Use these simple tips and tricks to keep hot foods hot while you’re still cooking, on a buffet table, at a potluck, or while you’re on your way to the party!
How to Keep Hot Foods Hot
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One of the biggest challenges with a big meal, a buffet-style dinner, or a potluck can be making sure that all the hot foods stay hot. (Keeping cold foods cold is another challenge; you can read about how to do that here.) Keeping your main course and all the sides hot until it’s time to eat can be done using some of the things you already have in your kitchen!
How Long Can You Leave Food Out?
Before we jump into the different ways you can keep hot foods hot, we need to talk about how long you can keep food out. Food safety rules say that food should be refrigerated below 40 degrees F, or kept hot above 140 degrees F. If you have food out at a party, chances are the temperature will end up somewhere between 40 and 140 degrees. (Keep an eye on the temperature with a thermometer like this.)
Food can only be kept at that “middle zone” temperature for up to 2 hours. When you hit that two-hour mark, leftovers should be refrigerated.
How Do You Keep Food Warm Before Dinner?
If you’re making a big dinner, or one with a handful of side dishes, it can be tough to get everything cooked on time and keep it warm until it’s time to eat. As you finish each recipe, you can use your oven, stove, or even the microwave to keep everything warm until you’re ready!
Use the Oven to Keep Food Warm
You don’t want to keep food in your oven with the oven temperature turned up to 300 or 350 degrees F. The food will keep cooking and will get overdone and dried out. But you can use your regular oven as a warming oven!
Preheat your oven to the lowest temperature you can set. (Mine will go as low as 170 degrees F.) Turn the oven off, and stash a few recipes in there with the door shut to stay warm until it’s time to eat.
Use the Stove to Keep Food Warm
Using the stove to keep dishes warm is great for soups and sauces. Turn the burner on its lowest setting, keep a cover on the pot, and stir it occasionally. This will help keep things from burning or sticking to the pot.
Use the Microwave to Keep Food Warm
No, not to heat the food up – use the microwave as a warming oven! Your microwave is basically an insulated cabinet. If you aren’t going to need the microwave, pop a couple of hot dishes in there and close the door. The heat will stay in and your recipes will stay warm!
How Do You Keep Food Warm at a Buffet?
Now that you’re ready to eat, how do you keep everything warm while people are helping themselves? What about keeping leftovers warm for second helpings? Slow cookers and chafing dishes are great ways to keep everything hot.
Use a Slow Cooker to Keep Food Warm While Serving
If you can use the stove to keep things warm, you can also use your slow cooker! Keep the temperature set to warm (or low if there isn’t a warm setting), and keep it covered. A party slow cooker like this one keeps more than one dish warm at the same time.
Use Chafing Dishes to Keep Food Warm While Serving
If you want to get really fancy, or if you’re getting ready for a big party with lots of food, you might want to invest in a few chafing dishes. Set these up buffet-style, and keep the food covered until everyone is ready to eat.
How Do You Keep Food Warm While Traveling?
It’s a little easier to keep food warm when you’re staying in one place. But what about when you’re traveling? How do you keep that casserole hot while you drive to your family’s party? Use insulated carriers, coolers, or insulated grocery bags to help!
Use Insulated Carriers to Keep Food Warm While Traveling
Insulated carriers for casserole dishes are great for travel, but you can also use them to keep food hot if you aren’t going anywhere! Just pop a casserole dish inside and zip it up until you’re ready to eat. Carriers like this fit one 9×13 pan; carriers like this one fit two 9×13 pans. These insulated carriers can also be helpful to keep food warm while it’s on a buffet table.
If you need to take a whole meal on the road, try this insulated carrier!
Use Coolers to Keep Food Warm While Traveling
What? Coolers?
Yes! Coolers are insulators. We usually fill them up with ice and use them to keep foods cold. But you can also use them to keep foods hot! (Without the ice, obviously.) Coolers are also great for transporting large dishes (like a cooked turkey) to parties.
Use Insulated Grocery Bags to Keep Food Warm While Traveling
Yes, those insulated grocery bags can be used for things other than just bringing frozen foods home from the grocery store! These have less insulation than a cooler, so don’t plan on using these as your primary way to keep hot foods hot. But they will work for a short time!
Go one step further, and use an insulated delivery bag like this one for a little more insulation.
Which one of these tips will you use for your next party?
Enjoy!
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Thank you for all of these informative ideas to help keep food warm. It is always a challenge to keep all food at parties perfectly warm & ready to eat. I like the cooler and slow cooker idea!
Thanks, Natalie! We use coolers to keep food hot all the time!