Can you put a Cold Casserole Dish in the Oven
Casserole leftovers are often stored right in the casserole dish, in the fridge. Can you put a cold casserole dish in the oven? We are going to take a look at if you should put a cold casserole dish directly into the oven, as well as some consequences you might experience by doing so.
It’s so tempting to store your casserole leftovers right in the casserole dish, covered with aluminum foil. You don’t want to take the casserole dish right from the fridge and put it into a hot oven to reheat the casserole for dinner.
You may have heard rumors that this is not a good idea and that it could even break your casserole dish. Is this true or is it simply a rumor that is passed around?
The Simple Answer
Can you put a cold casserole dish in the oven? The simple answer is yes you can, but it is not recommended under any circumstances. When you put a cold casserole dish into a warm oven or hot oven, you will likely end up with broken glass, and not able to eat the food.
Because of this, and the increased chances of your casserole dish breaking in the oven, we do not recommend that you put a cold casserole dish in the oven. Let’s look at why this is.
Sudden Temperature Changes
Sudden changes in temperature, by moving a cold casserole dish from the fridge, directly into higher temperatures in the oven, especially a preheated oven, will cause thermal shock for your casserole dish.
This is when the dish can’t react fast enough, from moving from the cold environment to the hot environment and will likely cause your dish to crack, or even shatter.
It is important to point out that this sudden temperature change will not always result in a shattered casserole dish but is a likely possibility. We have had personal experience of this happening on occasion, and it is even more likely to occur when a casserole dish has a crack in it already or is fragile in general.
Cold Dish in a Preheated Oven
When you place a cold casserole dish right from the fridge, into a preheated oven, the glass experiences extreme temperature changes and your casserole dish likely won’t adjust fast enough.
The cold glass dish will likely not react fast enough to the high temperatures, and either break or shatter because the glass did not react fast enough.
Cold casserole dishes are at lower temperatures, and when they try to make the quick temperature change to high heat, it does not usually end well.
Because of this, it’s a good idea to slowly transition the cold casserole dish into the oven. This could be done in a variety of ways.
Let’s look at some different ways you might consider transitioning a cold casserole dish into the oven, for the best results.
How to Transition a Cold Casserole Dish into the Oven
We have a few different ideas for you, that will help to warm the cold casserole dish, before placing it into the oven. These different methods below will help to prevent your cold casserole dish from cracking or shattering in the hot oven, due to the quick temperature change.
Use a Cold Oven
The first option is to move the cold casserole dish, into a cold oven. This will slow the cooking process but also reduces the temperature swings that the cold casserole dishes are exposed to before the hot temperatures hit the cold dish.
The idea of using a cold oven is that the casserole dish will slowly increase in temperature, as the oven is heated. You do not want to preheat the oven, instead, you want to heat the oven gradually, first warming it to lower temperatures, then gradually increasing the heat to your desired temperature.
This will allow the casserole dish to heat up, and not be exposed to drastic temperature changes.
Warm in Water
You can also use water to warm a cold casserole dish, before heating it in the oven. To do this you first want to start with cold water.
Fill a large pan with cold water, then set the casserole dish in cold water. When the casserole dish begins to warm, change the cold water slowly, to warm water. Over time, you can gradually change the warm water, to hot water.
After the casserole dish has been exposed to the hot water, you can preheat the oven, and add your warmed casserole dish. Heating the casserole dish first in different temperatures of water, will minimize the extreme change in temperature that the cold dish is exposed to, and decrease the overall thermal stress.
Warm to Room Temperature
The best way to add a casserole dish into the oven is when it has warmed to room temperature. Assuming that the food is safe to sit at room temperature, you can simply pull the cold dish out of the fridge ahead of time and allow it to warm to room temperature before placing it into the preheated oven.
No matter which method you choose to use to warm your cold casserole dish, it’s best to err on the safe side, not expose a cold dish to rapid temperature changes, and run the risk of breaking the dish and ruining your meal. You also want to be sure that the casserole dish stays within a reasonable temperature limit, as it warms so that the dish does not break.
Types of Glass
Casserole dishes are made from ceramic or glass material. The type of glass your casserole dish is made of will also play an important role, in determining if the glass material can withstand rapid temperature changes or not.
Many glass dishes also have a temperature limit that they can withstand. Some temperature limits are high, while others are not, and might be a temperature that is often used for baking your food. Let’s look at some different types of glass bakeware, and how heat resistant they are.
