# If a frozen dinner is thawed is it okay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-frozen-dinner-is-thawed-is-it-okay/471545 "2008-11-06T22:24:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-frozen-dinner-is-thawed-is-it-okay/471545/1 "2008-11-06T22:24:53Z")
When I brought home a frozen dinner my husband put it in the refrigerator instead of the freezer and I just noticed it. I’m going to cook it now. I bought it Monday. So it is okay? It says to keep it frozen until time to cook. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-frozen-dinner-is-thawed-is-it-okay/471545/2 "2008-11-06T22:39:03Z")
It’s probably fine. The cooking time might be off, that’s all – they generally say that to make sure the dinner cooks evenly and in a predictable amount of time. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-frozen-dinner-is-thawed-is-it-okay/471545/3 "2008-11-06T22:41:30Z")
Monday 2002? If so there’s a chance it might not be ok to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-frozen-dinner-is-thawed-is-it-okay/471545/4 "2008-11-06T22:44:00Z")
Oh, thanks. I’ll check for mold first. I’ll let you know if I die. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-frozen-dinner-is-thawed-is-it-okay/471545/5 "2008-11-07T01:57:54Z")
I had a problem once when my brownie batter ran into the salisbury steak gravy. If you let them thaw, store flat. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-frozen-dinner-is-thawed-is-it-okay/471545/6 "2008-11-07T04:32:34Z")
I regularly keep store-bought-frozen pizza/chicken finger/tv dinners in the fridge. I don’t have much freezer space. As long as your fridge is under 40 degrees, most stuff should keep for up to at least a week. It also cuts down on cooking time. If it says nuke for 6 minutes from frozen, cut that down to about 3:30 minutes or your food’ll burn. ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-frozen-dinner-is-thawed-is-it-okay/471545/7 "2008-11-07T15:33:37Z")
I ate it last night and I’m still alive. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-frozen-dinner-is-thawed-is-it-okay/471545/8 "2008-11-07T19:20:58Z")
> [@Lillith\_Fair](#): > > I ate it last night and I’m still alive. Day ain’t over yet.😃