How to Reheat Frozen Macaroni and Cheese in the Oven

The weather has been freezing. Last night, you put your dishes with leftover food out on the patio because you were too lazy to clean up the dishes. Now your leftover macaroni and cheese is frozen solid in a pan on the porch.

You know you have no more food in the panty, and a trip to the grocery store would cost you a valuable 30 minutes. Why not try to reheat the frozen macaroni and cheese in the oven?

Reheating frozen macaroni and cheese in the oven is a snap.  Set the oven temperature to a low setting so the macaroni and cheese thaws.  Once the macaroni and cheese thaws, you can turn the temperature up to get a crusty top layer.

How Did You Find Yourself in this Predicament?

What you suffer from is called poor planning. You should make a shopping list and hang it on your refrigerator. Once your list has a minimum of 10 items on it, go to the grocery store. COVID is not that bad anymore and you find other shoppers are friendly and glad to see you.

Buy about 10 boxes of macaroni and cheese. This should cost around five dollars, but you can afford it.  10 boxes of macaroni and cheese is enough food to last you for about 8 days. And you won’t have to cook leftover frozen macaroni and cheese from the porch anymore.

The Basic Steps You Should Take to Reheat Your Frozen Macaroni and Cheese in the Oven

Let’s start with the basics. Once you know the basics, we will go over any complications that may arise when reheating your frozen macaroni and cheese. Of course, we will go over any emergencies that might arise, because we don’t want to start any fires while trying to reheat frozen macaroni and cheese.

The Basics

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
2. Cover the macaroni and cheese with aluminum foil.
3. Put the frozen macaroni and cheese and the pan directly in the oven.
4. Reheat until thawed. This could take anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes, depending on how much macaroni and cheese you have, and how cold it is.
5. You will know when your macaroni and cheese thawed if you can stick a fork in it.
6. Once thawed, turn the oven up to 400 degrees. 
7. Remove the aluminum foil.
8. Reheat for another 10 minutes.
9. The macaroni and cheese is ready when it is bubbling and when the top gets a little brown.
10. Enjoy with fine wine or a beer.

The Complications

1. Do not touch your tongue to the frozen pan because it might stick to the pan.
2. Make sure no rats, mice or birds have been eating your macaroni and cheese. If so, throw away the macaroni and cheese for safety.
3. Make sure there is no trash in your frozen macaroni and cheese. If there is, just remove it before cooking.
4. You don’t have an oven. If you don’t have an oven, you can always use the toaster oven and follow these directions. You will need to be extra safety conscious so that you do not start a dangerous house fire.
5. The macaroni and cheese does not bubble. Simply mix some water or milk into the macaroni and cheese to give it extra moisture.
6. Sometimes macaroni and cheese is made with fresh cheese that requires a little extra time cooking. Just make sure you stab your macaroni and cheese with a fork to see if it thaws, and then cook until bubbling.
7. If you don’t drink wine or beer, then have some water or maybe a little Sprite.

The Emergencies

1. Make sure you never heat your oven to over 400 degrees. Macaroni can become flammable at these temperatures and can cause a heck of a house fire.
2. If you notice that your macaroni and cheese is turning black and is emitting flames, remove it from the oven immediately. Macaroni fires can be extremely hazardous.
3. If it really was not that cold outside and your macaroni and cheese didn’t freeze, it is best not to eat it. You can get a nasty case of macaroni induced diarrhea. This is not pretty and can cost you plenty in cleaning supplies for the toilet.

How to Eat Your Reheated Macaroni and Cheese

Are you lucky enough to have a few extra things in the refrigerator that you can use to liven up your macaroni and cheese?

Serving Suggestions

1. Bacon, bacon fat or bacon bits
2. Black Olives
3. Green Olives with cream cheese for an extra creamy macaroni and cheese.
4. Make a sandwich. Put mayonnaise and catsup on two pieces of bread and put the macaroni and cheese on one side. Use the other piece of bread to make a sandwich.
5. In a bowl with extra warm milk. This is sort of like having a bowl of oatmeal and is a good way to have macaroni and cheese for breakfast. Add sugar if desired.
6. Cold catsup. The cold-warm combination makes eating cold catsup very similar to using fresh vegetables as a topping for your macaroni and cheese.
7. Cooked frozen spinach or canned spinach.
8. Mix in some potato chips.
9. Open a can of tuna and stir it into the macaroni and cheese.
10. Just use your imagination and eat the macaroni and cheese with just about anything.

Cleanup

All you need to do is wash the pan that contains the frozen macaroni and cheese with warm water and soap. If you added serving suggestions, clean the containers up and put them back where you found them. Make sure you turn the oven off or you risk starting a fire and burning down your entire apartment building.

Conclusion

Reheating frozen macaroni and cheese in the oven is possible, and if done correctly, is one of the best ways to reheat it. The process takes a little longer because you have to wait for your macaroni and cheese to thaw out in the oven set at 250 degrees. But once you can stick a fork into the macaroni and cheese, you can increase the heat and bring it to a bubbly, crispy perfection.