The Ultimate Guide to Reheating Fast Food

We all have. We’ve all brought home too much fast food and haven’t been able to eat it all. Maybe someone didn’t show up for the evening meeting, or you just felt a lot hungrier when you placed your order than you did when you showed up at the door.

Either way, you’ve ended up with a lot of food that you’d be sorry to throw away, but you’re not going to eat right now.

So you think. Can I save this and reheat it? What’s the best way to do it, so it doesn’t end up gross and gummy? Is it worth it, and how should I do it?

That’s what you’re here for, and lucky for you, we’ve got a whole article on the best way to store fast food.

For navigation purposes, this article is subdivided into all of the major brands and generic types of fast food. It’s pretty comprehensive, so let’s get started. 

How to reheat McDonald’s fast food

Let’s start with McDonald’s. McDonald’s is the undisputed fast food mega-chain, and those familiar golden arches are recognized around the world.

But can McDonald’s fast food be reheated?

Yes, you can . Plus, McDonald’s food is often pretty good when reheated, using methods that preserve the distinct flavors and textures of their food that we all know and love.

Big Macs or any other hamburger

The best tool for reheating any burger is your standard kitchen oven . The consistent heat from an oven ensures even reheating, and won’t burn the outer layer of the burger or leave you with a soggy, grease-soaked burger.

It is also recommended to deconstruct the burger if possible, heating it up in its parts. In this way, a pleasant and even heat is achieved, and as much of the original flavor as possible is preserved.

• Store the burger in a quality airtight container in the fridge until you need it, taking it out 10 minutes before you want to reheat it so it’s at room temperature
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the disassembled hamburger on a tray lined with parchment paper.
• Remove the salad and all the sauce you can. Put them in a safe place, for later, or if you have equivalents, feel free to substitute fresh lettuce and tomatoes
• Heat the burger and buns for about 6-7 minutes.
• If it’s still not done to your liking after 7 minutes, check every 30s after
• Reheat the burger and enjoy!

Reheating a cheeseburger or hamburger is the same, whatever its origin. Just follow these steps and you can have a burger as good as when you bought it. Delicious.

McDonald’s fries

Reheating McDonald’s French fries is deceptively easy.

Usually, we have seen recommendations for using the microwave. However, this ends up in a bunch of soggy fries that don’t have any of the crunch we look for in a good french fry.

Instead, recreate how they are cooked. Use a deep fryer (this cheap one from Amazon is absolutely amazing), or if you don’t have a deep fryer, a skillet with oil and medium heat is also suitable.

It should only take 3-5 minutes to cook the fries. You really just want to heat them all the way up and give them that same crisp and bite they had when they first came out of the fryer.

A precaution. Be careful with hot oil in your kitchen. It is volatile and must be handled with care.

McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets

Although McNuggets can also be reheated in the microwave, they tend to be a bit rubbery and chewy.

The oven is your best option. 

• Set it to 350, and place the nuggets on a tray with space around them.
• They should only take about 10 minutes to cook.

McDonald’s breakfasts

McDonald’s McMuffins can be popped in the oven on a tray for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees until piping hot.

A Sausage and Egg McMuffin is a different beast. If you’re in a hurry, the reheat option is an option, but you can end up with soggy bread and a rubbery egg.

If possible, use the same method as the oven.

• Heat at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Be sure to disassemble the bun first and place each ingredient on a tray with some space around it so it can breathe.
• Once hot, put it back together and enjoy it.

McDonald’s Hash Browns

Luckily, French fries are as easy to reheat as they are delicious.

• Start by heating a skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add the butter.
• While it’s heating up, put the fries in the microwave’s reheat cycle for 30 seconds.
• When they are hot, throw them directly into the pan and cook them for about 3 minutes on both sides.

McDonald’s Apple Pies

Again, while you can reheat apple pie in the microwave, it’s not recommended. No, this time, because the food spoils. Microwaved apple pies are really, really good. 

