Meal prep and using leftovers are good practices, but many cooked foods don’t last as long as you might think. Therefore, you should know and follow these rules for storing cooked pasta, rice, meat, vegetables, and other foods in the refrigerator.
It doesn’t even need to be moldy or taste bad: relatively freshly cooked food can already be spoiled. Unfortunately, prepared foods like pasta, rice, and others don’t stay fresh indefinitely in the refrigerator.
Of course, the shelf life of products always depends on how cold and clean the refrigerator is and how fresh the goods are. Nevertheless, there are a few basic rules that should be followed:
- Before putting cooked foods in the refrigerator, they should cool down – but not sit out for longer than two hours.
- Foods are best stored in flat containers or boxes. In a hot pot, food continues to cook even in the refrigerator.
- And as a general rule for reheating: Cooked foods should always be heated for at least two minutes at 70 degrees Celsius.
- To prevent the refrigerator itself from becoming a breeding ground for germs, it should be cleaned regularly: Ideally, wipe it thoroughly once a month with some vinegar water or dishwashing liquid.
These Cooked Foods Should Be Consumed Quickly
Pasta
The starch contained in pasta is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. Since the spores are very heat-resistant, they are not properly killed even when reheating the food.
Therefore, you should not store cooked pasta for longer than three to four days maximum.
Potatoes
Similar to pasta, potatoes should be consumed soon after cooking due to their starch content. Boiled and fried potatoes stay fresh in the refrigerator for maximum three days.
Rice
Compared to pasta and potatoes, cooked rice must be consumed even faster due to its high starch content. It spoils very easily and should therefore be stored in the refrigerator for no more than two days. The spores are quite heat-resistant and cannot be completely killed even when reheating.
Soups
On cold or rainy days, there’s nothing better than a hot soup! However, it should not be eaten after two to three days. Be especially careful with mushroom soups: they should not be eaten after one day.
Spinach
Spinach contains nitrate, which is harmless by itself. However, under the influence of bacteria, nitrate converts to nitrite, which can then be harmful to health. Therefore, spinach should be cooled quickly after cooking, preferably in a water bath, and stored in the refrigerator. There it keeps for maximum two days.
Here, bacteria multiply slowly and form little nitrite. This is harmless for adults, however, even small amounts of nitrite can be harmful to babies.
The same applies to other nitrate-rich vegetables such as chard, kale, arugula, mushrooms, or beetroot.
By the way: The myth that spinach should not be reheated comes from times when there were no refrigerators. Here too – heat for at least two minutes at 70 degrees. But please not more than once.
Salad
Cut salad stays fresh in the refrigerator for two days. However, salad is sensitive and its quality and vitamins decrease quickly. It’s best to consume it promptly.
Meat
Cooked steak and chicken keeps for three days in the refrigerator. The center should not be pink anymore, as dangerous germs like salmonella only die when poultry is thoroughly cooked.
Breaded schnitzel, however, when well-packed in a freezer bag, can easily keep for five days in the refrigerator.
It’s best to always heat meat in a pan, as a microwave heats unevenly.
Eggs
Fried and scrambled eggs should not be reheated a second time and should preferably not be stored overnight in the refrigerator.
Peeled boiled eggs wrapped in cling film keep for one to two days in the refrigerator. However, always make sure that the eggs are thoroughly cooked.
The table shows at a glance how long cooked foods can be stored in the refrigerator.
How long cooked foods stay fresh in the refrigerator
| Cooked Foods | Maximum Storage Time |
|---|---|
| Pasta | 3 to 4 days |
| Potatoes | 3 days |
| Rice | 2 days |
| Soups | 2 to 3 days, except mushroom soups |
| Spinach | 2 days |
| Salad | 2 days |
| Beef and Poultry | 3 days |
| Breaded Schnitzel | 5 days |
| Peeled Boiled Eggs | 1 to 2 days |
General Tips Against Food Waste
If products need to be stored longer – which is more sensible than throwing them away – you can let them cool down well after cooking, then seal them airtight and freeze them. Quite a lot of foods can be safely stored in the freezer for several weeks or even months – with these exceptions.
For other fresh and perishable foods that haven’t been cooked and can’t or shouldn’t be frozen, such as dairy products and similar items, the best-before date serves as a rough guide: However, you don’t need to be quite so strict here.
Many foods remain edible for much longer, and in the fight against food waste, you can confidently rely on your sense of smell and taste.
Fruits and vegetables are often still perfectly acceptable when you cut away bruised spots. However, as soon as products show signs of mold, they should be disposed of rigorously, as invisible spores may have already spread and mold can be harmful to health. This also applies to jam.
