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Meal Prep Food Safety: Cooling, Storing and Reheating

Meal prep food safety from USDA guidance: the 2-hour rule, cooling in shallow containers, the 3-to-4-day fridge limit, freezing, thawing and reheating to 165°F.

By Published 4 min read

Reign Creative LLC makes Easy Recipes & Meal Planner, which this article links to, so we have a commercial interest in it. How we write and check articles.

AI-assisted article. Drafted with AI tools from the sources cited below and checked by automated tests and an AI editorial review. No person has reviewed it yet. How we write and check articles.

Key takeaways

  • Bacteria grow fastest between 40°F and 140°F, doubling in as little as 20 minutes; FSIS calls this range the danger zone.
  • Refrigerate cooked food within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F, in shallow containers so it cools quickly.
  • Hot food can go straight into the fridge or be chilled in an ice or cold water bath first.
  • Cooked meals keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge, so a five-day prep needs a second cook or a freezer.
  • Reheat leftovers to 165°F and bring sauces, soups and gravies to a rolling boil.

Cooked meal-prep food keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge, should be refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking, and should be reheated to 165°F, according to USDA guidance. Cooking once and eating over several days puts cooling, storage and reheating at the centre of the job. This guide takes the rules from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and FoodSafety.gov and turns them into a meal-prep routine.

The rule behind every other rule

FSIS explains that bacteria grow most rapidly between 40°F and 140°F, doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes, a range it calls the danger zone. FSIS advises keeping hot food at 140°F or above and cold food at 40°F or below, so for meal prep the aim is to move cooked food through that range quickly.

Step 1: cook it safely

Cook every component to its safe minimum internal temperature, checked with a food thermometer: 165°F for poultry and casseroles, 160°F for ground meat, 145°F for steaks, chops and fish, with a 3-minute rest for steaks, roasts and chops. Safe cooking temperatures has the full chart.

Step 2: cool it fast

FSIS names improper cooling of cooked food as one of the most common causes of foodborne illness. Its cooling guidance:

  • Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour if the temperature is above 90°F.
  • Divide large amounts into shallow containers. A big pot of soup takes a long time to cool, inviting bacteria to multiply.
  • Cut large items such as roasts into smaller portions.
  • No need to wait for food to cool: hot food can go straight into the fridge, or be chilled in an ice or cold-water bath first.
  • Cover or seal containers to keep bacteria out and moisture in.

Step 3: store it within the window

Cooked leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in a fridge at 40°F or below, and 3 to 4 months in a freezer at 0°F for best quality. FoodSafety.gov's chart gives similar windows for cooked meat and poultry, soups and stews, and casseroles. Food storage times lists more foods.

A worked example: the five-day lunch problem. You cook five lunches on Sunday evening. Counting Monday as day one, the fridge window of 3 to 4 days covers Monday to Wednesday safely and Thursday at the outside. Friday's lunch is beyond it. Two fixes:

  1. Freeze the late portions on Sunday. Move Thursday's and Friday's containers to the freezer as soon as they are cool, and thaw them in the fridge the night before.
  2. Cook twice. Prep Monday to Wednesday on Sunday, and Thursday and Friday on Wednesday evening.

Step 4: thaw it safely

FSIS lists three safe ways to thaw leftovers: in the refrigerator, which is slowest but keeps food safe throughout; in cold water, in a leak-proof bag; or in the microwave, heating straight on to 165°F. Food thawed in the fridge should be eaten within 3 to 4 days or can be refrozen; food thawed in cold water should be cooked before refreezing. FSIS adds that frozen leftovers can also be reheated without thawing, which simply takes longer.

Step 5: reheat it properly

Reheat leftovers to 165°F, measured with a food thermometer, and bring sauces, soups and gravies to a rolling boil. In a microwave, FSIS advises covering and rotating the food for even heating, arranging it evenly in a covered microwave-safe dish, adding liquid if needed and venting the lid, because microwaves have cold spots.

Containers and labels

FSIS recommends covering leftovers, wrapping them in airtight packaging or sealing them in storage containers, which it says helps keep bacteria out, retain moisture and stop food picking up odours from the rest of the fridge, and then refrigerating or freezing the wrapped food immediately. Add one habit of your own: write the cooking date on every container. With five near-identical boxes in the fridge, a date shows at a glance which one is on day four.

Keeping lunches cold on the move

FSIS's danger-zone guidance is to keep cold food at 40°F or below and never to leave food out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. A packed lunch sitting at room temperature is on that same clock, so it needs to stay cold until you eat it.

Fitting safety into the plan

Batch cooking for the week covers which dishes reheat well, and how to meal plan for the week covers building the plan. Easy Recipes & Meal Planner, one of our health and nutrition apps, lets you drop recipes into breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack slots, so the whole week is laid out before you cook and you can decide in advance which portions go in the freezer.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

How long does meal prep last in the fridge?
Three to four days for cooked leftovers, according to USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, kept at 40°F or below. Meals for later in the week belong in the freezer.
Should hot food cool before going in the fridge?
No need to wait. FSIS says hot food can be placed directly in the refrigerator or rapidly chilled in an ice or cold water bath first, and that large amounts should be divided into shallow containers so they cool quickly.
Can I meal prep for five days?
Not safely from one cook if everything stays in the fridge, because cooked leftovers keep 3 to 4 days. Freeze the later portions straight away, or cook twice in the week.
Can you refreeze thawed leftovers?
FSIS says leftovers thawed in the refrigerator can be refrozen within 3 to 4 days, those thawed in cold water or the microwave should be cooked or heated to 165°F first, and food remaining after reheating to 165°F can be refrozen.

Sources

  1. Leftovers and Food Safety (opens in a new tab)USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service — accessed
  2. "Danger Zone" (40°F - 140°F) (opens in a new tab)USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service — accessed
  3. Cold Food Storage Chart (opens in a new tab)FoodSafety.gov, US Department of Health and Human Services — accessed
  4. Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature (opens in a new tab)FoodSafety.gov, US Department of Health and Human Services — accessed

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