Instead, it is a health hazard. The way a microwave heats food and an apple pie don’t mix, and it’s common for the mixture of apples in the center of the pie to be at a significantly higher temperature than the rest of the pie. That means you could bite into a cake that’s really only warm on the outside, and burn the inside of your mouth on the contents.

• Instead, preheat the oven to 200 degrees and cook the apple pie for about 10 minutes.
• Leave a few minutes after cooking to cool down a bit. It will be hot, and after all you have waited so long.

How to reheat KFC or any other fried chicken

If you’re like me, when you hear about chicken, you think of KFC. (It’s right there in the name, come on.)

The ubiquitous fast food. Even if there is no KFC in your city, surely there are one or two private brand chicken shops. That’s why it’s important to know how to reheat fried chicken, as chicken is a dish that can be quite finicky.

Reheating crispy fried chicken, like KFC’s, without drying it out can be surprisingly tricky.

1. Baked

The best method is to cook it in the oven, keeping the moisture in the chicken with aluminum foil. 

(Covering literally means creating a little tent out of the aluminum foil and placing it over the pan the chicken is placed on. This helps retain moisture and prevents the skin from dying from overheating.)

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Take the chicken out of the oven and leave it for a few minutes for the temperatures to equalize.
• Once the oven is preheated, place the chicken on a tray and cover it with aluminum foil.
• Cook for about 10 minutes, at 300 degrees
• Check the chicken every few minutes as different pieces may cook at different rates

In general, thicker pieces of chicken take longer to cook than thinner ones, but it’s easy to check if they’re done. Just break up a thicker piece of chicken and make sure it’s piping hot, and if it is, it’s ready to eat.

2. In the microwave

Although you can reheat chicken in the microwave, like most fast food, it’s not the ideal solution.

If you have no other choice, there is a way to make it work, without ending up with a soggy, miserable meal.

• First of all, take the chicken out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for at least 5, preferably 10 minutes. This allows the temperature to equalize and minimizes the amount of moisture loss from rapid temperature change.
• Wrap the chicken loosely in a paper towel to prevent the chicken from absorbing moisture from the microwave environment and becoming soggy.
• Reheat chicken for 30 seconds each time, checking between sessions, until hot but not too hot. Heating it like this allows you to hit the sweet spot between lukewarm and blasting.

3. Toaster oven

Surprisingly, yes, fried chicken has a third method that can be used to successfully reheat it.

If you’re lucky enough to have a toaster oven, it’s actually just as good, if not better, than a regular oven for reheating fried chicken.

(If you don’t know what a toaster oven is, it’s basically a tiny oven, usually electric, that only holds a small amount of food. As the name suggests, it’s typically used for toast, but it can be used for anything you can cook. a standard oven).

Reheating fried chicken in a toaster oven is a little more work than using a regular oven, but it’s much faster, and you’ll usually end up with a great result.

• Start by preheating the toaster oven to 400 degrees.
• For the chicken to reach a better temperature, microwave it for 60 to 90 seconds.
• As soon as the chicken comes out of the microwave, place it on the tray of the toaster oven and cook it for another 2-3 minutes.
• Once cooked, let it rest for a few more minutes, until it is comfortable to the touch
• Since the toaster oven cooks small amounts of food best, it’s okay to cook fried chicken in batches. Since it reheats much faster in a toaster oven, this is a method that usually gives better results.

How to reheat pizza

Unlike a lot of fast food, it’s quite socially acceptable to eat leftover cold pizza. We’re sure anyone who has lived into their twenties has woken up with a bit of pain from the night before and went straight to the half-open box.

But reheating the pizza is incredibly easy and makes the whole experience that much better. Imagine, that cold piece in your hand right now deliciously hot, the cheese bubbling as if it had just come out of the oven, the ingredients steaming the air with their aroma.

You can recreate that in your own home. Every day, if you want. Here’s how.

