Can I eat 5 day old cooked shrimp?

Have you ever served cooked shrimp at a buffet and then wondered how long it is safe to leave it out for? At what point does shrimp start to go off, and do you need to keep it refrigerated to make sure it is safe to eat?

How long can cooked shrimp stay out? Cooked shrimp cannot be left out overnight. It should be eaten or refrigerated within two hours of being cooked, or bacteria will start to spread throughout the flesh and could lead to food poisoning. It is best to put shrimp directly in the fridge, and only take it out when you are ready to consume it.

Contents show

1 How Long Can You Leave Cooked Shrimp at Room Temperature?

2 Should You Store Cooked Shrimp in the Fridge?

3 What If You Have Leftover Shrimp?

4 If You Reheat Shrimp that Has Been Left Out, is it Safe to Eat?

5 What Should You Do with Shrimp that Has Been Left Out Overnight?

6 Will Shrimp Left Out Overnight Make Me Sick?

7 Final Thoughts

How Long Can You Leave Cooked Shrimp at Room Temperature?

Do not leave cooked shrimp at room temperature. If you are serving shrimp for a buffet or something similar, you should put the bowl in the fridge and keep it there for as long as possible before serving, especially if the room is warm. If you are just reheating cooked shrimp, only take what you need from the fridge.

Cooked shrimp should not be kept at temperatures over 40 degrees F for more than two hours at the most. If temperatures are higher than 90 degrees F, you only have around an hour to use cooked shrimp before it is no longer safe to eat.

If you have cooked shrimps, it is best to rinse them with cold water (assuming they are not in a sauce) to cool them down as quickly as possible. This will allow you to refrigerate them faster. Pat them dry on a clean cloth and store them in a sealed container in the fridge to ensure they last as long as possible.

Should You Store Cooked Shrimp in the Fridge?

Yes, you should definitely put cooked shrimp in the fridge as soon as possible, unless you plan to freeze it. Do not leave it on the counter, even for a short amount of time. You will increase the speed with which it decays, so it is best to put it straight into the fridge.

You can store cooked shrimp in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days, as long as it has been handled properly. It should still be safe to eat, but after day four, it is time to discard it as the bacterial growth will have started to destroy the shrimp.

Don’t eat shrimp that has been in the fridge for more than four days, even if it was chilled immediately.

As long as a dressing is not yet applied, this Thai Pawn Shrimp Salad stores extremely well in the fridge and can last for several days.

What If You Have Leftover Shrimp?

The best thing to do with leftover shrimp is to put it in your freezer. You should do this as soon as possible after cooking. Chill the shrimp with cold water, dry it, and then put it into a Tupperware container and freeze straight away.

It’s a good idea to portion the shrimp up so you can just defrost what you need each time, because you can’t refreeze shrimp once it has been cooked, frozen, and defrosted. The cooked shrimp will be free from bacteria, but defrosting and refreezing will compromise it and it won’t be safe to eat anymore.

Cooked shrimp should keep in the freezer for months, although you may notice that its texture is not so pleasant. On the whole, fresh shrimp is nicer, but you need to use it up reasonably quickly to ensure it’s still edible.

If You Reheat Shrimp that Has Been Left Out, is it Safe to Eat?

If you’ve accidentally left some shrimp out, you might be wondering whether a thorough reheat will be enough to kill off any bacteria that has formed in it. After all, cooking kills the bacteria. However, it won’t work. You should only depend on the heat to kill off bacteria once, not multiple times.

If you are reheating shrimp, it’s a good idea to heat it thoroughly, but you shouldn’t do this as a way of trying to make it safe again if it has been left out overnight. You are very likely to get sick if you do.

What Should You Do with Shrimp that Has Been Left Out Overnight?

Unfortunately, if you have left shrimp out for more than two hours at room temperature, your only safe option is to throw it away. You cannot eat it or use it in cooking once it has been left out, so you should discard it and start with fresh shrimp.

You should always check shrimp over before using it, even if it has been stored correctly. Shrimp that has white flecks, blue spots, or a strange smell should be thrown away, as it is no longer safe to eat. Equally, if the shrimp feels slimy or squishy, you need to get rid of it, instead of eating it.

Will Shrimp Left Out Overnight Make Me Sick?

Shrimp that has been left out overnight could easily make you sick, yes. Bacteria will have multiplied inside the flesh, and will make you ill if you consume them.

Usually, the result of eating bad shellfish will show within 48 hours of the meal, although it can start as soon as four hours after the meal, when the shrimp is being processed by your digestive system. Eating off shrimp can result in some very unpleasant effects, such as nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.

It is best not to risk eating shrimp that you are unsure about, especially if you are immunocompromised, pregnant, very young, or very elderly. Throw the shrimp away unless you are sure that it is okay to eat.

Final Thoughts

Shrimp cannot be left on the counter overnight. If you have served shrimp with your evening meal, you should chill the shrimp using cold water, dry it, and then transfer it to an airtight container. This should then be placed in the fridge and kept there to slow down the bacterial spread.

If you aren’t going to use up the shrimp quickly, portion it into airtight containers and place it in the freezer. It should keep for a few months in there. Don’t eat shrimp that has been left out for more than two hours; you are very likely to get sick!