Parmesan Rice Cakes Recipe – Simple & Delicious
You won’t believe how fantastic these simple 5-ingredient parmesan rice cakes taste! They are a family favorite side dish and even a great meatless meal when served with a salad. Easy recipes to the rescue – especially ones that turn leftover rice into golden, crispy, deliciousness! Easily made gluten free.
✩ What readers are saying…
“These are so tasty! They will be a staple in my side dish rotation. Love that they work for our gluten free and vegetarian family too.” – Cheryl
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This recipe for Parmesan rice cakes is one of my most popular recipes, both with my family and here on the website.
In fact, it was one of the first recipes I published back in 2009 since I knew it was a winner – just like my super easy homemade ketchup and simple homemade chocolate syrup.
When our kids were younger, we ate Parmesan rice cakes – or rice patties, if you prefer – at least a couple times a month. And each time one of them usually cheered (literally!) – they loved them that much.
Now I make them a bit less, but it’s still a wonderful way to use up leftover rice.
In fact, when I make our menus one of my tricks is to use planned leftovers – making more rice than I need one night so that I can make this recipe the next day (it’s a great way to make menu planning easier and save money).
You can always make rice specifically for this recipe, but then you’d have to think about it about an hour earlier in order to cook the rice (which doesn’t happen often for me!).
TIP: Meal Prep Idea For Rice
If you like to meal prep, you can make all the rice you needed for the week – or even two weeks – and then freeze the rice in portions for the recipes and meals you’re planning.
Rice freezes really well, you’d just need to remember to thaw it first before making the parmesan rice cakes – OR you can make the rice patties themselves and freeze them – they’re easy to heat in the air fryer/toaster oven or microwave.
Ingredients Needed
The five ingredients you need to make parmesan rice cakes are all real and very simple:
- Cooked rice
- Homemade bread crumbs – this recipe is a great way to use these up – you can use gluten-free bread crumbs if needed – or omit them (see below)
- Onion
- Eggs
- Parmesan cheese
- Salt, pepper, and optional parsley or chives
TO MAKE GLUTEN FREE-GRAIN FREE: You don’t have to use the bread crumbs – you can use just the eggs and parmesan to hold them together if you use a full cup of the parmesan (to 3 cups rice as in the recipe).
Supplies Needed
- Griddle (or frying pan) – I used to have a full-sized griddle like this and now I use a square electric skillet and cook a in a couple batches (it takes up less room and can use it for other things).
- Wide spatula safe for griddle or a silicone-coated ‘fish turner’ which I now use for almost everything, it works so well!
- Measuring cups – I prefer stainless steel measuring cups.
- Mixing bowl – I use the bowls in this set of three glass bowls all the time for recipes like this and lots others.
To make the patties, simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
The mixture should look wet – if it’s dry, add another egg (your eggs could be a different size than mine, it’s better to be more wet than dry).
If you use a griddle to cook them, you can do a whole batch at one time. If using a pan you can keep the cooked patties warm in a 200 degree oven while cooking the rest of the patties.
TIP: Shape the cakes using a 1/4 measuring cup to get almost equal-sized patties and then flip the cup over onto the griddle or pan and use the back of the measuring cup to flatten the patty.
The total time for this recipe from start to finish is only about 15 minutes – simple and easy, two of my criteria that make for a great recipe! Well, after tasting good, that is.
Ingredient Swaps & Variations
- Use any kind of rice you have – white, brown, arborio, jasmine.
- Make gluten free by omitting the bread crumbs and increasing the cheese to 1 cup.
- Switch up the cheese – try cheddar, gouda, jack, havarti.
- Add herbs to the mixture before cooking – chives, chopped basil, chopped parsley, thyme.
- Add some spice – use a 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
FAQs
About 3 to 5 days in the fridge – for longer storage, freeze for 3 to 5 months.
Use a toaster oven or air fryer to reheat with crispy edges. You can also reheat in a microwave – wrap them in a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out, heating at 15-30 second intervals until warm.
I prefer making the patties with brown rice because it’s healthier than white rice. Rice in itself is a good source of carbohydrates and proteins and brown rice has more protein, lipids, minerals, and vitamins than refined white rice, because they’ve been stripped away during the refining process. You can, however, use any rice you have.
I promise you are going to love these…unless you have a dairy sensitivity, to which I can only say – I’m so sorry. Truly.
Serving suggestions
- Serve as a side dish for any meat, poultry or seafood.
- Make them the main dish for a meatless meal and serve with a salad.
- Make ahead and grill them a few minutes to heat along with Soy Sriracha Chicken and Grilled Vegetables.
- Serve them for lunch with cut veggies and Ranch or Feta Dip.
Reader Raves
“Great recipe! I have been making it for years now. Today I made them in my air fryer for the first time – they are even better that way and you save the oil you‘d put in the pan.” -Carmen
“Made these with a mix of brown and wild rice. They were delicious and whole family gobbled them up.” -Natalya
“Tried these today when I had too much leftover rice. Love them, especially with a dipping sauce of some sort. My son even enjoyed them!” -Jennifer
I hope you love these like we do – be sure to leave a comment and star review if you do!
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Parmesan Rice Cakes (Rice Patties)
Equipment
- griddle, skillet or electric skillet
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked rice, brown rice preferred, but any kind works
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs (Gluten Free: omit and see note below to adjust recipe)
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup onion finely minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- oil for pan
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well (TIP: if mixture seems dry, add another egg – it should hold together, but not be too runny).
