How Long Is Grilled Chicken Good For?

Do you find yourself wondering if your grilled chicken is still good? Has it been sitting out on a table at a barbeque or maybe it’s been in the fridge for a few days and you just aren’t sure?

There are a few factors to take into consideration when deciding if your grilled chicken is safe to eat. Whether you have grilled chicken breast, thighs, wings, or other forms of chicken all of the same rules apply.

In this post, I am going to go over everything you need to know about how long your grilled chicken is good for.

Best ways to tell if grilled chicken is good

It doesn’t matter if you have grilled chicken thighs or chicken skewers, you will want to ask yourself the same questions when deciding if your grilled chicken is still safe to eat or not.

There are so many ways to use up grilled chicken leftovers such as freezing it, making chicken salad, or maybe chicken tacos. Don’t let your chicken go to waste before it goes bad.

you should try out this delicious grilled chicken sandwich recipe that is a great way to use up leftover grilled chicken.

According to the USDA, grilled chicken is no longer good after 3-4 days. Let’s go over some other ways to know when it is no longer good to eat.

How long did it sit out?

According to the USDA, cooked foods that have sat out for longer than two hours are no longer safe to eat. If the temperature is above 90°F then you don’t want to let it sit out for more than an hour.

Bacteria will start to multiply on grilled chicken that sits between 40°F and 140°F. It is important to allow your chicken to cool and then get it into the fridge as soon as you can to avoid foodborne illness.

With that said, if your grilled chicken didn’t sit out and you stored it properly then chances are that you are in luck and your chicken is still safe to eat.

How was it stored?

When you store chicken you first want to make sure that it was cooled correctly as we just talked about. But just as important it should be stored in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.

Keeping it tightly sealed when you store it will keep oxygen out and other contaminants that might be blowing around in the fridge.

It will also keep the chicken from drying out in the dry air of the refrigerator.

If you like chicken parmesan you are going to want to try this amazing grilled chicken parmesan recipe!

When was it cooked?

If you remember when you cooked the grilled chicken, that will help you to know if it has been too long since it was cooked or not.

The USDA recommends that you do not eat grilled chicken after about 3-4 days of it being cooked. At this point, it has started to go bad and can make you sick.

If you don’t remember when it was cooked you can tell by looking at it, smelling it, or even feeling it to know if something is off.

You want to look for signs of mold, and sour odors, or it may feel slimy. These are all signs of grilled chicken that has gone bad and isn’t safe to eat.

Check out my post that goes over if you should cover chicken grilling.