FridgeToTable

What to Make With Leftover Chicken and Rice: 3 Fast Weeknight Dinners

Leftover chicken and leftover rice are already cooked, so dinner is a fry, a soup, or a crisp rice cake, not a second roast. Cold rice fries. Warm rice clumps. The chicken only needs to get hot. These three are the reason people save takeout rice on purpose. All of them are under 20 minutes. Got more in the fridge? Snap a photo and we'll pick dinner for you. Free.

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Quick picks: 3 dinners with leftover chicken and rice in 30 minutes or less

Fastest option: a 15-minute dinner

15 min

Leftover chicken fried rice

Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

Cold leftover rice fried with leftover chicken, egg, and soy sauce.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups leftover chicken
  • 3 cups leftover rice
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic

Steps

  1. Heat a skillet until it is hot. Add oil and the cold leftover rice. Press it so it fries.
  2. Stir in the garlic and soy sauce.
  3. Add the leftover chicken just to heat it. It is already cooked.
  4. Pour in the eggs and toss until they set. Taste. Stop before it is too salty.

Keeps: Fridge for 2 days. Fry it again to reheat.

One-pan option

Leftover chicken fried rice is already one skillet. There is no second pan to wash.

The other dinners

15 min

Leftover chicken rice soup

Total time, start to plate · One pot · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

Leftover chicken and leftover rice in a salted pot. A soft second dinner.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups leftover chicken
  • 1 cup leftover rice
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 onion
  • 1 tsp salt

Steps

  1. Soften the onion in a pot. Add the water and salt and bring it to a simmer.
  2. Add the leftover rice and cook a few minutes so it loosens.
  3. Stir in the leftover chicken just to heat it.
  4. Taste. Leftover rice has already been salted once. Go slowly.

Keeps: Fridge for 2 days. The rice swells.

20 min

Crispy leftover rice cakes

Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly

Leftover rice pressed into cakes with chicken and fried until the outside is crisp.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup leftover chicken
  • 2 cups leftover rice
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp oil

Steps

  1. Chop the leftover chicken and mix it with the leftover rice, the egg, and the salt.
  2. Press the mix into small flat cakes.
  3. Fry them in oil until both sides are brown and crisp. Don't flip early or they fall apart.
  4. Eat them hot. A little soy sauce on the side is the sauce.

Keeps: Best right away. The crust goes soft.

Make it with leftovers

This whole page is the leftovers angle. If the rice is still warm from an hour ago, spread it on a plate for ten minutes or make the soup, which doesn't need a fry. If the chicken is dry, the soup is kinder than a second sear. Don't cook either food from raw on this page. That is the chicken and rice page.

More dinners from leftovers

Pantry staples you'll need

  • Oil
  • Salt
  • Soy sauce
  • Garlic
  • Egg
  • Green onion

No leftover rice: cook raw rice and you are on the chicken and rice page, which takes longer. No leftover chicken: egg fried rice still works. See eggs and rice.

When there is nothing in the fridge

Picky-eater and healthy tweaks

Fried rice is the familiar one. Leave the onion out. Soup is the soft one. The crisp cakes are the crunchy one, which some kids like and some don't. Soy sauce on the side.

You are using food you already cooked, which is the practical kind of healthy. A spoon of oil to fry, not a cup. An egg and a vegetable, even frozen peas, make it a full plate.

More dinners in under 30 minutes

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Related dinners

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Questions

What can I make with leftover chicken and leftover rice in 20 minutes?

Leftover chicken fried rice takes 15 minutes, start to plate. Cold leftover rice fried with leftover chicken, egg, and soy sauce.

What's the easiest dinner with leftover chicken and leftover rice?

Leftover chicken fried rice is the low-fuss one: one skillet, 15 minutes. Cold leftover rice fried with leftover chicken, egg, and soy sauce.

Can I make this with leftover or cooked leftover chicken?

This whole page is the leftovers angle. If the rice is still warm from an hour ago, spread it on a plate for ten minutes or make the soup, which doesn't need a fry. If the chicken is dry, the soup is kinder than a second sear. Don't cook either food from raw on this page. That is the chicken and rice page.

What else can I add to leftover chicken and leftover rice for a full meal?

The cards already use leftover chicken, leftover rice, eggs. A piece of fruit or a handful of frozen vegetables is enough if you want more on the plate. Don't make a second shopping trip.

Is leftover chicken and leftover rice a healthy dinner?

You are using food you already cooked, which is the practical kind of healthy. A spoon of oil to fry, not a cup. An egg and a vegetable, even frozen peas, make it a full plate.

How do I make leftover chicken and leftover rice kid-friendly?

Fried rice is the familiar one. Leave the onion out. Soup is the soft one. The crisp cakes are the crunchy one, which some kids like and some don't. Soy sauce on the side.

Can I make leftover chicken and leftover rice in one pan or a sheet pan?

Leftover chicken fried rice uses one skillet and takes 15 minutes. Cold leftover rice fried with leftover chicken, egg, and soy sauce.

What if I don't have leftover rice?

No leftover rice: cook raw rice and you are on the chicken and rice page, which takes longer. No leftover chicken: egg fried rice still works. See eggs and rice.