Introduction

If you’ve ever opened your refrigerator to find a past-due dish of chicken, then you know that a problem with food storage can ruin even the most promising meal. The first thing to remember is that freshness matters: Fresh chicken doesn’t just taste better; it’s safer, too. Here we’ll explain how long cooked chicken can last in the fridge and how to keep it fresh until you’re ready to use it again.

How long cooked chicken lasts depends on the type of chicken and how it’s stored.

How long cooked chicken lasts depends on the type of chicken and how it’s stored.

Chicken is one of the most common meats in the world, but there are many different types of chickens that are raised for different purposes. Some breeds of chicken grow faster, some have larger breasts and others have more meat on their bones. For example, Cornish game hens are smaller than regular chickens and will cook faster because they’re so much smaller than other breeds of poultry.

Uncooked chicken can last for 10 to 12 days in a refrigerator.

To ensure that your cooked chicken stays fresh and safe to eat, follow these tips:

• Keep it in its original packaging. The USDA recommends keeping cooked meat products in their original packaging until they’re ready to be eaten. If you need to store them in another container, make sure it’s airtight and refrigerated within two hours after taking out of the oven or microwave.*
• Store at the coldest part of your refrigerator (usually on bottom shelves). If there isn’t enough room for all the containers, stack them on top of each other so they don’t touch any other food items.* Use a thermometer check that temperature inside your fridge is 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower before placing any cooked meats inside; if not, adjust accordingly by raising/lowering temperatures with an appliance controller or switching out older appliances with newer models which have better insulation qualities than older ones do.* Don’t put cooked chicken in a container that previously held raw chicken

Cooked chicken should be eaten within three to four days after it’s been cooked.

The most important thing to remember is that cooking chicken properly can help prevent food poisoning. After you’ve prepared your chicken, it’s recommended that you eat it within three to four days. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container and refrigerate them until they’re ready to be eaten again.

Cooked chicken shouldn’t be frozen because freezing causes ice crystals to form inside the meat–and those ice crystals can damage cells in a way that makes bacteria grow faster when thawed out than if they were fresh from the oven!

Raw chicken should not be left out more than two hours at room temperature.

• Raw chicken should not be left out more than two hours at room temperature.
• Cooked chicken can last for three to four days in the refrigerator, but you should try to eat it within two days.
• If you don’t have time to cook a whole chicken, you can freeze it for later use (just remember that frozen meat will take longer than fresh).

It’s important to store cooked and raw chicken in separate containers and never in the same container.

It’s important to store cooked and raw chicken in separate containers and never in the same container. The reason is that cooked chicken can carry salmonella, which is a bacteria that causes food poisoning. If you use only one container for both types of meat, there’s a chance you could cross contaminate them–and that’s not good!

Cooked chicken should be kept in an airtight container with no holes or cracks. You do not need to refrigerate this kind of storage method; just keep it somewhere cool and dark until you’re ready to eat it. The USDA recommends using cooked poultry within 3 days after cooking it (though many people find they can keep their leftovers for longer).

Freshness will make or break a good dish of chicken.

The quality of your cooked chicken will depend on how long it’s been stored in the refrigerator.

If you’re not sure how long your chicken has been out of the fridge, or if it has been sitting at room temperature for more than two hours, throw it away and start with fresh meat.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this post has helped you understand how long cooked chicken lasts in the fridge. Remember that freshness is key to a great dish of chicken. If your chicken isn’t fresh or hasn’t been stored properly, it won’t taste good no matter what else you do with it!