You probably thought these leftovers were safe, but actually…
A lot of us are probably used to eating leftovers by now. After all, there is no need to throw away perfectly good food at the end of the night if it hasn’t been eaten. Not to mention, a lot of us are also cooking for multiple days; be it that you’re packing the food away in containers for tomorrow’s lunch or for dinner, there is a high chance you are not cooking for one night only. It would also be a waste of time to always cook for the current day only.
However, there are some foods that fare better as leftovers when compared to others. We’ve gathered some of the foods you should think twice about eating as leftovers and reheating, whether it’s because they’re prone to developing bacteria the longer you leave them at room temperature or because when reheated, they can end up being bad news for your stomach and health!
Let us know if you have had any problems with these foods before or if you have any others that you’d like to see included on our list!
19 thoughts on “Leftovers: 8 Food items You Should NEVER Reheat”
What your saying is you can’t reheat anything. I cook enough rice and chicken to last at least 3 days and spinach also my meal preps because I’m a Bodybuilder and I haven’t had any problems in doing so!
Never had issue one with reheating chicken or rice. Been doing it for 50 years.
Me too
The chicken leftover no-no was informative but very surprising.
Definitely wouldn’t reheat buffet food, but we’ve been reheating the rest for many years with no issue. We certainly won’t stop now.
Nonsense….reheating may take some flavor away, but it won’t kill you unless you have a very delicate digestive system. I have reheated and enjoyed everything on this list expect buffet food. Be careful and not leave food on the counter too long and thoroughly heat before eating.
Not sure how I lived to 60. According to this article I probably should have been dead years ago.
Me too!!! LOL!!
I have been eating leftovers all my life, I have yet to get food poisoning or any other type of sickness. I do smell my food first, if it doesn’t smell delicious, or right, toss it.
Such nonsense. I’m 75 years old and have been reheating leftover chicken, shrimp, and potatoes for years. Never got sick from them. I’m certainly not going to throw away perfectly good food!
Okay, my family must have grown immune to any bacteria over the years as I am 61 years old and have reheated all these items many, many times and have NEVER had any family member sick from leftovers.
Chicken must reach a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit to kill the salmonella bacteria on the chicken. I would think that as long as you got the reheated chicken up to 160 for a short time you would be ok reheating it.
The key to healthy left overs is to simply refrigerate soon enough so that evil bacteria doesn’t go unchecked. Often, may leftovers are better since ingredients and seasonings get better acquainted!
I’ve reheated all of these things, they’re called leftovers! No food gets wasted here, it’s just too expensive.
The only item I agree with is Buffet food for you don’t know how long it sat and they only put the leftover from one tray onto another tray. Eat it there and forget everything else or don’t buy the buffet food at all.
Most of these foods do not taste as good once re-heated, but I too have been re-heating them all my long life with no food poisoning issues. I was told by a health department inspector once that Microwave does not kill botulism, so there is that. Apparently it’s important to disinfect the microwave periodically if you have food spills or splatters in there.
I imagine the bigger risk for food poisoning is leaving the food out at room temp too long.
I got very sick once on soup that a friend made from turkey that sat out overnight.
I guess what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
With the price of food as high as it is, I will be eating my leftovers thank you very much. I’ve never gotten sick from eating leftover rice, chicken, fish. I put it in the fridge as soon as I can.
My 70 year old brother & I always reheat
chicken, rice & potatoes, etc. We know enough
not to let things stay at room temperature long
enough (more than a half hour) to spoil. When we reheat,
we make sure food gets to over 375 to kill any
bacteria. It has worked for us & our mother who
recently passed away at age 103.
Everything is so micromanaged anymore like suddenly we’re so delicate about just everything!