We all eat foods and sometimes have leftovers, lasagna is not any different. Nothing beats having your lasagna warm when serving. When you want to serve leftover lasagna, it is always good if you can get it to be exactly like when you just prepared it from the oven. We must know how we can reheat our lasagna to enjoy it as though it is fresh.
When you reheat your lasagna, you want to keep its original texture and taste, which makes it a bit technical to do which is why you must know the proper procedure to do it. The best way to reheat your lasagna individual slices instead of the larger portion is to do it in your microwave. It is quite convenient and quick to reheat your lasagna in your microwave, but there is a need to have the right knowledge of how you can do that.
There are steps you need to follow to reheat your lasagna in a microwave, if you don’t do it right, the moisture and the delicious taste of your lasagna might be gone.
Reheating Lasagna in the Microwave – Step By Step
Your microwave is a great tool that can reheat your lasagna whether from a fridge or when frozen. Reheating your lasagna in a microwave is quite quick and it is a very common method that will get you the great taste of the lasagna. To reheat your lasagna from your fridge, follow the steps below:
- Put a lasagna slice on a Tupperware or the microwave-safe pan.
- Pour about two tablespoons measurement of water over the top.
- Use plastic wrap to cover your lasagna
- Allow it to heat in your microwave for up to five minutes but it should be in an increment of 60 seconds.
- Remove your hot lasagna from your microwave with all carefulness.
- Allow it to cool for one minute so that the heat will evenly distribute on the lasagna.
- Cut a portion and check if it is evenly heated. If not, put it back in your microwave in an increment of 30 seconds until it gets evenly heated.
There are two options if you want to reheat your frozen lasagna. It is either you allow it to thaw overnight in a fridge and you can follow the steps above or you can put your frozen lasagna directly in your microwave and then follow the steps above but allow it to use more heating time so that it will thaw and heat it properly. Another thing you can do is to use the microwave’s defrost function for some minutes so that the lasagna will thaw gently before you turn the heat on your microwave.
Ensuring the Lasagna Is Heated Through
Because of lasagna’s dense and cheesy layers, it could be hard to reheat evenly in a microwave, this is a common complaint when it comes to reheating your lasagna in a microwave. If you try to get the middle of the lasagna to get heat up as much as possible, you may end up drying the pasta and the top because you left it in your microwave to heat for excessively.
You can follow a trick to solve this problem by using your apple corer to remove a hole of small size from the middle of your dish. You are not supposed to throw away the small piece, you should instead put it beside your dish so that it will also heat together with the remaining lasagna. When you have a hole at the center, the lasagna can heat in all areas including the middle area.
Safely Reheating Lasagna
You must make sure the process of reheating your lasagna is properly handled. It is quite easy to throw your lasagna in a microwave but it must be done safely. The leftovers of your lasagna can be useful to fix up quick meals but if you do not follow the right storage procedures, you risk eating spoilt lasagna. It is much more important for you to follow every of the safety guidelines if the lasagna contains poultry or meat. You need to place your lasagna in your freezer or fridge within two (2) hours that you will cook it. When packaging your lasagna, you should tightly cover it or place it inside your safe storage bag or container and it should then be put directly in your freezer or fridge.
You can keep your lasagna safely in your fridge for about four days. In the freezer, however, your lasagna can last up to four months if it is placed and kept at 0°F constant temperature or a temperature below 0°F. You can still eat them after four months, but the quality would have deteriorated slowly.
Reheating Lasagna More Than Once
You first have to cook the lasagna, store in a fridge or freezer before you can reheat. Just like every food, lasagna should be reheated only once. If you don’t have the plan to eat all the leftovers at once, do not reheat everything, reheat only the ones you want to eat. Once you reheat your lasagna, any other leftover should be thrown away. The reason you need to do that is because of an increased bacteria growth on the reheated food that can cause food poisoning or foodborne illness when restored and reheated again. What you need to do to avoid wastage is to refrigerate and freeze them in small portions and not in a whole batch. You will be able to determine to only thaw one or two slices that you will reheat instead of thaw a whole batch that will later turn to waste. This is a rule that extends to every food, once foods are reheated, the leftovers after should be discarded. Remember you only have to reheat the portion you will eat and the remaining leftovers can still be kept in your freezer or fridge.
How to Reheat Lasagna in the Oven
You can also reheat your lasagna in your oven, though the microwave method is the quickest. Using an oven takes a longer time than the microwave because you need your oven to become warm before you put the lasagna inside. The good thing about using your oven is that you will get your lasagna reheated and you will have something that is just as awesome as when you first cooked it. Your lasagna can be reheated in an oven directly from the freezer or fridge with the difference only in how long it will take to reheat. Those from the freezer will take longer with about 10 more minutes than the one from the fridge. Check below for how you can reheat your lasagna in your oven:
- Allow your oven to preheat to a temperature of 375°F.
- Put your lasagna in your oven-safe pan or dish.
- Pour about two tablespoons measurement of water over the top.
- Cover the whole dish or pan with foil.
- Put the lasagna inside your oven and leave the lasagna to heat up to 15 minutes for those from a refrigerator or to 25 minutes for frozen lasagna. Remove it to check whether or not it has been heated evenly, if not, return it to the oven for an increment of five minutes.
- Use your kitchen thermometer to check its internal temperature. Once it reads a temperature of 165°F or more, serve your lasagna.
If you allow the over to be at a temperature lower than the stated above, you must adjust the time for the cooking to be even. Using the oven to reheat your lasagna is quite excellent for both refrigerated and frozen lasagna, but to get it to reheat quickly, use a microwave.
Related Questions
Reheating Lasagna in the Microwave
Lasagna can be reheated in a microwave as we have explained previously in detail. It is quick to reheat and you need not worry about waiting for too long by using an oven. It can also be used either at work or at home.
For you to be sure that your lasagna gives you the best taste and quality, you must make sure to add extra moisture by pouring a few tablespoons of water over it and then use plastic wrap to cover it before you place it in your microwave. This will prevent any kind of moisture from escaping which will leave you with a delicious, moist, and perfectly reheated dish.
How long should lasagna be left to rest before being served?
All your lasagna to stay cool without covering for 15-20 minutes so that it will set and not become soggy. No matter how eager you are to eat them, you have to exercise patience. People often enjoy the lasagna that has been leftover more than freshly cooked one because it has taken time to settle. Instead of the layers to mix to form lasagna soup, they are kept separate beautifully.
Can you reheat lasagna without drying it out?
You can reheat your lasagna without it getting dried out. You need to pour a few tablespoons of water over the lasagna and cover it with a plastic wrap or aluminum foil before you proceed to microwave it. This will allow it to have extra moisture that will prevent moisture from leaving. Cover your lasagna with foil if you want to use the oven to reheat it.
