The metastable-to-stable phase transition is commonly observed, in many fields of science, as an uncontrolled independent process, highly sensitive to microscopic fluctuations. In particular, self-assembled lipid suspensions exhibit such phase-transitions. However, the driving mechanisms and dynamics are often not well understood. Here we describe a study of the phase transition dynamics of lipid-based particles exhibiting a unique metastable liquid-crystal to stable crystalline phase transition upon cooling from 60°C to 37°C. Surprisingly, unlike conventional supercooling phase transitions, at 37°C recrystallization is delayed by tens of hours in a robust, predetermined and temporally controlled manner. Furthermore, we found that the delay time can be manipulated by changing lipid stoichiometry or solvent salinity, adding an ionophore, or performing consecutive phase transitions. We attribute the physical mechanism responsible for the delayed nucleation to long-range forces, generating a non-independent, cooperative process, ending in a relatively abrupt phase-transition, which involves a structural reorganization of the system.