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Fusilli pasta is one of the most common types of pasta, especially in the UK. We love the stuff over here. I do, anyway. That’s probably why I always make so much of the pasta that I could feed the entirety of my town and still have some left over. But can you reheat fusilli pasta? What’s the best way to do it? And does it really taste just as good once you’ve done so?
Why don’t we take a deep dive into the world of fusilli pasta leftovers?
What is Fusilli Pasta?
Fusilli pasta is a type of longer, spiral-shaped pasta. The shape is sometimes referred to as corkscrew.
The dictionary refers to it as:
“Pasta pieces in the form of short spirals.”
Dictionary
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As well as being one of the most common types of pasta, fusilli is known as one of the most versatile types of pasta, too. It is great for sauce-based wet dishes; is nice and filling, allowing it to become a meal all by itself, and it can be eaten both hot and cold.
How Did Fusilli Pasta Get Its Name?
It is believed that fusilli pasta got its name because of its spin or spiralled shape. The word fuso is said to be derived from an Italian word for spindle. Originally, the pasta would have been made by having the strips of dough twisted around a spindle – so you can see how the pasta originally got the name.
What is Fusilli Pasta Good For?
Because of the corkscrew or spiral-shape of fusilli pieces, it holds on to sauce really well, making it great for any kind of pasta dish that has a sauce. This is especially the case for dishes that contain pesto, and dishes that contain oil-based sauces or drizzles.
Fusilli pasta is also commonly used in salad dishes, especially cold ones.
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Can You Reheat Fusilli Pasta?
Yes – you can reheat fusilli pasta.
But you will only want to reheat fusilli pasta leftovers that have been stored in the correct way, and for an appropriate length of time.
Pasta, regardless of type, will usually only last for two to three days in the fridge, even under the best conditions. Other ingredients, such as meat and dairy products, will shorten the lifespan, along with other factors.
The quality of the pasta dish may also decrease with storing and then reheating, but there are things you can do to counteract this. You can find those tips below, along with the different reheating methods.
How to Store Leftover Fusilli Pasta
You can keep leftover fusilli pasta, in or out of sauce, in an airtight container, in the fridge.
Leftover fusilli pasta will be good to eat for 2 to 3 days.
If you do not have an airtight container, you could also transfer your pasta (with or without sauce) to a bowl, then cover the bowl with a layer of foil plus a layer of cling film, or a double layer of foil/cling film.
You could also keep your leftover fusilli pasta in airtight food bags, such as Ziplock-style food bags.
You must ensure that the container, whatever it is, is airtight. Your cooked leftover fusilli pasta will last much longer when stored that way. Not only that, the more exposed the pasta is to the air, the more it will dry out – and that includes any sauce that you’ve added to it.
How to Reheat Leftover Fusilli Pasta
You do have a number of different options when it comes to reheating leftover fusilli pasta, although the method you use will largely depend on whether or not the pasta has sauce.
Reheating Fusilli Pasta Without Sauce
If the pasta does not have sauce, simply add the pasta to a saucepan with your sauce of choice and let the entire lot heat up, stirring regularly to stop it all from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
You can dip-cook the pasta in boiling water for a few minutes too, which can reduce the chances of the pasta become soft and smushy when you reheat it.
Simply add the pasta to a colander and then let it sit in already-boiling salted water for 30 seconds at a time, up to a maximum of a couple of minutes, until the pasta is reheated to your desired temperature. At that point, you can add sauce or other toppings.
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Reheating Fusilli Pasta With Sauce
If the pasta does have sauce, you can reheat it in similar ways. You can add the pasta plus sauce to a saucepan, stirring regularly over a medium heat until it is heated up to your desired temperature. This will only take a few minutes – 4 or 5 at most.
You will probably need to add a little more liquid to the pan to stop the pasta drying out – water, milk, extra sauce, olive oil, etc.
You can keep things nice and moist by reheating your leftover fusilli pasta in the oven. Simply transfer the pasta plus sauce to an oven-safe dish, cover with foil, then place in an oven that has been preheated to 180, for around 15 or 20 minutes.
If you want to add more cheese (because why wouldn’t you), take the dish out roughly halfway/three-quarters through, add the cheese, and then keep the foil off then you put the dish back into the oven for another 5 or 10 minutes.
How to Reheat Fusilli Pasta to Stop it Drying Out?
There are two best ways to reheat fusilli pasta to stop it drying out. These are:
1) tightly covered with aluminium foil, in the oven
or
2) dip-cooking the pasta in hot water before then adding the sauce/toppings afterwards.
When you’re reheating fusilli pasta in the oven, with sauce and vegetables/meat/other ingredients, you’re using the foil cover to effectively steam as you oven-cook. The steam, heat and moisture can’t escape, so it keeps the dish moist.
Just remember to give yourself cheese-browning time, if you want the crispy cheesy top.
Image by azerbaijan_stockers on Freepik
Can You Reheat Fusilli Pasta More Than Once?
It is not recommended to reheat fusilli pasta more than once, or any other type/variety of pasta.
Although the risks are low, there is a chance that bad bacteria will thrive in the heating-cooling-heating-cooling process. In turn, this can make you rather unwell.
This is even more so the case when you have other ingredients in your fusilli pasta dish, such as milk, eggs, meat products, etc. These can potentially make double reheating even more risky.
*Prices & information correct at time of writing.