Can You Eat Sushi The Next Day?

If you have ended up with too much fresh sushi but cannot eat it all, you might be wondering whether you can leave it to eat until tomorrow. 

Can You Eat Sushi The Next Day?

However, while the answer is yes you can, it actually depends on a number of factors. These are what the fish is and how you came about having the sushi. It also depends on how you store the sushi.

If the sushi is stored incorrectly, then there is a good chance that you may end up with a bad tummy. To avoid this, let’s take a look at whether you can eat sushi the next day in more detail. 

Can You Eat Leftover Sushi The Next Day?

It is absolutely fine to eat leftover sushi the next day. However, before you do, you will want to make sure that everything leading up to this moment has been good. 

For example, how was the sushi stored in the fridge, and how long has the sushi been in the fridge for?

More often than not, sushi that you couldn’t eat so took home from a restaurant is absolutely fine to eat the next day. However, you will want to have made sure that it was packaged well and put into the fridge.

It then needs to be eaten within 24 hours. 

However, if the sushi contains raw fish, then you will also need to make a note of how long that raw fish was sitting outside the coolness of the refrigerator while on your plate.

All of these things determine whether the sushi will be okay to eat the following day. 

Vegetarian sushi is different from regular sushi. This type of sushi can be kept out of the fridge because the bacteria will not be attracted to it in the same way. However, it is best practice to put it into a fridge to keep it nice and cool. 

Is It Okay To Eat Sushi The Next Day?

Sushi is fine to eat the next day so long as you make sure to package it correctly in the refrigerator. 

Raw fish generally has a very short shelf life which can leave people very hesitant to eat it. The last thing you want is food poisoning, after all.

Before you eat the day-old sushi, you may want to consider how long it was out of the fridge the night before. If it was at room temperature for more than two hours, then it is best to throw it out.

If you have left the sushi unwrapped, again, it will be better to be safe and throw it away. But if you packaged it correctly and it spent most of its time in a cool place, then raw sushi should be fine for a day or two.

Cooked sushi will last longer for up to 3 or 4 days. 

How Can You Tell Sushi Has Gone Bad?

Can You Eat Sushi The Next Day?

If you are unsure whether the sushi is good to eat or if it has gone bad, then you will need to take a look at it. Here are some simple steps to take:

Appearance

If the fish has some discoloration or changes, then it is likely that the fish isn’t as fresh as it should be. This means that it will not taste good, and may even make you sick.

One example is tuna. This should have a pinky flesh that looks vibrant. Once it begins to fade or become gray, then the fish has gone past the safe time to eat it. 

If the fish has slime or water come off of it, or even mold, then you will want to throw it out immediately. This kind of fish should not be eaten at all.

Smell

The smell of a fish is often fishy, but only subtly so. You can always tell when fish shouldn’t be eaten because it strangely smells very fishy. Once you start smelling the strong smell of fish from your sushi, then throw it out.

As the fish becomes worse, the smell will too. This isn’t worth becoming sick over.

Don’t Forget The Rice And Extras

It isn’t just the fish you need to think about when it comes to sushi. More often than not there are other components too such as rice and nori seaweed.

While eating day-old seaweed and rice is less likely to make you sick, you may find that they do not taste nice – or they have just lost their texture.

Nori seaweed may lose its crunchy texture. Instead it might be chewy, however this will not ruin the sushi as a whole and can still be eaten.

Rice can become hard, and that is because of the coldness of the refrigerator. Unfortunately, you cannot get around this. You will always want to place leftover sushi in the fridge. 

If you do notice that the rice has a strong smell, throw it out in the same way you would the smelly fish. 

How To Store Sushi And Leftover Sushi

One of the best ways to store leftover sushi is by placing each individual sushi in plastic wrap, and then placing them into an airtight container. You will then need to put them straight into the refrigerator.

Do make sure that there is no excess water or dampness on the sushi. If there is, lightly press it with a kitchen towel to move the excess liquid. 

If you leave the liquid on the sushi, it would cause the perfect environment for bacteria to breed and thrive. So long as you follow these steps, you will find that eating leftover sushi the next day is absolutely fine. 

Final Thoughts

When you cannot finish all of the sushi, you might be wondering if you can eat them the next day. Fortunately you can so long as you store them properly.

By placing the sushi in plastic wrap and an airtight container, you will be able to safely eat the sushi the next day.