The Best Way To Reheat Leftover Pasta In An Air Fryer

Some meals like pizza and Thanksgiving leftovers are known to taste better when reheated the next day. The flavors and textures seemingly come together overnight, enhancing the overall pleasure of eating the food as it ages. With other foods, like pasta, deriving that same pleasure requires an air fryer, not a microwave.

When microwaved, pasta tends to stick together and dry out, ridding it of the creamy, tender texture from the day before. The next choice may be to reheat it on the stove; however, you can actually turn to the air fryer, instead. The device can warm up day-old pasta just like an oven would.

To reheat pasta in the air fryer, preheat it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place the pasta on aluminum foil to prevent it from drying up. Sprinkle a small amount of water onto the pasta to keep it from drying up. After around 5 to 10 minutes, the pasta should be thoroughly heated. A little extra cheese halfway through cooking will add a slightly crunchy texture to the pasta.

Given the name, air fryers are known to make food crispier. If you prefer for your leftover pasta to have a slightly crisp exterior while the inside remains tender, then reheating it in the air fryer is the best choice. The method works well for already-baked pasta, like lasagna or ziti, or when you want to replicate that taste and texture.

If you have leftover creamy pasta, it's best to heat it up on the stove to prevent it from drying out. The trick to reheating cream-based pasta sauce is to gradually add room-temperature cream as the temperature of the stove slowly rises. For pasta with regular tomato sauce, you can steam it to remoisten the sauce and noodles. Add a few tablespoons of water to a pan with pasta and cover it to hydrate the pasta without drenching it.

The quickest and easiest method is to simply heat it up in the microwave. Once again, splash a small amount of water onto the pasta and microwave it for a minute or two. If it's not heated through, mix some more water into the pasta and microwave it in one-minute increments.