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Ovens & Ranges

You're reheating your chicken wrong

Don't eat shoe leather

how-to-reheat-chicken Credit: Getty Images

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Cooking chicken—the right way—is an art form. Some cook it too dry and some barely cook it at all.

So when you get that perfect, tender and juicy chicken, the temptation is there to eat it all before it goes away in the cold recesses of the fridge.

Thankfully, we've found the best method to reheat chicken so it's neither cold and dull or hot shoe leather in your mouth.

The best way to reheat chicken

The oven or toaster oven

There are obviously many different variants of chicken, but we’re talking just a chicken breast or tenderloin that needs to be reheated.

The best way to do it is by wrapping it in foil (with a little opening for steam) and putting it in your oven or toaster oven. You can even include a little bit of water or broth to moisten it, but it’s not totally necessary. Bring the oven up to at least 350°F and cook until the meat's internal temperature is about 165°F (for that, you'll need a reliable meat thermometer.

To have even better success, it’s recommended to let your chicken reach room temperature before putting it in the oven.

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Other methods to reheat chicken

A Sharp microwave against a light blue background.
Credit: Sharp

Using a microwave is one of the fastest and easiest ways to reheat chicken.

Microwave

Heating it up in your microwave might be the easiest method of reheating chicken. Cut the chicken into pieces on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel and start by cooking for about two minutes, pausing in between to check to see if its done and, if not, stir or flip it to ensure even reheating.

Once the time is up, if it still requires heating, cook for another minute and flip or stir again.

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On the stove

This method could potentially be tough with chicken you want to keep juicy and tender, so it takes practice and is less ideal than the ones above.

Use a non-stick pan if you can and keep the heat medium to low. Put a small amount of butter or oil in, or broth or water and toss the chicken in. Make sure to move the chicken a lot or flip it so it doesn't burn in the pan. Once it's heated to your specifications, give it a second to rest then dig in.

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What not to do

Heat it up in a plastic container

Although many plastic containers are microwave safe, not all of them are, and it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between the two. If you guess wrong and it melts into your food, that will make it unsafe to eat.

You should never reheat plastic containers in the oven, as they will almost certainly melt, destroying your food and creating puddles of burnt plastic throughout your oven.

Use high heat

In the oven and the pan, using high heat will dry out the chicken and make it tough and hard to cut. Cooking it too long in the microwave will do the same.

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