Some leftover foods heat up so much better in the oven.

Cafe Society
#1

I love cornbread muffins and always make a double batch for the freezer. I always let them thaw on the countertop for an hour before reheating. I had been zapping them in the microwave for about 15 seconds.

I recently discovered cornbread muffins taste better if you reheat them in the oven at 375 for about 8 minutes. Gives a really nice crispy/crunchy texture to the outside of the muffin. Once in awhile the bottom will scorch a little where it sits on the cookie sheet. No big deal. Break that piece off and toss it in the bin.

What else reheats better in an oven?

#2

What reheats better in the microwave? Not much and it would be interesting to hear what does.

#3

Best way to reheat pizza is on a cast iron skillet on the stovetop.

Not in the oven, though. So yeah. This is more “not the microwave” than “the oven”.

#4

Even stuff that cooks well in a microwave won’t reheat well in a microwave.

#5

Corn on the cob reheats well in the microwave. Leftover soup also reheats just as well in the microwave, as does coffee.

I’m out of ideas of what else reheats well in the microwave.

#6

Rice reheats very well in a microwave. You can even correct an overly wet or underly dry rice in the microwave.

#7

Meat and vegetables. We often buy roast beef or ham dinners at a local cafeteria and take home. Plate up and heat for 70 seconds. Eat right off the plate the food was reheated in. I never had much luck heating a plate dinner like that on the stove. I guess you can heat the meat in the oven using a pan covered in aluminum foil. Vegetables especially suffer from reheating on a stove. They get all soggy.

#8

Spaghetti or pasta usually are much better heated up in the microwave, unless under a cheesy coat and then the oven crispiness wins.

#9

Grilled bratwurst and Polish sausage are better reheated in the microwave.

#10

I often use a combination microwave / oven method to reheat foods. I find it neatly solves the dilemma of the too soggy / too dry issue when reheating in either appliance alone. For example, I’ll nuke pizza for a bit to get everything all soft and melts, then a couple of minutes in the toaster oven crisps the crust and browns the cheese nicely.

Oh,and I think casseroles generally reheat well in a microwave.

#11

Most things that don’t have a lot of air in them reheat fine in a microwave.

#12

Hmmm…
I’m hungry now.

Honestly, I usually cook a lot of veggies and rice and then store them in the refrigerator.
When I get hungry, I put them in a bowl and then into the microwave for 2 minutes.
Nice and hot and much easier than putting them in a pot on the stove.

#13

Anything bready doesn’t reheat well in the microwave. It gets rubbery.

You can wrap leftover biscuits in a wet paper towel and put them in the oven for a few minutes and they’re good as fresh. Probably cornbread too, but we never have leftover cornbread.

As for what does well in the microwave, I cook baked potatoes in there until they’re not quite done, then finish in the oven. Keeps the kitchen cooler and takes a lot less time.

#14

Though ironically you can resurrect dry, day-old bread by nuking it briefly (though you do have to eat it while hot, because it will then become rock-hard if you let it cool).