 cups cooked and cooled rice. Add that to a bowl along with one egg, ½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp vanilla extract, and ¼ tsp salt.
Mix the ingredients together until they form a sort of batter.
Heat about ½ Tbsp cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, scoop the rice mixture out onto the skillet in about ¼ cup scoops. Press the pancakes down slightly until they are flat (instead of mounds), leaving them about ½-inch thick.
Cook the rice pancakes for a few minutes on each side, or until they are lightly browned and crispy. If you try to flip them too early, before the eggs have firmed up, they will fall apart, so be patient! After cooking the first batch, add another ½ Tbsp oil to the skillet and cook the second batch in the same manner.
Serve with maple syrup, butter, or peanut butter!
These are also very good made savory, with onions and garlic, seeds and herbs, especially good with fish or chicken.
You forgot sugar.
I like these! Kept mine simple: just the brown rice, eggs and basic seasoning. Mine weren’t sweet or super-savory. The rice wasn’t leftover so much as I’d used too much water and it was sticky.
They came out pretty light! Pleasant. I used more egg in proportion to get more protein, which seemed to work fine; I took care not to flip before they were set, as you advised!
It seems one can make pan-cakes out of almost anything. Reminded me of latkes. Very flexible recipe that could go sweet or savory!
(I only gave four stars bc I’d maybe rather just have regular pancakes and a regular rice dish with eggs mixed in, like fried rice. Except my rice had turned our so mushy several days ago and it worked great in this!)
I thought these were really good except that mine didn’t really “pancake.” I’ll definitely make again!
By “pancake”, do you mean hold together? Because mine did, but I had to cook them longer than the recipe said.
Great concept, and delicious!
Tonight I made an Asian version to go with hot and sour soup.
I tripled the recipe, and veganized it with flax eggs and TVP ‘beef’ crumbles. Added ginger paste, garlic powder, onion powder, scallions, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1/4 cup hoisin.
The sugar in the hoisin made a nice crisp outer edge when cooked in the non-stick skillet.
Looking forward to trying your sweet version and experimenting with other options. Thank you!
I made these and they were so good!! I love the crisp, and they smell like elephant ears:)
THANK YOU! I couldn’t place the scent but that’s it! So good!
I should have known by all of the reviews. The 5 star rating comes from people who think it sounds good. I did too. Only one or two of these comments are from people that actually made it. I made it. Just no. I threw it out. I made some bacon on the side and sliced bananas. That is all we ate aside from the first bite. Sorry but no.
Kids and adults enjoyed this breakfast! I made a double batch with leftover brown basmati rice, just added a couple Tbsp of brown sugar. Served with sliced bananas and syrup. Will definitely be a repeat next time we have enough leftover rice.
Tried this looking to use up left over rice. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this was delicious! I had with a tad of peanut butter atop. I am looking forward to making them again this week. Simple and light tasting.
Fantastic recipes glad to have found
This site .
I made a savory version. I had leftovers from last night. Spanish rice, taco meat and cheese. They turned out really good. Great idea for leftover rice.
Delicious! Worked myself to death this morning. On my way home starving and knew I only had leftover rice in the fridge. Tempted to stop for food but remembered this recipe. Found it, cooked it, loved it! Added brown sugar but it was unnecessary. Maple syrup made it sweet enough. Looking forward to trying savory next. Thanks, Beth!
Another winner! I had made your Yellow Jasmine rice the other day and decided to try this recipe out for a savory version using my leftover yellow rice. I followed the directions as is but just omitted the extract and cinnamon. I kept in the salt and added a dash of garlic power and topped with ground pepper while cooking. They were SO. GOOD! Sounds odd, but I topped with your sriracha mayo and it was amazing! Thank you for yet another awesome recipe. You never fail me and I appreciate what you do and have for many years. You’ve really helped me become more confident in my cooking :)
These were delicious. Used leftover brown rice and cooked with butter instead of oil, which made it unnecessary to add butter later. For the future, seriously considering cooking rice in advance with the specific intention of making these the next day. Keeper. My husband suggested a savory version, substituting a different flavor profile for cinnamon and vanilla.
