Is Leftover Rice Safe to Eat?
Despite social media warnings, next-day rice won’t make you sick if you take these preventive steps
Rice and other cooked grains, such as quinoa and pasta, may seem unlikely to trigger a bout of food poisoning, especially compared with leafy greens or undercooked burgers. But as it turns out, all of those social media posts you may have seen that warn people never to eat leftover rice are actually on to something. Day-old rice and other grains can, in fact, make you ill—but only if you don’t handle them properly.
Fortunately, you don’t have to immediately toss leftover grains. As with other foods that might cause an upset stomach, diarrhea, or worse, understanding the culprits and following some basic food safety rules can help keep you from getting sick.
What's the Problem With Rice?
The offender is a type of bacteria called Bacillus cereus that lives in soil and water. It can be found in several types of foods, according to a review of 98 scientific studies published in 2023 in the journal Food Control, but rice appears to be the most common source.
See our review of the best rice cookers and try these foolproof tips for cooking rice.
Keeping Leftover Rice Safe
There’s a nugget of good news, however. Just because the bacteria are in rice or another food doesn’t necessarily mean that eating it will make you sick. In fact, it takes a lot of Bacillus cereus to cause illness, Kovac says, which is why it’s important to know the steps you can take to stop it from growing.
Unlike other foods, where cooking them to a temperature that kills the bacteria is key, with grains it’s more about what you do after they’re cooked. That’s because letting them sit at room temperature for several hours is what usually leads to Bacillus cereus food poisoning, says Ben Chapman, PhD, department head of agricultural and human sciences and a food safety specialist at North Carolina State University. “That allows the bacteria to grow and create heat-stable toxins that can’t be cooked out when the rice is reheated,” he says.
The danger zone temperatures, where bacteria can grow and multiply, range between 40° F and 140° F. For that reason, after cooking rice, other grains, and pasta, you should refrigerate them within 2 hours, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Services. (That time frame drops to 1 hour if the grains have been out at 90° F—for instance, if you’re dining outside on a hot day.) If the rice or grain sits out longer than that, it’s best to toss it.
If you want to make a batch of grains or pasta that you can use in meals during the week, place the cooked food in a shallow container (or containers) so that it cools to room temperature more quickly. Then store it in a sealed container. It will keep in the refrigerator for three to four days or in the freezer for one to two months.
When reheating rice, make sure it reaches a temperature of at least 165° F, which can kill any Bacillus cereus bacteria that haven’t formed spores, as well as other types of bacteria.
Stick with these best food practices for grains and pasta and you won’t have to worry that Bacillus cereus will make you sick. In fact, following these rules can help keep leftovers safe from any type of foodborne bug.
