The objective of the study was to determine the effect of processing conditions on physical characteristics of frozen nasi lemak. Two types of santan that is, palm-based santan and coconut santan were used in this experiment. They were tested at three santan to rice ratios, i.e. 1:5, 1.5:5 and 2:5 under different freezing rates and thawing processes. The results showed that nasi lemak made of palm-based santan have lower moisture content compared to that made of coconut santan and fast-freezing followed by immediate reheating, was able to retain a higher moisture content in both samples. The water activity of frozen nasi lemak samples ranged from 0.994 to 0.998 at 25.0 ± 0.7°C and was not significantly affected by processing conditions and type of santan. An increase in the amount of santan significantly increased the amount of lipid-amylose complexes formed in frozen nasi lemak which resulted in high Complexing Index (CI) values. It simultaneously reduced the hardness and increased the stickiness of the rice kernels for both types of santan. The freezing rate influenced the stickiness of rice. At 1:5 santan to rice ratio, nasi lemak made of palm-based santan was comparable to that of coconut santan in its sensory attributes, except for its colour, odour and overall taste.