How long can lasagna last?

Lasagna can be a lot of work, especially if you make it all from scratch. Of course, now you can buy ready-to-use noodles and you don’t even have to prepare them.

However, you still have to layer the lasagna together and then bake it to perfection.

Lasagna is often worth the effort to create. It is absolutely delicious and full of flavor and you can feed a lot of people with this dish.

You don’t want your efforts to go to waste when you finish by leaving the lasagna out too long or forgetting to store it properly.

How long can lasagna sit out? If you take into account the ingredients of lasagna, you will know that it is not a food with which you want to take risks. Lasagna usually has meat, but it also has dairy, among other ingredients. There is nothing in it that serves to preserve other elements of the plate. In general, it should not be left out for more than 2 hours. 

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the details of how long a lasagna can be out for.

We’ll talk about security issues and things to keep in mind. We will talk about how to know if it is safe to eat it and even some tips for its correct conservation.

Stay with us to find out how long lasagna can sit out for and much more.

Lasagna ingredients

There are several ways to make lasagna, so there are a million different recipes.

When we talk about lasagna, we’ll be talking mostly traditionally, but much of what we say will still apply to modified lasagna to suit a diet or lifestyle.

For example, if you make the lasagna with eggplant instead of the pasta layers, it will still have other ingredients that could go bad.

The eggplant could also go bad. If you’re adjusting to making a meatless lasagna, you’ll probably still need to consider the substitute or other ingredients that are still being used.

Although your ingredients may vary, we want to point out that understanding your ingredients makes all the difference when it comes to understanding how long lasagna can last.

Chances are, you have some ingredients in your lasagna that fit the risks of being out too long, even if your ingredients are different from what we discuss here.

With that said, these are the ingredients you’ll find in traditional lasagna.

• lasagna pasta
• Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
• Red sauce (tomato based)
• Mozzarella cheese
• Various seasonings, vegetables and add-ins

Most of these ingredients could go bad if not handled properly. Things like meat and dairy should be refrigerated or frozen within about 2 hours of coming to room temperature. 

This is because when they stay at a certain temperature for a long period of time, they can harbor bacteria that spread within the mix.

That risky temperature zone is 40 to 140°F. Your lasagna will be hot when you serve it and after a while it will cool down to that danger zone temperature.

Nothing happens for a short period of time in that particular zone, but the general rule of thumb with most of these ingredients is that they shouldn’t be left out at room temperature, or in that danger zone, for more than 2 hours.

It is well warmer than 140°F when freshly baked, and well colder than 40°F when refrigerated or frozen. Of course, you can’t completely avoid that area, but you can limit the time it’s subjected to.

In this case, your meat or meat substitute, your dairy products, and your sauce are all items that need to be treated with care.

Your pasta is probably safe for longer, but since it’s cooked and not in a dried form, it’s still susceptible in this scenario.

How do you know if lasagna is safe to eat?

First of all, can we say that if your lasagna has been sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours, is that a sign that it is not safe to eat?

Of course, there are also other signs that you can look out for. You don’t always need to know for this reason alone, but even if you take it out of the fridge and something doesn’t seem right, these tips can still help.

If your lasagna has some sort of strange or spoiled milk smell to it, that’s a sign that it’s not safe to eat.

If you smell this smell, chances are the ricotta or cottage cheese or even other types of cheese in the mix have gone bad or are going that way.

The meat will also produce a rotten smell if it goes bad, but it won’t be the smell of spoiled milk. Actually, it will just smell sour.

Of course, the sauce can also go bad, and again, it will smell sour or just plain bad, maybe like a rotten tomato. 

Smell is one of the best ways to tell if your lasagna is bad, but not necessarily the only one.

If you notice a lot of moisture and separation on the plate, it may be a sign that it’s time to throw out the lasagna.

Another potential cue with the visual is the obvious sign that things are growing. If you see mold or any unusual growth that isn’t a natural part of the dish, it’s a sign that it’s time to throw it out.

Ultimately, if you try to eat spoiled lasagna, you could get sick or even end up with something like E. coli to make you feel sick.

How to properly preserve lasagna

As we have mentioned throughout this guide, you should not leave the lasagna at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

The magic number is when your lasagna sits between 40-140°F and stays in that temperature range for 2+ hours. 

For this reason, you should plan to put away the lasagna shortly after dinner time. Putting a lid on it and forgetting to put it in the fridge won’t save you in this case, unfortunately.

Although the lid does protect it a bit, it doesn’t prolong the time it can be out.

You can keep the lasagna in the fridge for a few days or you can also keep it in the freezer.

If you store the lasagna well in the fridge, it should last about 5 days. If you store it well in the freezer, it should be good for up to 6 months. 

The trick to proper storage is simply to make sure the dish is completely airtight. In the freezer, you’ll probably want to double layer it with saran paper or a freezer bag and then a plate, if possible, to give it a bit more protection.

The same guidelines of not leaving it out at room temperature for more than 2 hours will also apply when you take it out of the fridge or freezer. It is perfectly safe to reheat it as long as it is stored and handled properly.

Related questions

We hope you find this guide to how long lasagna can sit out useful. There are many details to take into account, but the general rule is that it should not be at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

We invite you to check out the following Q&A section for some additional details that may also be helpful.

Can you put the hot lasagna in the fridge?

Although it may affect the quality of the flavor, it will not harm your lasagna in terms of safety.  We recommend letting the lasagna cool down a little earlier, just because it has a better result.

Some people recommend putting it on ice for a few minutes to chill, if necessary, and then putting it in the fridge.

Can you keep lasagna warm for an extended period of time?

If you’re taking your lasagna to a party or picnic where it might be out for longer than recommended, there are a few things you can do to try to keep it safe and keep it hot at a reliable temperature.

In this case, keep it covered as much as possible. You should also use things like heat packs or even hot water bottles to help keep him warm.

Some people may even use a crock pot instead. The goal is to help warm up and keep warm as much as possible.