How to reheat lasagna

how to reheat lasagna

No matter what lasagna you prefer or what kind of fillings you consider the best for a lasagna, preparing a lasagna takes time and effort. So in many ways, you’ll often find people making big batches of lasagna at one go which can be easily kept frozen.

And the joy is different when you know that there’s a batch of frozen lasagna in your fridge that you can quickly reheat and enjoy. However, reheating layered pasta like lasagna is not as easy as just popping it in the microwave for a minute and expecting it to look as it should.  

The tricky part of reheating food like pasta is that they tend to get dry, lose the flavor and become problematic because it’s a dough base. In addition, the different layers of pasta, meat, vegetables, and cheese in the lasagna can all get smooshed with each other, making the dish lose its unique look and appeal.

So in this article, we will be looking at all the different ways you can reheat lasagna perfectly so you can enjoy great pasta at any time!

Using the microwave:

This is the easiest and, realistically, the go-to option for many people when it comes to reheating lasagna. However, it’s not the best-recommended method because the top part of the lasagna can get dry and change in texture while trying to heat up the other layers.

Here is a step-by-step on how you can adequately use a microwave to heat lasagna

  1. Get frozen or leftover lasagna and put it in a dish that is safe for use in the microwave.
  2. If you are placing more than two slices of lasagna, make sure that there is enough space between the two.
  3. Drizzle a little bit of water on top of the lasagna pieces to retain moisture when using the microwave
  4. Cover the dish with a microwave-friendly paper towel
  5. Place a toothpick at the top of each lasagna piece to keep your cover away from the top cheese layer.
  6. Power the microwave and start heating your lasagna in short intervals of 60-90 minutes.
  7. This is to ensure that you don’t burn the lasagna, especially the top layer. It will probably take you about 5 to 6 minutes to adequately heat the lasagna all the way through. If you have a good thermometer, stick it in the middle of the lasagna and ensure it’s at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit for the best-heated lasagna taste.

Using an oven:

Another easy way to reheat all kinds of dishes is using the oven. Although it might seem daunting at first, using an oven is more preferred than using the microwave to heat your leftover lasagna.

Since you would typically cook the lasagna in the first place in an oven, popping the leftovers in the oven creates the same kind of environment where it can cook properly on all sides, in each layer.

The only thing you need to be careful of is that you don’t cook it as long as it initially took you to make the lasagna. Remember that you are just reheating the dish and not cooking it all the way through again.

Here are the steps you can follow if you want to reheat leftover lasagna in an oven:

Preheat the oven to about 300 or 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Try to keep the temperature consistent and at a minimum because you don’t want to burn the food. In or worst case scenario, all the moisture from the lasagna will get dried up, and you’ll be left with a rough texture, dry and tasteless lasagna.

You can even use a toaster oven for this method. It’s much more apt if you reheat just single slices of lasagna, not the entire dish.

Using an air fryer:

Air fryers are an essential and popular piece of kitchen appliance. Many people are turning to this appliance as a much easier, faster, and healthier way of preparing meals.

What’s even better is the fact that air fryers are incredibly versatile, so it doesn’t matter if you want to cook a whole dinner, lunch, snack, or breakfast; the appliance has you covered.

So it’s no surprise that reheating a slice or two of lasagna will be no problem for such an appliance.

To properly reheat lasagna in an air fryer, follow these steps:

  1. Many air fryers come with a preheating feature. If your model has it, then use the button to start the process. If not, you can manually preheat the oven for a few minutes before you pop in the lasagna.
  2. Place the lasagna in a small pan or dish so that you can prevent the cheese from melting into your air fryer basket.
  3. Make sure to cover the top of the lasagna to keep the moist jee in and prevent it from drying.
  4. Typically, 10 minutes in the air fryer is enough for the lasagna to be fully heated. However, depending on the type of air fryer, this time can vary. If you still want your food to be hotter, you can pop it back in the air fryer for another 5 or 6 minutes, and you’re good to go!

Using a skillet:

Although not the most convenient or standard way to reheat lasagna, you can attempt to heat your food on a skillet if you don’t have an oven, microwave, or air fryer.

It’s not as efficient since it takes more time and effort from your end to reheat food in a skillet, but it can give you outstanding results.

  1. Place the skillet on the stovetop and add your lasagna.
  2. Drizzle a bit of water on top of your lasagna. This will stop the food from losing moisture and drying up.
  3. Put the gas on simmer and wait for the water to start to boil
  4. Once it’s boiling, cover the skillet and wait for 20-25 minutes. But keep checking the skillet often.
  5. After this, the lasagna absorbed all the water, so you’ll be left with tender and moist layers of pasta and filling.

This method can prove to be quite messy especially if you are not used to it yet because the cheese and fillings can start to fall out from the sides. So try the other methods first before you try this technique.