Reheating refrigerated casseroles?
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Hi there!!
Tonight I made ahead a sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and baked Mac and cheese for thanksgiving tomorrow... i wrapped them all up and put them in the refrigerator, not the freezer. I’m planning on reheating them all in the oven after the turkey cooks and is resting. For y’all experienced chefs, what temperature and how long would you set the oven to? How would you go about this? I only have one tiny oven.. this is my first time making thanksgiving 😊.
thanks for your help!
Tonight I made ahead a sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and baked Mac and cheese for thanksgiving tomorrow... i wrapped them all up and put them in the refrigerator, not the freezer. I’m planning on reheating them all in the oven after the turkey cooks and is resting. For y’all experienced chefs, what temperature and how long would you set the oven to? How would you go about this? I only have one tiny oven.. this is my first time making thanksgiving 😊.
thanks for your help!
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Replies
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My experience with green bean casserole is that is does not survive refrigeration. The special feature of that casserole is in the crunch of the fried onions. Overnight soaking in soup kills the crunch. Your others should survive the cooling and reheating quite well.2
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »My experience with green bean casserole is that is does not survive refrigeration. The special feature of that casserole is in the crunch of the fried onions. Overnight soaking in soup kills the crunch. Your others should survive the cooling and reheating quite well.
@FL_Hiker , if you made that green casserole with cream of something soup and canned fried onions, and you have any more of the canned onions, you can just sprinkle more on top just before you reheat. It should be fine.
The casseroles are already fully cooked, right? If so, and if you're planning on moving all three casserole straight out of the refrigerator into the oven at the same time, but the oven is already hot from cooking the turkey, I would go with 400 F/205 C if you want to be able to pull them out in about 30 minutes (i.e., when the turkey has rested enough to start carving and maybe you want to make room for some rolls to heat), or, if you feel like your timeline and need for space in the oven allows you to leave the casseroles in for 40 to 45 minutes, I'd go with 350 F/175 C. You can always check them after about two-thirds of the time and toss some aluminum foil on top if you think they're getting browner than you want (more likely to be an issue at the higher temp/shorter time).
If the casseroles are not precooked, I'd add about 10 minutes to the cooking time at whatever temperature your recipes call for -- maybe pull the green beans out (and the sweet potatoes too if you're not going for a caramelized top) and finish the mac and cheese at a slightly higher temp for another 5 to 10 minutes if you like an actual crisp, baked top.
ETA - sorry, I missed the bit about the tiny oven. My advice for next time would be not to serve more things that need to be reheated at the last minute than will in your oven. For tomorrow, you don't have much choice other than to decide which of the casseroles you think will taste better if it's not piping hot and that/those first, leaving the one(s) that really need to be hot for last. My preference would be to heat the sweet potatoes first and then the mac and cheese and then the green beans (just because I think the beans would be pretty unappetizing at room temperature). Hopefully you can at least get the mac and cheese and green beans in together (if you can't, have you measured to make sure the turkey is going to fit?).
One other option: If any of your casserole dishes are safe for the stove top and small enough to fit over a pot of water (double boiler fashion) or in a pan of water (sort of an out-of-oven bain marie), you could heat it through that way and (if it needs a crispy baked finish) move it to the oven at 400 F/205 C for 10 mins, which would let you compress the time that other dishes would be out of the oven getting cool. Cover the casseroles you have to take out of the oven earlier and, if you have space, keep them in the kitchen, which should be warmer than the dining room. But I have to say using the stove top for heating is more fussing around than I would want to do, and also strikes me as a potential accident if people are rushing around the kitchen.
Do you have a microwave? You could reheat casseroles in there and finish them for 5 to 10 mins at 400 F/205 C to crisp/caramelize a little, as desired.2 -
I would leave them on the counter, covered still, for an hour to drop to room temperature before popping them in the oven @350°F for 25 - 40 mins.
Agree with @lynn_glenmont for green bean casserole. Just add more crispy fried onions. Her tips are sound.3 -
777Gemma888 wrote: »I would leave them on the counter for an hour to drop to room temperature before popping them in the oven @350°F for 25 - 40 mins.
Agree with @lynn_glenmont for green bean casserole. Just add more crispy fried onions. Her tips are sound.
I think bringing them out of the refrigerator early is a good idea, but I usually find available surface space gets used up quickly on the holidays. Also, I hate to suggest things that might raise food safety concerns, even if I would do them myself.3 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »777Gemma888 wrote: »I would leave them on the counter for an hour to drop to room temperature before popping them in the oven @350°F for 25 - 40 mins.
Agree with @lynn_glenmont for green bean casserole. Just add more crispy fried onions. Her tips are sound.
