How Long Can Cooked Chicken Sit Out? (All You Need to Know!)

Cooking a whole chicken is a smart choice while making dinner for the whole family –  it’s quite quick and easy and leaves you up with a ton of food. But precisely because of the last thing, it’s extremely common to have some leftovers while cooking a chicken. Hence, many of you may be wondering:

How long can cooked chicken sit out? Cooked chicken shouldn’t sit out for more than two hours. In fact, according to the USDA, no cooked food should ever be left out at room temperature for more than two hours because bacteria grow extremely quickly at temperatures between 40° F and 140° F.

How long can cooked chicken stay out of the fridge?

Cooked chicken can stay out of the fridge for two hours; after that, it isn’t safe to eat it, though. Like any other food, bacteria start to grow in cooked chicken when it sits out for too long. And in the opinion of the USDA, too long means two hours in this case.

Can cooked chicken be left out overnight?

No, cooked chicken cannot be left out overnight since it isn’t safe to eat cooked chicken that sat out for more than two hours. That’s because it’s very easy for bacteria to grow at room temperature. 

Actually,  precisely due to the high bacteria activity they’re linked with, temperatures between 40° F and 140° F are what the USDA considers to be the Danger Zone for any cooked food, not only chicken.

How long can cooked chicken sit out at 50 degrees?

Cooked chicken shouldn’t sit out for more than two hours, at least according to the USDA. In their opinion, more than two hours at temperatures between 40° F and 140° F are dangerous for any cooked food. 

At those temperatures, the bacteria are simply highly active, making the food spoil very quickly.

How long can cooked chicken sit out at 60 degrees?

At 60 degrees, cooked chicken can sit out for around two hours, but anything significantly more than that is risky. Temperatures between 40° F and 140° F are what the USDA considers the “Danger Zone,” which means bacteria grow rapidly at them.

How long can cooked chicken sit out at 70 degrees?

Since the USDA considers sitting out for more than two hours at temperatures between 40° F and 140° F to be dangerous for any food, cooked chicken can sit out for something around those two hours at 70 degrees. 

After that time passes, though, it is dangerous to eat it because it may very likely be spoiled.

How long can cooked chicken stay out in a container?

As we have explained above, it is considered unsafe to eat chicken left out for more than two hours. That being said, though, putting it into a container increases its lifespan a bit. 

Generally, cooked chicken can should be able to stay out in a container for something around six hours, although it can be even as long as ten in some cases.

Is it safe to eat cooked chicken left out for 2 hours?

Yes, it is safe to eat cooked chicken left out for two hours. In fact, according to the USDA, any cooked food is still eatable after not much more than two hours without refrigeration. 

But that means the two hours are the upper bound, and you, therefore, shouldn’t touch any chicken that was left out for a longer time.

Is it safe to eat cooked chicken left out for 3 hours?

When any cooked food sits out for more than two hours, it is dangerous to eat it. Therefore, it isn’t entirely safe to eat cooked chicken left out for 3 hours because there is a chance it’s already turned bad. 

However, it isn’t unlikely that it’s still good either, so if you don’t smell or see anything weird at the chicken, it isn’t necessary to throw it out.

Is it safe to eat cooked chicken left out for 4 hours?

According to the USDA, no cooked food should ever sit out at room temperature for more than two hours. Therefore, it isn’t safe to eat cooked chicken left out for 4 hours. Without refrigeration, bacteria simply start to grow rapidly in the meat, so make sure you don’t leave it out for too long.

Is it safe to eat cooked chicken left out for 5 hours?

No, it isn’t safe to eat cooked chicken left out for 5 hours. Why? Well, any cooked food that sat out at room temperature for more than two hours is dangerous to eat, according to the USDA. That’s because bacteria grow the fastest at temperatures between 40° F and 140° F.

Is it safe to eat cooked chicken after 2 days?

Although cooked chicken shouldn’t be ever left out for more than two hours, as we’ve explained above, it still can last a decent amount of time when stored properly. Hence, it is safe to eat cooked chicken after 2 days, considering it was refrigerated the whole time.

Is it safe to eat cooked chicken after 3 days?

If you make sure that it doesn’t sit out for any more than two hours before being put into the fridge, cooked chicken can last for some time. Therefore, it is safe to eat cooked chicken after 3 days, but only if stored properly.

Is it safe to eat cooked chicken after 4 days?

Yes, it is safe to eat cooked chicken after 4 days, provided it was stored the whole time correctly. That most importantly means you put it into the fridge, but storing it in some airtight sealed containers isn’t a bad idea either. 

That way, you can expect the chicken to last maybe even five or six days, so it indeed should be safe to eat it after “just” four days.

Is it safe to eat cooked chicken after 5 days?

Generally, it’s thought that chicken leftovers shouldn’t be eaten any longer than after four days. With that being said, though, storing it properly may make it last a bit longer. 

Hence, the cooked chicken should be safe to eat chicken after 5 days if you put it into some airtight sealed containers and then the fridge while making sure it wasn’t left out of it for more than two hours throughout the process.

And you can freeze the chicken, too – that way, it can last maybe even four months, you just have to remember that it won’t be in very good shape.

Is it safe to eat cooked chicken after 6 days?

Eating cooked chicken after 6 days isn’t entirely safe because it isn’t recommended to eat any chicken leftovers after more than four days. However, when appropriately stored in the fridge, the cooked chicken should be eatable even after six days.

It is still a risk, though, so if it wasn’t frozen, you’d better make sure there isn’t any weird smell nor any weird stain visible on it before eating it.

Is it safe to eat cooked chicken after 7 days?

After 7 days, cooked chicken isn’t safe to eat even if it is in the fridge. In fact, it isn’t recommended to eat chicken leftovers any older than four days because that is long enough for it to spoil, no matter the storage.

Summary

Since a whole chicken is a really, really big meal, it isn’t rare at all to have some leftovers while cooking it. And precisely because of that, it is crucial to understand how long chicken leftovers stay eatable.

When we’re talking about leftovers left out of the fridge, you shouldn’t touch them after more than two hours. According to the USDA, it is dangerous to eat any cooked food that sits out for a longer time, and cooked chicken is no exception.

With that in mind, though, you can obviously expand its lifespan drastically by putting it into the fridge. That way, it should stay eatable for four (maybe even five or six in some cases) days.

And when you put the chicken into the freezer, you can expect it to last even as long as four months! Just remember that freezing it sort of destroys its structure and taste.

Related:

• How Long Can Lunch Meat Sit Out?
• How Long Can Pizza Sit Out?
• How Long Can Ground Beef Sit Out?
• How Long Can Frozen Chicken Sit Out?
• How Long Can Fried Chicken Sit Out?

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