You've Been Reheating Chicken Wrong -- and It Could Make You Sick

Meghan Glass

August 31, 2025 at 9:00 PM

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It's no contest -- when it comes to heating up food quickly, a microwave is everyone's best friend. But as we've seen with grains like rice, reheating certain items in the microwave can be dangerous for your health. Another item that has the potential to wreak havoc on your digestive system is chicken. But why is it unsafe and what can you do to avoid becoming sick from yesterday's leftovers?

Why You Should Never Reheat Chicken in the Microwave

According to the FDA, although heat is produced directly in the food, microwaves don't cook food from the "inside out." Microwaves have a hard time penetrating thick layers of food, which results in uneven temperatures. When thick foods are cooked, the outer layers are heated and cooked first by the microwave itself, while the inside is cooked mainly by the conduction of heat from the hot outer layers. Cold spots are where nasty bacteria can multiply -- and when we're talking about chicken, we mean salmonella. Yikes!

How to Reheat Chicken Safely

There are several different ways to make sure your cooked chicken is still safe to consume because realistically, no one is getting rid of their most-used kitchen appliance.

* The first tip is to reheat your chicken in the oven or on the stove. These are the safest methods because they ensure that the entire cut of poultry reheats evenly with direct heat.

* The second tip is to cover your food while it's reheating with a vented lid to allow steam to escape. The moist heat helps the chicken is reheat evenly. If you're reheating on the stovetop, having a little liquid in the reheating container helps prevent poultry from drying out.

Make sure to let the food rest briefly before checking the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. It should read 165 degrees F in multiple places.

Read the original article on Allrecipes