How To Reheat Cornbread?

As long as there has been cornbread, people have been asking this question – how to reheat cornbread. And we’ve all had our share of dry and chewy rewarmed cornbread that just didn’t taste the same as it did fresh out of the oven.

Actually, if you want to get technical about it, “reheated” isn’t even the word you’re looking for; “re-crisped” is more like it (cornbread should never be served fresh out of the oven because it will not stay crisp).

Anyway…

When your leftover cornbread was baked at home it probably came fresh out of the oven in its own pan or wrapper. If that’s the case, then pop what you need into the toaster oven, which is smaller than a regular oven and heats more efficiently. The result will be evenly crisped cornbread with slightly warm edges and moist centers.

Since cornbread is made with oil and not butter, it should be safe to microwave as long as you use the “one-minute” method. However, we recommend that you follow the other two methods just to be on the safe side.

That’s all there is to re-crisping your homemade or store-bought cornbread. It really couldn’t be any easier… unless you can magically travel back in time and bake a fresh batch!

Reheating Cornbread In The Microwave

If your homemade cornbread was baked in a disposable pan, then once again all you have to do is put your slices on a plate, spritz them lightly with water, cover them loosely with plastic wrap, and microwave for one minute. Uncover your slices before popping them back in for another 20 seconds.

Do not use the reheating method if your homemade cornbread came wrapped in foil; foil doesn’t breathe well enough to protect the bread from becoming mushy as it heats up. So instead of microwaving, just pop those slices into a 350-degree oven for five minutes or until hot and crispy around the edges.

You may already know how to do this because when you warm up leftovers in the microwave you are, in fact, re-heating them. But if you want to make your cornbread crispy again by microwaving it, here is how:

• Spread the cornbread with butter or margarine on both sides and put between two pieces of wax paper (Saran Wrap)
• Microwave on high for 1 minute then turn over and microwave 45 seconds longer.
• Note: If using a rotisserie chicken type seasoning brush the melted butter over both sides of the warm cornbread.

The taste will be good enough but the texture will probably not seem like fresh-cut cornbread so keep this in mind if you plan on serving it! The taste will be good enough though 🙂 Just give it a try!

Can I Reheat Cornbread In An Air Fryer?

This particular recipe for reheating cornbread in the air fryer is probably not worth turning on your air fryer if you are only making this. But, if you know you will be making cornbread soon it may be interesting to find out how well an air fryer can reheat store-bought or homemade cornbread.

I would suggest using the full recommended cook time for the size of bread you choose. The cooked result should be similar to that of a regular oven with less than half the amount of oil used. I used just over 1 tablespoon for this large chunk of bread.

How to Reheat Cornbread On The Stovetop

You can take your leftover cornbread out of the refrigerator, place it in a pan just as you did when making it the first time, heat it up on the stovetop or in an oven and enjoy. You don’t have to cook it just remove any foil wrapping leftover from storage, place into a baking pan cover with parchment paper or something similar and bake for 5 minutes at 350°F – 375°F (177°C – 191°C).

Preheating is not necessary especially if the bread has already been baked once before. Test center with a toothpick (it should come out dry) before removing foil to cool. Then continue the steps below.

To reheat using the microwave: Remove any aluminum foil covering that may be used. Put cornbread in a microwave-safe dish, cover with plastic wrap, and heat for approximately 60 seconds to 3 minutes on high power depending on your oven wattage.

Cooling Cornbread On The Stovetop And Eating It If You Like

• You can eat it right after removing it from the oven or let it cool down first if you like. Removing cornbread using parchment paper is easier than directly touching the hot pan surface.
• Do not remove the un-baked batter stuck to the sides of the pan – this will appear as yellow spots on top of the finished product after baking.
• Remove browned parts offsides with a knife before eating so that each piece will have an even crust all around. Pieces of cornbread baked together may require slicing apart to be eaten.

If your store-bought or homemade cornbread was baked in a bag, then all you have to do is put the slices on a plate, spritz them with water (just lightly mist them), cover them loosely with plastic wrap, and microwave for one minute.

Uncover your slices before popping them back in for another 20 seconds. You can also use this method instead of heating up your whole cornbread loaf; simply cut off what you need and spritz the rest with water before rewrapping it and popping it back into the fridge.

Final Verdict

If you want to eat your store-bought or homemade cornbread at any time other than immediately after baking it, then the best way to re-crisp it is by heating it in a 350-degree oven for five minutes — tops! That’ll give you crunchy edges and a warm moist center. And if you’re reheating homemade cornbread, go ahead and add butter before popping it in the oven; nobody’s going to stop you from gilding the lily!

You can also read: Can You Freeze Sushi? (Does frozen sushi taste good?