1. Frying pan or frying pan

The first method you can use to reheat pizza is something you may not have considered. Use a frying pan or griddle.

This method is ideal if you’re only reheating a piece or two, and it’s great because you end up with a nice, crispy piece, quickly. 

• Start by heating a nonstick skillet to 450 degrees for a minute or two.
• Reduce the heat to medium, and add the pizza.
• Cook it for just a couple of minutes and serve it straight from the pan.
• There is a trick you can do if you like melted cheese. Covering the pan allows it to steam inside and helps the cheese on top of the pizza melt. delicious.

2. Baked

If you have leftovers, the best option is to use the oven, like when cooking for the first time. 

• Again, set the oven to 450 degrees and preheat it.
• Use a flat cookie sheet or cookie sheet, and line with aluminum foil.
• Place the portions on the tray and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Check the pizza. A sure sign that it’s ready to be removed is when the cheese starts to bubble, but you can remove it earlier if you prefer.

There is a method that is absolutely perfect for reheating pizza, which has also been vindicated by science, but there are two problems. You need a griddle with a lid or a pan with a lid, tools that some of us don’t have.

• It takes more than 30 minutes to reheat with this method. But the end result is absolutely delicious. In our opinion, it is worth it.
• The first step, and this is important, is to place the pizza slices on the griddle or pan before turning on the heat. This helps prevent portions from drying out while cooking.
• Raise the heat, to about 200 degrees.
• Cover the slices and let them cook for about 30 minutes.
• When it’s time to serve, be careful. There will be a surprising amount of steam under the lid.

This method is ideal for several reasons. 

• The fact that the pizza is reheated from the cold and not put on a hot pan prevents it from burning on the outside and ending up crisp and dry.
• There is a process called retrogradation, which is the scientific term for healing. This is the reason why the temperature is kept below 200 degrees. It is below the boiling point of water (212F), which prevents water from evaporating out of the dough, keeping it moist and delicious.
• The water that evaporates stays under the lid you have put on, which serves to moisten the cheese and the ingredients. Also, a little bit of water helps the crust stay, well, crispy, while it cooks.

All of this together means that your pizza is going to be (almost) as delicious as when it was first cooked.

3. In the microwave

Although there is no law against reheating pizzas in the microwave, we do not recommend it.

Microwaving a pizza can be quick, but the composition of the pizza dough makes what comes out the other side an unappetizing, chewy mess.

Dry and crusty pizza: what to do

Even if you’ve left that pizza a bit long, there may be something you can do to save it.

If you have a bottle of water, a quick drizzle over the top of the pizza is enough to revitalize it.

Don’t worry about hitting the crust either. A light drizzle of water over the top of the crust will help it crisp up when you put it back in the oven.

How to Reheat Fish and Chips British Style

Reheating fish and chips is pretty easy if you do it right. Because the dish is so simple, you can follow our instructions and have near-perfect leftover fish and chips the next day.

If you’ve ever tried to reheat British fries, or any kind of fries, you may have ended up with a bunch of soggy, sad-looking fries excuses.

This is caused by excess moisture, so keep this in mind when choosing how to reheat your fries.

For this reason, you should avoid the oven, and especially the microwave.  There are three ways to reheat fried fish, oven and skillet. Both give good results, so it’s up to you which one you choose. 

1. The frying pan

The best way to reheat fries is to use a deep fryer, or if you don’t have a deep fryer, you can use a deep frying pan with a small amount of oil.

Put it on high heat and, while it heats up, dry the fries so that they have almost no moisture. You can do it with a kitchen towel or simply drain them for a few minutes and leave them in the air for a few minutes.

Once the oil is hot, place the fries in the oil and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring and turning occasionally so they don’t clump or stick.

Serve almost immediately after removing from pan for best results.

2. Baked

Using the oven is the easiest method to reheat battered fish, but it takes a little longer. However, once you’ve got it up and running, this method doesn’t require any control, so you can get on with other things.

