Sheet Pan Crispy Rice (for Salads, Bowls, and More!)

This easy sheet pan crispy rice comes together with just 4 ingredients and 5 minutes of hands-on time (thanks to day-old jasmine rice!). Seasoned with sesame oil and soy sauce for that rich, nutty flavour and baked at high heat into crunchy golden clumps, it’s the meal prep upgrade your salads, bowls and lettuce wraps have been missing! 

If you’ve ever eaten a salad or bowl and thought something was missing, I am confident this addictive crispy rice will fix that. I am such a texture girl when it comes to the enjoyment of a meal, and this rice is one of those additions that takes a bowl from pretty good to “mom when can you make that again?!”. And I’m not gonna lie, the dietitian in me loves that it’s pretty much guaranteed to have my family eating (and enjoying) more salads. 

This crispy rice perfection was first made for myThai-inspired crispy rice salad (easily one of the most popular salads on the blog). It was such a hit with my family that I started making it any time we had leftover rice. We now use it on everything from my 30-minute restaurant style shrimp lettuce wraps, to my latest obsession, this insanely delicious bang bang chicken salad with crispy rice.

That is if I can keep my kids little paws from stealing it all off the pan. 

All this to say, it is so dang delicious, you’re gonna want to put it on everything, so let’s get into it!

Ingredient Highlights Not to Miss

Jasmine Rice is The Best Choice For This Crispy Rice

Not all rice crisps up the same way, and after testing this recipe with different varieties, jasmine is hands-down the best choice here. As a long-grain variety, it has just enough starch to help the grains cling together as they bake, forming those satisfying clusters and chunks rather than just individual grains getting hard. It turns shatteringly crispy at high heat, while short-grain rice (like sushi rice) tends to stay chewy and gummy, and longer drier varieties like basmati can go hard without that satisfying snap. 

Sesame Oil for a Flavourful High Heat Option

Sesame oil is doing double duty here. It has a high enough smoke point for our 425°F cooking temp  so it crisps the rice beautifully without burning, and it brings that rich, nutty, toasted flavor that makes this recipe so craveable. Plus, it adds those nourishing fats to help absorb fat soluble vitamins like vitamin K and E found in the salad bowls we’ll be tossing it on!

My Test Kitchen Secrets to Make This Perfectly Crispy Rice Every Time

Day old rice works best

Freshly cooked jasmine rice holds too much moisture and will steam in the oven instead of crisping. Day-old rice from the fridge has dried out just enough that when it hits that high heat, it actually crisps up rather than turning gummy. If you don’t have day old rice prepped, just spread fresh cooked rice in a thin layer on the sheet pan and pop it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes or so to cool it and dry it out a bit. 

And while day old is preferred, if you just don’t have time, you can still use fresh cooked rice. It just won’t be quite as crispy.

Use parchment paper (yes, really).

I tested this both with and without parchment paper because I wasn’t sure the rice would crisp up as well with the parchment underneath. Good news, it totally does. The parchment doesn’t interfere with the crunch at all, and cleanup is an absolute dream. Just swipe the parchment into the compost and you’re done!

Press the rice down before cooking.

Pressing the rice down on the pan before baking helps fuse the grains into clusters and chunks as they bake, rather than just drying out individually. Aim for some areas more compact, some looser so you have  a range of textures!

Let it cool before serving.

The rice continues to crisp up as it cools. Give it about 10 minutes on the pan before using for that perfect  extra crispy texture

Watch your oven.

Every oven runs a little differently. Check the rice at 18 minutes.  It should look deeply golden and crisp around the edges. If it needs more time, give it another 2-4 minutes and check again.

Let’s Make This Gorgeous Crispy Rice!