How to Reheat a Casserole in Oven: The Best & Easiest Way

Casseroles are delicious and convenient dishes to make when you have guests over at your home. It can serve 6 to 8 people at a time, and people just love it. That is why sometimes we make leftovers because you never know when someone will want seconds.

Making extra is a good idea, but then there is the problem of leftovers. Reheating the casserole incorrectly can ruin the whole dish and make it uneatable. So, we decided to let you know our little secret on how to reheat a casserole in the oven to get a perfect, moist, and tasty dish every time.

We won’t keep you waiting anymore; let’s jump in!

How to Warm Up Leftover Casserole in the Oven

The best way to reheat food is in the oven. Because why not? You first made it in the oven, so reheating it in its original cooking appliance is a good idea. However, there are other benefits of reheating a casserole in the oven. Your casserole will be moist, perfectly reheated, and maybe even tastier. 

But you can easily make some common mistakes, like burning the bottom, drying it out, using plastic wrap to cover the dish, and cooking it wrong, making it gummy, sticky, or soggy.

To avoid such mishaps, you need to reheat your casserole correctly by using the proper method and the right temperature. So, we suggest you use the oven. Although it may take longer and use more energy, trust us, it will be worth it!

Here are the steps to heating up a casserole in an oven:

Step 1

Please make sure you thaw your casserole to room temperature before reheating it because putting a casserole dish in a hot oven is not ideal. The glass casserole dish may break and injure you. If you refrigerate it, thaw it for 30 minutes and if it is in the freezer, thaw it for 2 to 3 hours.

Step 2

Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 250 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. A higher temperature might seem like a good idea, but with a lower temperature, you can control the temperature, so the casserole doesn’t get burnt.

Step 3

Now, use aluminum foil to cover the top of the casserole dish. It will help your food stay moist and not get burnt at the top quickly. (An aluminum foil cover might not be required for certain casserole dishes.)

Step 4

Reheat your casserole for about 20 to 30 minutes if you refrigerated it. Frozen casseroles may take longer to heat up thoroughly.

Step 5

Make sure to check the casserole after 15 minutes intervals to avoid burning it.

Step 6

Take it out and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Now cut it up and serve it for lunch or dinner.

Tip : If you are reheating a small portion of a casserole, leave the oven aside. Use the microwave instead. Just cut up a slice of your casserole, put it on a microwave-safe dish, and let it heat for 1 minute at 20 second intervals. It will spare you some time by reheating quickly, and your remaining casserole won’t go to waste.

Related Article: How to Reheat a Pot Roast

Frequently Asked Questions

We received so many casserole-related questions earlier that we just had to answer them in this article. You guys wanted answers, and we gave them. Here are some of the most asked questions you had!

1. What should the casserole’s temperature be after reheating?

Casseroles are usually dishes with meat inside them, and you should know that the meat must be brought to an optimal temperature during reheating to be considered edible again.

So, after reheating your casserole, use a digital food thermometer to check the internal temperature. If the temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit, your food is adequately reheated and ready to eat. Otherwise, a few more minutes in the oven won’t hurt.

2. How long should I cook a casserole that has been refrigerated or frozen?

If you refrigerate a casserole, you should reheat it for at least 20 minutes in the oven. But when it comes to a frozen casserole, the reheating process takes about 40 to 45 minutes to thoroughly heat.

Moreover, it would be best to always store your leftover casserole in an airtight container to avoid bacteria growth and retain extra moisture. You also must finish up your refrigerated casserole within 2 to 3 days and frozen casserole within 20 days or a month (highest).

3. How to reheat an egg casserole?

Egg casseroles are usually known as breakfast casseroles because eggs are considered a breakfast item. You should reheat your egg casserole as we instructed above. Make sure you defrost it first and then reheat it in the oven. Also, remember to cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil unless you want a dry casserole.

4. Which casserole dishes should be covered when reheating?

It would be best if you always covered starchy casseroles like potato, corn, egg, pasta, or rice casseroles. Meat casseroles should also remain covered when reheating. Otherwise, these dishes will become sticky, gummy, and unappetizing.

Summary

A good casserole dish must not go to waste. But often, people don’t know how to reheat correctly and ruin their whole leftover dish. We can’t let something like that happen to you. That is why we mentioned all the steps of our casserole reheating process with an extra tip.

Moreover, you guys kept asking us some casserole-related questions, which we had to address. Hopefully, you got your answers from the FAQs section. And, if you didn’t, we are sorry, but we would love to help you. All you need to do is leave us a comment below, and we will get back to you as soon as possible because you matter to us! We hope you have a fantastic day ahead!