- Heat oil on a nonstick griddle or in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Using a 1/4 cup measure, place a dollop of rice mixture on the griddle/pan, then use the back of the cup to flatten into a patty. Repeat with remaining rice mixture.
- Cook the first side until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes, then flip and cook the other side until brown.
- Serve immediately or see notes for storage options.
Notes
- Add dried or fresh herbs to the mixture before cooking.
- Use a different cheese: cheddar, gouda, pepper jack, havarti, etc.
Nutrition
More easy side dishes to try
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My family is vegan. I make these with Follow Your Heart vegan parmesan cheese, nooch, and Just Egg, spinavh or Kale and chopped bell pepper. We fry in a little avocado oil with toasted Sesame seeds and then dip bites in soy sauce. A family favorite with a salad and a steamed veg if the teens are home!
So good to know these work for vegans – thank you so much for letting us know!
I love these! I added red bell pepper. They reminded me so much of crab cakes that the second thing I made them, I added Ol’ Bay seasoning. There are so many variations you can do.
Ooh, those additions sound great, Rebecca!
Thanks so much for the review. 🙂
This was a great recipe to use up left-over rice. I just added a little more Parmesan (we love it!). We all enjoyed it. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed this, Isabel – thanks for the review!
What do you eat these with or do you dip them in a sauce?
I usually use them as a side dish just on their own. I do like them with Addictive Tomato Chutney and sometimes Salsa and sour cream.
JAMI, THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL IDEAS & RecIPES YOU BRING US. i APPRECIATE YOUR DEDICATED WORK. i WANT TO TRY THESE BUT HAVE TO WATCH CARBS CAREFULLY, DO YOU THINK THE RICE CAKES COULD BE MADE FROM CAULIFLOWER RICE? i LOVE CAULIFLWER RICE & MY FAMILY CAN NOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE OR AT LEAST THEY HAVE NOT SAID ANYTHING, HA. HAVE A bLESSED tHANKSGIVING!
Oh, that’s a great idea, Betty! I think if the cauli rice is cooked so all the liquid is out, this would work!
Tried these today when I had too much leftover rice. Love them, especially with a dipping sauce of some sort. My son even enjoyed them!
Oh, yes – we love them with Addictive Tomato Chutney. 🙂
Very good way to use up leftover rice🌞
Agree!!
Can I cook these in the oven?
Probably, though I haven’t tried it – you’ll have to experiment!
Sorry, found this to be very bland. Maybe if you add fresh garlic and perhaps a pepper. Maybe even crumble up some bacon and put cheese on top. Unfortunately, 3/4 of it ended up in the trash.
Well we all have our preferences, that’s for sure!
I love the crispy, parmesan flavor of these – my husband likes to add hot sauce to his. 😀
Great recipe! I have been making it for years now. Today I made them in my air fryer for the first time – they are even better that way and you safe the oil you‘d put in the pan 🙂 If anyones interested in the settings I used – 9 minutes on 390 degrees – I arranged them in a single layer and flipped them over after the first 5 minutes.
Whoa – I hadn’t even thought of that! Sounds great. Did you place them on parchment? Just wondering about oozing through the rack…
No,I didn’t use any parchment paper. No oozing whatsoever 🙂
Were so good! I have a beautiful pic that I wish I could share! Made 2/3 of recipe and 2 tsp of tapioca starch and no bread crumbs. Stayed together beautifully! Cooked on med high for 4-5 min on each side!
This is good to know, Mariah – I have people asking about the bread crumbs. You could share the photo on AOC’s Facebook page if you want. 🙂
Have you tried mixing up the ingredients and storing ITV overnight in the fridge to fry it next day?
I haven’t, Renina, but I can’t think of why that wouldn’t work.
Thanks! I ended up forgetting to mix everything last night and just made it for tonight’s dinner. I liked it a lot! That must be very nice with some shredded sharp cheddar and bacon. Yum!
I’m glad you liked it! I’ve never thought to change them up, but cheddar and bacon DO sound delicious. 🙂
Made these with a mix of brown and wild rice. They were delicious and whole family gobbled them up. I did have a slight issue with them staying together, weren’t as nice as you pic!
Glad your family liked them, Natalya! Adding another egg will help them stick together, sometimes it depends on how big the eggs are and other ingredients. If they look dry I add another.
Oh! These do sound delicious! Gotta give it a try! 🙂
very nice, reminds me of the many Italian ideas using leftover rice…..by the
way, i like your style of cooking with less fat and less meat….
I think I can adapt these to our diets. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Great – I hope your family likes them as much as ours!
Thank you so much for this recipe.
Yum! Sounds like something everyone would like. I have frozen leftover rice in my freezer and I think we’re going to try this for lunch today.
I hope you both like them as much as we do. Yes, Kim, I serve them as a side dish because I live in a house of carnivors! I think they would be lovely served with a room-temp. bean salad on a bed of lettuce, but if I tried that now all I would hear would be, “Is this all there is?” 🙂
These sound really yummy! I will have to give it a try. Do you serve them as a side dish?
DITTO!!! These look and sound YUMMY!!! I am gonna have to try them! Thanks for sharing!!!!