I think bringing them out of the refrigerator early is a good idea, but I usually find available surface space gets used up quickly on the holidays. Also, I hate to suggest things that might raise food safety concerns, even if I would do them myself.
Didn't think about people not having enough counter space . 😏 Or extra refrigerators ... My follow up suggestion, if food safety is an issue would be to drop the casseroles temperature by adjusting refrigerator temperature every 15 mins. Usually over the holidays, all the casseroles end up in the garage refrigerators. Then again, I was always of the thought that food kept at room temperature beyond 2 hours is deemed against food safety standards. I recommended an hour in my primary post.
Good point.1 -
Hi there!!
Tonight I made ahead a sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and baked Mac and cheese for thanksgiving tomorrow... i wrapped them all up and put them in the refrigerator, not the freezer. I’m planning on reheating them all in the oven after the turkey cooks and is resting. For y’all experienced chefs, what temperature and how long would you set the oven to? How would you go about this? I only have one tiny oven.. this is my first time making thanksgiving 😊.
thanks for your help!
I'd probably do 350F for 20-30 minutes.
If your oven won't fit all 3 dishes at once maybe you can split them up to different heating methods.
Do you have a microwave? I think I'd choose sweet potato casserole for the microwave reheating at least.
I have reheated mac and cheese on the stove top. I put it in a pot with a little milk over medium low heat with a lid on. I think it is easier to keep it from drying out on the stove top. Doesn't work so good if you put breadcrumbs or something on top that you don't want stirred.
Do you have a slow cooker? You might reheat one item and put it in a slow cooker to keep it warm while you are reheating the other dishes.
To save some precious counter space I have some wire cooling racks stacked so I can use my vertical space more. My parents often set up a card table to help hold extra stuff.1 -
Thank you all for your help!!!!! We do have a lot of counter space I reallly like that idea of leaving them out at room temperature and I think I can fit them all in the oven 😊. Thanks again all, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 🦃🍁🍽2
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I know you didn't ask this - but as a longtime holiday cook for my large family, my solution to this yearly problem was to buy a counter top Rival turkey oven (about $40.00 at Walmart), and two slow cookers that get hauled out twice a year at thanksgiving and Christmas. I cook everything at the same time. It would drive me nuts to have to line everything up for the oven last minute.
(Just a suggestion for next year.)4 -
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I know you didn't ask this - but as a longtime holiday cook for my large family, my solution to this yearly problem was to buy a counter top Rival turkey oven (about $40.00 at Walmart), and two slow cookers that get hauled out twice a year at thanksgiving and Christmas. I cook everything at the same time. It would drive me nuts to have to line everything up for the oven last minute.
(Just a suggestion for next year.)
Whatever works for you. But we've been managing fine with just an oven and stove top for decades. There's sufficient time while the turkey is resting and being carved for the casseroles and out-of-bird dressing to heat in the oven, while the white potatoes (for mashed potatoes) and gravy cook on top of the stove. One year I did it all without any assistance other than someone to carve (we have a pretty traditional-gender approach to holiday meal preparation, and the only other woman at the meal that year was elderly and unwell). I was pretty proud of getting the timing right on everything, I must admit.2 -
Canned crispy onions is a thing???
Every day is a school day
Happy Thanksgiving (belated I guess now...) from the UK. I forgot it was Thanksgiving yesterday2 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »
We made it (barely) lol! Our oven always takes double the time of what recipes say, we knew something was off.... right before we put the turkey in yesterday we investigated and found out the bottom heating coil doesn’t even heat up lol. So we rose the rack up so the turkey would be closer to the top and it turned out okay. The breast meat was done perfect but the thighs were underdone! I was too afraid of burning the thing and it started looking dark so I took it out. After that we threw all the casseroles in the oven, I scrapped the soggy onions off the top and put on new crisp ones (thanks for that tip!) . Hubbys mac n cheese for some reason solidified but it was still tasty! The stove top stuffing was perfect, my favorite part and it was the easiest lol. All the other casseroles were nice and hot, the sweet potato casserole was super good. Overall whipped up a lot of great food and had a wonderful time with family!!! Glad to say I’ve done it once now but not so sure I’ll do it again lol. Hope you all had a great day yesterday!
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Love your table setting!1
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »I know you didn't ask this - but as a longtime holiday cook for my large family, my solution to this yearly problem was to buy a counter top Rival turkey oven (about $40.00 at Walmart), and two slow cookers that get hauled out twice a year at thanksgiving and Christmas. I cook everything at the same time. It would drive me nuts to have to line everything up for the oven last minute.
(Just a suggestion for next year.)
