Can You Reheat Hush Puppies? (The Best Way)

Do you know what an excellent problem to have is? It’s when you find yourself with far too many hush puppies to finish. Being in that position means that you can save some to eat later! They’ll taste just as good, but only if you reheat hush puppies the right way! 

Yes, you can reheat hush puppies. The best way to get them tasting fresh again is to reheat them in an oven or air fryer. If you’re in a rush and don’t mind a slight change in the texture, you could reheat hush puppies in a microwave, too. No matter what method you use, it’ll only take about three minutes to reheat them.

In this article, we’re going to go through the different methods you can use to reheat your hush puppies. As a bonus, we’ll even briefly look at how you can reheat any leftover dips or sauces that you might have as well!

Let’s get started.

How To Reheat Hush Puppies In An Oven

By far, the best way to reheat hush puppies is with an oven. That’s because ovens radiate a consistent heat from all around, resulting in hot and tasty hush puppies that almost taste like they’re freshly made!

Here’s how to reheat hush puppies in an oven:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. This is a crucial part of the process, so never skip over it. Preheating saves you plenty of time and ensures that your hush puppies will begin reheating as soon as it enters the oven. Suppose you put hush puppies into an oven that’s not preheated. As the oven heats up, it’ll basically steam the hush puppies, leaving it with a very different and unappetizing texture at the end.
2. Put the hush puppies into an oven-safe tray in a single layer and space them out, if possible. It’s always best to avoid putting hush puppies in a bunch or a pile because the hot air from the oven will not be able to circulate between each hush puppy easily.
3. Reheat the hush puppies for three minutes or until they’re golden brown. Suppose they’re not hot enough when you check on them after three minutes. If that’s the case, then you’ll want to continue reheating them at one-minute intervals until they’re ready.
4. Carefully remove the hot tray and serve your hush puppies as a snack, side dish, or in any other way you prefer!

When reheating hush puppies in an oven, try to keep them on top of a rack, if possible. That will allow an excess grease or liquid to drip right off!

How To Reheat Hush Puppies In An Air Fryer

Air fryers started off as a trendy table-top appliance, but they’ve since become a standard feature in many kitchens across the country. They function in pretty much the same way as convection ovens by forcing hot air around the tray to cook or reheat food.

For that reason, they’re also an effective and convenient way of reheating hush puppies.

Here’s how you can use an air fryer to reheat hush puppies:

1. Preheat the air fryer to 350 °F. Just like with a regular oven, pre-heating will get the air fryer hot enough to blast your hush puppies with the dry heat it needs to taste fresh again.
2. Load your hush puppies into the air fryer basket. Remember: hot air must circulate well for them to reheat thoroughly. So, space them out throughout the air fryer basket, and avoid putting them in bunches or piles.If you have a large number of hush puppies to reheat, don’t be afraid to do so in separate batches. Doing so ensures that they’ll taste better in the end!
3. Reheat the hush puppies in the air fryer for three minutes.
4. Check on the hush puppies to ensure they’re golden brown and hot. If not, put them back in for one-minute intervals until they’re hot enough.
5. Remove the hush puppies from the air fryer, and enjoy!

When reheating fried foods like hush puppies in an air fryer, add just a little oil. Sure, air fryers only need hot air to get the job done. But adding a dash of oil to your food will also make them just a tiny bit more flavourful. 

How To Reheat Hush Puppies In A Microwave

As you might already know, reheating fried foods in a microwave is not ideal. That’s because microwaves heat food up in a very different way. The appliance sends microwaves into the food, which cause its molecules to vibrate, raising its temperature and heating it up.

Unfortunately, heating food up that way, especially friend foods like hush puppies, can alter the texture and make them taste less fresh.

Still, if you’re in a rush and don’t have time to use an oven or an air fryer, a microwave will do.

Here’s how to reheat hush puppies in a microwave:

1. No preheating is necessary with a microwave. Place your hush puppies on a microwave-safe plate and put them in the microwave.
2. Set your microwave to HIGH and reheat the hush puppies for only 45 seconds.
3. Check to see that the hush puppies are hot enough to consume. If they’re not, you can continue to reheat the hush puppies for additional 15-second intervals.
4. Try not to reheat for too long, as it’ll alter the texture of the hush puppies so much that you might not be able to enjoy them anymore.

Can You Reheat Hush Puppies With A Frying Pan?

No, you can’t reheat hush puppies on the stove using a frying pan. 

Remember: hush puppies are traditionally round in shape, whereas a frying pan is flat. So, putting them on a pan will not provide the hush puppies with enough heat exposure to reheat them evenly.

There is one exception, however. Some people choose to flatten their hush puppies with a spatula before reheating them in a pan.

If you prefer consuming hush puppies that way, then, yes, reheating them in a frying pan is an option. When they’re flat, more of their surface area will come into direct contact with the pan and absorb the heat evenly.

How To Reheat Frozen Hush Puppies

Some people prefer cooking hush puppies in large batches and freezing them for later, especially since they’ll last for up to three months in the freezer. 

If you’re trying to reheat a batch of frozen hush puppies, then you’ll need to follow a few additional steps and take added care.

Defrosting Frozen Hush Puppies With A Microwave

Earlier, we mentioned that heating up hush puppies in a microwave is not the best option unless you’re short on time. That’s still true, but microwaves can be very useful for defrosting hush puppies before reheating them using other methods.

To do this, you can:

• Use the Defrost function on your microwave if you have it. Typically, you’ll need to input the total weight of the hush puppy batch so that the microwave can determine how long to defrost them.
• Simply microwave them for one minute to defrost the hush puppies partially. A partial defrost is all that’s needed to speed up the reheating process when you transfer them to an oven or an air fryer.

Defrosting Frozen Hush Puppies With An Oven Or Air Fryer

When reheating hush puppies in an oven or air fryer, there’s no need for a separate defrosting stage. Instead, what you’ll want to do is add a few more minutes to the reheating process.

That’s right! All you’ll have to do to reheat frozen hush puppies is to follow the same steps mentioned above. 

However, here are some additional steps you might want to take:

• Make sure that the hush puppies are on a rack. That will allow any excess water to drip off and drain as the hush puppies defrost without soaking the pieces in a puddle of water.
• Earlier, we mentioned that it takes three minutes to reheat hush puppies in an oven or air fryer. If they’re frozen, however, you’ll want to double that time to six minutes.
• If the hush puppies aren’t hot enough after six minutes, continue reheating at intervals of one minute at a time.
• Always ensure that there’s plenty of space between each hush puppy so that the hot air can flow freely between them.
• Check on them often and turn them over every two minutes or so, to ensure that they’re defrosting and then reheating evenly.

Bonus Tip: How To Reheat Hush Puppies Dipping Sauces

Hush puppies are often consumed with several kinds of dipping sauces. You can reheat those sauces in either a saucepan or a microwave. Here’s how:

• In a saucepan, reheat the sauce using low or medium heat just until it starts to boil. Be sure to stir the sauce so that it reheats evenly.
• In a microwave, reheat the sauce for 30 seconds at a time. Stir the sauce after each interval, and repeat until the sauce is hot enough for your taste.

Final Thoughts

Hush puppies taste fantastic as both a side dish or a snack on their own. Now that you know how to reheat them correctly in an oven, air fryer, or even microwave, you can make them in large batches and keep them in the fridge or freezer for later!