This is a good way to use up leftover rice. The rice becomes almost like oatmeal. The pancakes are quite bland on their own, so we might try adding a bit of maple syrup or brown sugar into the batter if we made these again.
This is such a good idea! I can’t wait to try it.
I also love your enamel plates and cups! Where did you get them?
Just saw they are available at your store! OOPS.
What do you think it might be like if you added some actual pancake batter to it not much, similar to using a pancake to make french toast recipe which calls 4 tbsp pancake batter. Maybe in the rice batter or a better variation would be to turn the rice pancake into french toast rice pancake n do some eggs, milk, the pancake mix as the french toast batter and wait til the rice pancakes cool and coat them with the batter n fry it up like french toast(can also be tweaked for sweet or savory). Is it just me or does that sound deliciously intriguing or am I way n it sound disgusting n impossible?
That’s such a cool idea! Or, mix up some pancake batter (not a lot) and mix it into the cooked/cooled rice just until it is all moistened, then scoop it onto the griddle. I think both ways would be fun to experiment with!
I thought adding a little flour or pancake batter might be good. They seemed fine as they are, too, but your idea seems sensible.
I’m really writing bc this “n” thing makes me buggy. Is it pronounced “en” or “and”? It’s unreadable to me.
So good and filling! A great alternative to pancakes the day after making too much rice for dinner. I used white rice and pure maple syrup, definitely making again!
Beth, What are you recommendations for turning these into Savory Pancakes? Simply Omit the cinammon, and top with Srirach Mayo? Would you add any other spices into the batter for savory?
I think you’d definitely want to add some other seasonings, otherwise it won’t taste like much (just rice and egg), so maybe some seasoning salt or Cajun seasoning, something like that?
I liked this one! Reminded me of french toast but without the sugar crash. I prefer a breakfast that isn’t too sweet (or savory) early in the morning, and this fit the bill. The maple syrup allowed me to add just the right amount of sweetness. Thanks for the recipe!
I made this recipe but have to agree with folks who didn’t really love it. My boyfriend and I found that is basically just tasted like hot crispy rice, and not in a particularly good way. I think for some sort of rice pancakes additional flavor (whether with sweet or savory ingredients) is required. I would not make it again.
My mom made these a while back, and thay tasted yummy so I decided to make some! Tastes great with some butter.
Love that you decided to make them too!
Good crunch to them, but a little boring. A good way to use rice leftovers.
I grew up with these! My great grandmother had a Japanese young man that worked at their house sometimes. He would make these for the kids and the recipe got passed down. We always just mix leftover rice and egg together and top with salt and butter (it’s one of the only things I slather in butter!)
Sounds amazing but we are on a fast along with our church and my husband is fasting sugar and bread so I’m wondering if maybe adding salt pepper onion and garlic would work as a side for the meatloaf I’m cooking tonight?
I do just that but I also add a little salsa to it. I have also used leftover rice to make quick Mexican fried rice. Chopped onions, red peppers, Make up your own recipe to suit your taste buds. I would’nt add too much salt until end of recipe , other ingredients you may add will have flavors in them. I use Italian seasoning alot. Just add a little at a time. grandma green
Not a fan, and would not make again. While they smelled amazing, like rice pudding, the texture is pretty bad and not satisfying. At least it didn’t cost too much or take too long to try out.
I came up with rice pancakes one morning myself (being poor and having a lot of rice) without ever hearing of such a thing. Lo and behold, there are recipes for them.
I made my pancakes savory, using salt and pepper, scallions and laver (nori) mixed into my egg-rice mixture. I topped my pancakes with ketchup. Delicious.
I literally have a vat of cooked rice that someone gave me as a part of a meal they brought when one of our twins was in the hospital last week. I had NO idea what to do with it and the babies won’t touch it…these pancakes look incredible and I think they might actually like them! Do you think it would work to smash a banana in there too?
