After you’ve cooked a delicious steak dinner, you may have opted to leave your baked potatoes on the counter to cool down before placing them in the fridge, then forgot them until you entered the kitchen the next morning. Now, are they ruined or are they still edible?
You should never eat baked potatoes that have been left out on the counter overnight. They should be refrigerated after no more than two hours of being at room temperature. Anything longer than this and you’ll be putting yourself at risk of getting a food-borne illness and suffering the consequences.
If you accidentally left your baked potatoes on the counter overnight, you should discard them immediately. They’re not worth the risk of potentially getting sick. Luckily, potatoes are fairly inexpensive and you can whip up a new batch if you were set on enjoying them again the next day.
Can You Get Food Poisoning From Baked Potatoes?
Like anything else, you can get food poisoning from a rotten baked potato. If left out for too long, baked potatoes can potentially form botulism — which can be deadly under some circumstances.
To be safe, you always want to store your leftovers properly. This means getting them into the cooler temperature of the fridge quickly and not leaving them out at room temperature for an extended period.
It’s more common for baked potatoes to become more dangerous if they’re left in their tightly wrapped foil packaging. This is because no oxygen can reach the potato, which can lead to quicker germination and the spread of bacteria.
If you suspect your baked potato has gone off, discard it immediately. In the situation that you’ve already eaten some of it before realizing it’s gone bad, then discard it and keep an eye on any symptoms that may occur.
You may experience discomfort in your abdomen and whole body chills. If you develop a high fever, it’s recommended to reach out to your doctor to get medical advice. Other than that, drink lots of fluids and rest up to give your body the chance to fight the infection.
How Can You Tell If a Baked Potato Has Gone Bad?
One of the clearest signs of a baked potato that has gone bad is mold growth. If you see visible mold on top of the potato, then immediately toss it out. Once you cut into the potato, you may see discoloration and signs of potential mold — which also means you should toss it.
If you’ve added any toppings to your potato to make a loaded baked potato, you may need to examine things more closely. Certain ingredients may mold quicker, such as cheese or sour cream.
As always, you should inspect your leftover food before consuming it. If there’s any type of “off” odor once you open the container, this is a likely sign that your food has gone rotten or is in the process of doing so. Trust your gut on this one, as it’s often correct when it comes to food.
Baked potatoes should be softer after being cooked but if they become overly mushy, they’re no longer good to eat. If you do a quick visual once-over and a sniff test, you can eat your potato with the confidence that it’s going to be good.
How Should You Store Baked Potatoes?
Oftentimes, baked potatoes are cooked wrapped in foil. When you go to store the leftover potato, you’ll want to uncover it and store it in a class or plastic container instead. Always allow the potato to cool completely before you refrigerate it.
Another option would be to store your leftover baked potatoes in plastic Ziploc bags. This is the ideal method if you’re storing multiple — as it won’t take up much room in the fridge.
Once the potatoes have cooled, you’ll want to store them quickly. Leaving the baked potatoes on the counter for longer than two hours can potentially allow them time to grow bacteria and go bad.
Depending on the toppings you adorned your baked potato with, they may last anywhere from 2-5 days in the fridge. If you know ahead of time that you’re not going to eat them right away, leave the toppings off and store the cooked potato on its own.
Regardless of the method that you choose to use to store your potatoes, you’ll want to ensure that they’re sealed airtight. Any air getting into the container can speed up the process of your leftovers going bad and nobody wants a wasted baked potato.
How Long Can You Store Baked Potatoes?
Depending on how you choose to store your baked potatoes, either in the fridge or the freezer, they’ll stay good for anywhere between 2 days and 6 months. Frozen potato isn’t always the best option as it loses its texture but it’s an option.
If you keep your potatoes tightly sealed, they’ll last as long as possible. However, everything eventually goes bad so you’ll want to keep an eye on them in your fridge.
When making a larger batch of baked potatoes, it can be a smart idea to plan meals around the side dish. Ensure that you have dinner menus that incorporate potatoes for the next couple of nights so that you can get to your leftovers before they lose their freshness.
For some people, it’s helpful to label and date the containers so you know exactly when you put leftovers into the fridge. This shows you what you should eat first, to prevent it from going bad without you realizing how long it has been sitting in the fridge.
If you left the potatoes on the counter for 2 hours or longer, you’ll want to proceed with caution. Even if they still look good, they have a higher likelihood of going bad quicker. Try to eat the potato within a day or two.
Once they’ve been refrigerated, they will need to be reheated when you want to eat them. You should never reheat your baked potato and then store it again in the fridge. This ensures that the potato loses its overall quality and texture.
Can You Reheat Baked Potatoes?
When reheating baked potatoes, you have several options. You can microwave them, heat them in an oven, place them in a pan on the stovetop, or even grill them! Baked potatoes taste nearly as delicious once they’re reheated as they did when they were fresh.
If you originally cooked your baked potatoes in the oven, it would naturally make sense to pop them back into the oven to reheat them. You can even put the broiler on for a few minutes to keep the cheese crispy and melted again.
Zapping your leftover potatoes in the microwave may affect the texture slightly, resulting in a softer baked potato. However, it’s the quickest method and it makes for a quick and easy lunchtime meal.
For the stovetop method, you can lightly oil a pan and place the baked potato onto the preheated surface. Cover the pan with a lid to allow the top of the potato to heat up evenly and then you’ll be ready to enjoy your potato that has now been lightly crisped on the bottom.
If you’re firing up the grill already, simply wrap your leftover baked potato in foil and pop it on the grill. After several minutes, it will have heated up thoroughly and you can carefully unwrap the foil before digging in.
With so many options for reheating your potato leftovers, there’s no reason why you can’t keep enjoying them for several days in a row. If you’ve brought leftovers home from a restaurant, enjoy them quickly because you can’t be certain how long they were out.