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
• Take the fish out of the fridge and let it air out and come to room temperature for several minutes while the oven heats up.
• Place the fish centered on a baking tray. Using aluminum foil is absolutely correct and does not affect the final result
• Let it cook for about 10 minutes. Check every minute until the batter is crisp and the fish is piping hot.
• If you have a food thermometer, an internal temperature of 145 degrees means it’s ready to serve.
• When it comes out of the oven, the fish will be hot, so let it cool for a minute before serving.

How to reheat fried fish

Using a skillet reheats the fish much faster than the oven, but requires much more attention. Also, being exposed to the air, you may end up with your kitchen smelling like fish. Depending on who you are, that can be an advantage or a disadvantage.

• Put the kitchen on high heat
• Take the fish out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for several minutes before cooking it.
• Add a few drops of oil and then add the fish
• Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, turning every 30 seconds to a minute Try to cook both sides evenly
• Again, if you have a food thermometer, what you want to look for is an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
• Once cooked, allow to cool for a minute or two before serving.

Reheat the Taco Bell

Do you still have Taco Bell leftovers? There are probably two things you want to reheat. The tacos and the burritos. Luckily, there are great ways to reheat both to preserve the flavor and texture you’re looking for.

How to reheat tacos

If you have soft studs, you can use the second method, which is much easier. 

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
• Remove salad and dressings from tacos, setting aside
• Leaving the tacos in their wrapper, place them on a baking sheet, leaving at least one finger space between them.
• Cook directly in their wrappers for 10 to 15 minutes, or until hot in the center.
• Serve straight up, adding desired dressings and salad

How to reheat burritos

Burritos are not only a simple, healthy and most of all delicious option for dinner, but they are also incredibly easy to pack and reheat.

You can leave them refrigerated for a couple of days, and when it’s time to eat them, you just have to do the following

• Preheat your oven to 225 degrees
• Take them out of the fridge, wrap them in aluminum foil and put them directly in the oven
• Cook for about 30 minutes. The burritos don’t need to be touched once they’re in, so feel free to check from time to time, but it should be fine.
• When the time comes to take it out, check that it is well cooked. If you have a food thermometer, you should look for an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
• Serve when cool enough to eat

That’s literally all. Mexican food is so easy to reheat and cook that it’s almost rude not to treat yourself to it a little more often. At least, that’s the excuse we use.

Reheat Subway and other snacks

Sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. We buy a 12-inch sandwich, eat half, and keep the other in the fridge “for later.” Then when you get to eat it, it’s not nearly as good as when you bought it.

Unfortunately, unlike almost any other type of fast food, there is no good way to reheat a snack. 

The reason is that the structure of a sandwich is completely different from that of many other fast foods.

When you put it away, the contents of a sandwich soak the bread, leaving it soggy. Even if the filling is quite dry, the residual moisture will make the bread mushy and doughy, spoiling the whole experience.

You can’t reheat it either. Any significant amount of heat will start to cook the bread further, basically making it a different food.

If you are desperate to have the same experience, you have two options.

One is to go back to the store and buy it again.

The other is to have a stock of subs at home and transfer the filling onto fresh bread. But you’ll still end up with a slightly underwhelming sandwich because the filling will have lost some of its freshness.

Honestly, when it comes to sandwiches, it’s better to eat it all at once. 

Related questions

Can you eat cold fast food?

We know a lot of people eat fast food cold, and there are some that actually taste better cold, but for most fast food leftovers, this is not something we recommend.

In general, pizza is okay to eat cold due to the cooking method and the fact that the meat on the pizza is usually cured in some way, which reduces the risk of food poisoning.

However, if your plate contains any of the following

• Beef (hamburger meat)
• Chicken, fried or not
• Fish

So it is not recommended to eat it cold. Especially when reheating it hardly takes time and is incredibly easy to do. Follow our advice, reheat your fast food before eating it. Your stomach will thank you.