Borosilicate Glass
This is a type of glass, that is much more likely to withstand extreme temperatures. Borosilicate glass is much stronger and is likely to do better when exposed to a temperature difference.
This type of glass is often sold under different brands in the store. Likely, the most common brand that you will recognize is Pyrex.
A Pyrex glass dish has a much better chance of lasting longer and being much safer to use in the oven. Using a Pyrex dish to bake your casserole in the oven is a good idea, however, it is still a good idea to allow the dish to warm, before baking a cold dish in the oven.
Glass Cookware
A lot of different types of glass cookware are oven-safe glassware and have the oven-safe symbol on the bottom. This means that the glass pan or glass container is heat resistant and will likely do just fine when baked in the oven.
But this does not mean, that the glass cookware is going to survive extreme temperature changes. Most types of casserole dishes just plain aren’t designed for this.
Mason Jar
A mason jar is a type of non-tempered glass. This means that they are not intended for oven use and are not oven safe.
Other Types of Oven-Safe Dishes
There are other types of oven-safe dishes that you can use instead of casserole dishes, which are much more likely to withstand significant temperature fluctuations.
The main reason why you cannot put a cold casserole dish into the oven is that it is made of ceramic or glass. There are other types of baking dishes, made from types of metal, which can withstand temperature fluctuations much better.
Stainless Steel
Many baking dishes, including a baking sheet, or baking dish made from stainless steel are much more likely to be safe when moved from cold temperatures to hot temperatures.
If you are in a situation where you will need to use a cold dish in the oven, then we recommend using something other than a casserole dish, which can withstand heat fluctuations much better.
Other Options to Heat Food
In addition to heating a casserole dish in the oven, there are other options available to heat the food. Instead of placing a cold casserole dish into the oven, consider using a microwave or air fryer.
Microwave Oven
Using a microwave-safe dish, to reheat leftover casserole in small portions in the microwave is a great option. This allows you to reheat individual serving sizes, in the microwave, rather than having to worry about putting a cold casserole dish in the oven.
Air Fryer
You can also use an air fryer to reheat small portions of leftover casserole if desired. You will still not want to put a cold casserole dish into the air fryer, but you can put individual serving sizes in smaller dishes in the air fryer if desired.
Then simply reheat them for a few moments in your air fryer until the food is warmed through.
Easy Tips
Water Warming. When using water to warm the cold casserole dish before baking it in the oven, you only need to use a small amount of water, to warm the outside of the casserole dish.
The Bottom Line
It is not wise to put a cold casserole dish in the oven. Doing so will likely cause the dish to break and your dinner to be ruined.
Cold Casserole Dish into the Oven
Exposing a cold casserole dish to rapid temperature changes, moving it from a cold climate to a hot oven temperature, is likely a recipe for disaster. Although it will not happen every time, the drastic temperature changes are highly likely to cause the casserole dish to crack or shatter.
There are many other good options for first warm in the casserole dish, or for heating the leftovers a different way. We strongly recommend that you do not put a cold casserole dish in the oven, instead, seek an alternative route.
General Reheating Rules Of Thumb
Don’t Use Preheated Oven
The first important rule of thumb, when reheating a casserole, is that you should not use a preheated oven. This is important especially if you are using a glass casserole dish that has been stored in the fridge.
Cover the Casserole
When you are warming a casserole dish, you will want to cover the casserole with aluminum foil while it is reheating. This will help prevent the casserole from drying out too much.
Heat Until Warmed
When you are warming a casserole back up, you don’t have to cook it all over again. It just needs to be warmed to a safe temperature all of the way through. To learn more about the temperature a casserole should be heated to, be sure to learn more, HERE.
FAQs
Should you reheat a casserole covered or uncovered?
The best way to reheat a casserole is in the oven, covered with aluminum foil. This way the foil will help to keep the casserole moist.
How do you moistedn a dry casserole?
How to moisten a dry casserole may largely depend on the type of casserole it is. You can try adding a tablespoon or two of water or chicken broth to the casserole, before you cover it with aluminum foil and reheat it.
Can you put a cold casserole dish in a hot oven?
No, it is never a good idea to put a cold casserole dish into a hot oven. This is because most casserole dishes are made of glass or a ceramic-type of material. When you move them from the cold fridge to the hot oven, the dish will likely break in the oven, and create a huge mess.
How long does it take a refrigerated casserole to come to room temperature?
How long it take a refrigerated casserole to come to room temperature will depend on several things. Your best bet is to allow plenty of time for it to warm up, then place it into a cold oven to warm the leftover casserole.
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