How to Reheat Pasta in the Microwave

Gauging exactly how much pasta to cook can be a challenge. You don't want to get to the dinner table only to find that you didn't make enough, which leads to cooking too much. Should you cook more pasta than you need for a meal, store it in a tightly covered dish in the refrigerator and reheat it in the microwave for a quick meal the next day.

Step 1

Put leftover cooked pasta on a microwave-safe dish. Drizzle a little olive or vegetable oil on the pasta if it was not stored with sauce. The oil keeps the pasta moist and the noodles from sticking together while reheating. If the pasta already has sauce on it, the sauce does that, so you don't need to add any oil.

Step 2

Stir the pasta thoroughly. Put a lid on the dish or cover it with plastic food wrap. If you use a lid, sit it on top of the dish -- rather than sealing it tightly -- and leave one corner uncovered for the pasta to vent. If you use plastic food wrap, peel it back at one corner.

Step 3

Microwave the pasta on low power for one minute; low power helps the pasta reheat more evenly. Stir the pasta. Continue to heat the dish, one minute at a time, stirring it at the end of each minute, until it reaches the desired temperature.

Things You'll Need

• Pasta sauce

• Cooking oil

• Microwave-safe dish with lid

• Microwave safe plastic wrap (optional)

Tip

Store leftover pasta and sauce separately. Acidic sauces, including tomato sauce, can break down the pasta over time, changing its texture.

Warning

Microwaving an uncovered dish of pasta with sauce causes unsightly splatter inside the microwave.