Whatever works for you. But we've been managing fine with just an oven and stove top for decades. There's sufficient time while the turkey is resting and being carved for the casseroles and out-of-bird dressing to heat in the oven, while the white potatoes (for mashed potatoes) and gravy cook on top of the stove. One year I did it all without any assistance other than someone to carve (we have a pretty traditional-gender approach to holiday meal preparation, and the only other woman at the meal that year was elderly and unwell). I was pretty proud of getting the timing right on everything, I must admit.
Maybe I am just lazy -cooking for days (or even one day) before doesn't appeal to me at all, I l like getting everything going at once so it is all ready at the same time.
And I do roast potatoes and lasagne in the oven so there is no room for anything else.
But yeah to each their own! I love my counter top turkey roaster and wouldn't do a holiday without it. (I don't even eat turkey but I cook it for my guest - haha.)0 -
sytchequeen wrote: »Canned crispy onions is a thing???
Every day is a school day
Happy Thanksgiving (belated I guess now...) from the UK. I forgot it was Thanksgiving yesterday
It's this (sold in the U.S. -- I don't think I've ever seen another brand -- maybe there are store brands available).
A while back I noticed they were selling canned crispy jalapenos next to the onions. We don't make the green bean casserole, so I haven't looked lately to see if the jalapenos were successful or if they're disappeared from the shelves.2 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »
We made it (barely) lol! Our oven always takes double the time of what recipes say, we knew something was off.... right before we put the turkey in yesterday we investigated and found out the bottom heating coil doesn’t even heat up lol. So we rose the rack up so the turkey would be closer to the top and it turned out okay. The breast meat was done perfect but the thighs were underdone! I was too afraid of burning the thing and it started looking dark so I took it out. After that we threw all the casseroles in the oven, I scrapped the soggy onions off the top and put on new crisp ones (thanks for that tip!) . Hubbys mac n cheese for some reason solidified but it was still tasty! The stove top stuffing was perfect, my favorite part and it was the easiest lol. All the other casseroles were nice and hot, the sweet potato casserole was super good. Overall whipped up a lot of great food and had a wonderful time with family!!! Glad to say I’ve done it once now but not so sure I’ll do it again lol. Hope you all had a great day yesterday!
Looks yummy! I like your buffet solution. We've tried that once or twice through the years, but mostly we end up playing a sort of musical chairs/hot potato game with the dishes -- if you get stuck holding something when there's no space left on the table, you have to go find a nearby surface to put it in (or just hold it until someone asks you to pass it
Also, I think your round table is my oval dining room table without the leaf, so clearly you have great taste. 1 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »I know you didn't ask this - but as a longtime holiday cook for my large family, my solution to this yearly problem was to buy a counter top Rival turkey oven (about $40.00 at Walmart), and two slow cookers that get hauled out twice a year at thanksgiving and Christmas. I cook everything at the same time. It would drive me nuts to have to line everything up for the oven last minute.
(Just a suggestion for next year.)
Whatever works for you. But we've been managing fine with just an oven and stove top for decades. There's sufficient time while the turkey is resting and being carved for the casseroles and out-of-bird dressing to heat in the oven, while the white potatoes (for mashed potatoes) and gravy cook on top of the stove. One year I did it all without any assistance other than someone to carve (we have a pretty traditional-gender approach to holiday meal preparation, and the only other woman at the meal that year was elderly and unwell). I was pretty proud of getting the timing right on everything, I must admit.
Maybe I am just lazy -cooking for days (or even one day) before doesn't appeal to me at all, I l like getting everything going at once so it is all ready at the same time. And I do roast potatoes and lasagne in the oven so there is no room for anything else.
But yeah to each their own! I love my counter top turkey roaster and wouldn't do a holiday without it. (I don't even eat turkey but I cook it for my guest - haha.)
Absolutely. I can see that doing lasagne in the oven adds another layer of challenge to getting everything onto the table hot at the same time. (Can I get an invitation for next year? ) 1 -
Grerat info!!!!0
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »sytchequeen wrote: »Canned crispy onions is a thing???
Every day is a school day
Happy Thanksgiving (belated I guess now...) from the UK. I forgot it was Thanksgiving yesterday
It's this (sold in the U.S. -- I don't think I've ever seen another brand -- maybe there are store brands available).
A while back I noticed they were selling canned crispy jalapenos next to the onions. We don't make the green bean casserole, so I haven't looked lately to see if the jalapenos were successful or if they're disappeared from the shelves.
There are definitely other brands sold in the US. Andrea Nguyen (of Viet World Kitchen) has an Instagram post with two different brands of fried onions that aren't French's and a container of fried shallots.1
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