Interesting idea and I bet it would work! Good thinking.
I grew up with these!!! Didn’t like them much as a kid, however I changed a few things up. I added 2 eggs, 2 Tbls sugar, 2 Tsp cinnamon, 2 Tbls milk and 2 Cups cooked rice. THE KIDS LOVED IT!!!!! Makes for a perfect breakfast!
My mom would make rice pancakes with the leftover spanish rice. It was so good and filling. This is another great way to use up leftover rice.
Do you think sugar would be a good addition to these? I was surprised to see it not included as an ingredient, and I am wondering if I should try them with some in the mixture? Are they sweet enough without the sugar when you add the syrup?
Thanks!
Without syrup they’re not sweet at all, so yes, if you like things on the sweet side, I’d try adding a little sugar. It’s hard to say how much, though, because I’ve never experimented with that. :P
Just made them. Followed recipe exactly. With syrup they’re sweet enough, as long as it’s real maple.
Forgot to mention it was brown rice.
Yummy looking, but, whenever I have leftover white rice, I end up making amazake (sometimes real sake…)
I found out that Fat Tuesday is the same day as National Pancake Day so I was thrilled to find this idea so I could have my red beans and rice (pancakes). I threw in some cooked onion and pepper instead of cinnamon and vanilla but I will have to try a sweet version at some point. Came out great, thank you!
YUM! can’t wait to make these for breakfast tomorrow.
Thank you!
My doctor has recommended that I start eating gluten free, which has been really difficult on a student/Americorps budget, especially when it comes to breakfasty foods. These will do nicely, I think (especially since I just froze 3 cups of rice as per your recent instructions). Thank you!
Michael – I don’t know if these would freeze well, because they are so delicate to begin with. Plain rice, on the other hand, freezes pretty well! So, you could freeze the rice and then just make fresh pancakes after thawing the rice.
I have to wonder, how well would these freeze?
Or rice in general for that matter. I’ve heard varying opinions about it.
Such a neat idea for leftover rice!!
I had to use this for a side-dish, so I made it savoury /ducks and hides! Don’t hate me lol.
I think I can fairly review this though and comment, since it was A-mazing!
Mixed in green onion, garlic, ginger and an egg with leftover coconut rice (fantastic, if you haven’t made it, go now and look it up!)
Did everything else the same, cooking wise and used your peanut dipping sauce.
Served it with the Asian sticky wings (Beth’s) and the best broccoli ever (chili roasted broccoli also a Beth creation go go!
Sorry for bastardizing your recipe, but in the end, I think I did it justice!
This was my favorite breakfast treat as a kid. Yes, I said treat. We would beg my mom to make these with leftover rice. So glad other people make these too. I can just smell them now…MMMM. With lots of maple syrup. I found this post on tastespotting.
I just made these and definitely a keeper. I have to say though that I did use eggbeaters instead of an egg and it didn’t hold together well and I think that’s why. Next time I make these, it’ll be just as stated. My husband said he liked these better than traditional pancakes.
This would be perfect for my daughter who has quite a few allergies! I could throw in some egg replacer and it would be perfect. What a great idea. I had never thought of this.
What egg replacer do you think you’d use? I’m trying to figure it out myself
Unfortunately I’ve never really worked with egg replacers, so I can’t give any advice on this one. :(
I made these today with basil flakes, soy sauce, and mustard — delicious! Thanks for the post :)
Your mother is a very clever lady, these sound excellent! Especially useful since you’re not the only one who tends to make too much rice…
I’ve seen this done in a savory way before, but never would have thought to do a sweet version! I’ll have to try it, considering I love rice pudding.
So interesting – love the idea!
I rarely have rice, but often have bulgur wheat. I’ll have to try it with some bulgur :)
I grew up eating these too! They’re an awesome way to use up extra Chinese food rice.
So. Weird.
In a good way.
Rice pancakes … WOW, I would never have thought of that.