Best Ways to Reheat Pizza
If you are like most guys, you love a good pizza from time to time. Here’s one I regularly order from D’Agostino’s Pub in Chicago. Believe it or not, this pie is so huge that it can provide several meals over the course of a week.
What’s not to love about a combination of cheese, crisp, crunch and toppings? Throw in a football game and some friends and you’ve really got something!
But what happens if you order a pizza and aren’t able to finish it in one sitting?
If you’re response is throw it away, please don’t. The truth is there’s still life left in that pizza, provided you take the necessary steps to maintain its freshness.
Reheat Pizza or Eat Cold?
Some people think the best way to store uneaten pizza is to simply pop it in the refrigerator and later, eat cold. That’s certainly an option. Cold pizza has lots of upshots, including the benefit of not falling apart.
Reheat Pizza: Multiple Options
But sometimes you just want that hot slice of deliciousness to come back to life, filling the room with aroma of gooey cheesiness, onions and meats that once danced around your crib.
Related: Exactly what’s inside a cheeseburger?
So what’s the right way to reheat pizza? Is it as simple as tossing it in the microwave for 60 seconds? Should you set the oven to bake and toss it in for 15 minutes? Or should you place it in a pan on the stove?
Believe it or not, the above mentioned options are just but a few ways to reheat pizza. Lucky for you, I’m going to walk through several, plus give you one way to reheat pizza that might surprise you.
Let’s jump right in!
How to Properly Store Pizza for Reheating
Most guys simply take uneaten pizza, leave it in the delivery box and toss it in the fridge. There’s nothing wrong with this. In fact, I used to do it myself. But if you want make the most of your leftovers, it helps to do some advance work.
Storing Cold Pizza with Wax Paper and Plates
I’ve found that the best way to store pizza is to grab a small plate and then stack the pizza in the form of a tower, separating each slice with a wax paper.
You can use a paper towel to separate however, you will want to make sure the pizza is cooled to room temperature first. That’s because if it’s still hot, the cheese and other toppings will bind to the paper, pulling everything off when you go to unwrap.
Regardless of which approach you use, make sure you take plastic wrap and surround your tower good and tight.
Hint: The quicker you store uneaten pizza, the more likely you’ll maintain its original freshness.
Reheat Pizza Method #1: Microwave
I’ve reheated more slices of pizza in the microwave than I care to remember. Let’s face it – it’s probably the easiest way to go about reheating just about everything.
If you’re like me, you probably just tossed a square onto a plate, tapped “High” on your microwave and then set the timer for 30 seconds and let that be that. No problem with this approach. But have you ever noticed the reheated piece was kind of a sloppy mess? You know, like a rubbery piece of cheese that didn’t taste all that good.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Through the process of trial and error, I think I’ve perfected the best way to reheat pizza and in a way that brings back to life its original texture, flavor and odor; like it first was when it arrived in the box.
Pizza Reheat Microwave Steps:
- Grab a microwave safe plate
- Place a paper towel on top of plate
- Put a slice of pizza on top of the paper towel
- Take a piece of wax paper and put on top of pizza
- Power down microwave to 50% (or use defrost option)
- Set microwave to 45 seconds
Reheating Pizza Microwave Results
If you have done this correctly, your pizza should come out of the microwave looking, smelling and tasting very much like it did when it first was delivered to your home.
The secret is the wax paper. By placing that on top of your ZA, you’ve provided a shield for over-nuking while also stopping absorption (something many people do by using paper towels on top).
And did you know they actually make a microwave product specifically for reheating pizza? It’s called the “Rapid ReHeater” and you can check it out on Amazon.
As an aside, some people have asked me what’s the best type of microwave to reheat foods, including pizza. There’s certainly many to choose from but I am fond of LG’s microwave myself. That’s probably because I’ve had mine now for over 7 years and it’s never let me down.
Reheat Pizza Method #2: Pan
Not the most popular way to reheat pizza but there are some guys who use this approach. Mainly, it’s because they don’t have a microwave or because they just prefer the pan method.
Here’s a quick walk through on how to use a skillet to resurrect yesterday’s za-la in a way that is designed to have maximum effect.
Reheat Pizza in a Pan Steps:
1 Set your stovetop range to medium
2 Grab a pan and place on top of burner
3 Make sure you have the pan’s lid nearby
4 Slip the piece of pizza into the pan
5 Cover the pan with the lid
6 Allow to cook for 5-7 minutes
7 Remove pan from hot burner once cheese starts bubbling
Reheating Pizza in a Pan Results
Done correctly, this approach should yield you a spectacular piece of delicious pizza! The trick here is to cover what you are cooking with the lid. This allows all of the juiciness to stay inside, which has the propensity to evaporate if you just open lid it.
Ingredients like sausage and pepperoni really seem to respond to this method. Maybe that’s because the meats are being recooked? In any event, this is a great way to redo what you ordered last night!
Reheat Pizza Method #3: Oven
Not a super popular approach but I will mention none the less because there are some who like pizza that’s been reheated in the oven. I’ll give you a quick walkthrough on this one and tell you why it’s not my favorite method.
Reheat Pizza Over Steps:
1 Set over to 350F
2 Place a slice of pizza on rack
3 Let cook for 5-6 minutes
4 Remove pizza with a spatula
Reheating Pizza Oven Results
All I can say is – meh. The pizza will come out warm and the oven will encourage some of the original flavor. But it doesn’t exactly taste the same. Plus, there’s the problem of cheese oozing onto the rack and then onto the bottom of the oven.
You can place your slice on some type of bakeware, like a baking sheet, but for what you get in return it’s kind of a pain in the rear.
Reheat Pizza Method #4 Grill
If you happen to live in a place where you can cook outdoors, grilling your pizza as a reheating option may be something to consider. I will walk you through how to do this one but to be honest, how many of us really want to take the time to fire up the propane tanks or use a bunch of goal to reheat pizza?
Reheat Pizza On Grill:
1 Get your grill up to medium heat
2 Take a slice of pizza and place on the grate
3 Shut the lid and allow to cook for five minutes
4 Remove pizza with spatula once it looks bubbly
5 Place on a plate and enjoy
Reheating Pizza on Grill Results
If you are feeling adventurous and want to get your woodsman on, reheating your Za on a grill does offer a tasty option. You’ll get a lot of the original flavor back – plus the crunchiness you desire.
The not so great part about this is all of the work that’s involved, including the cleanup, if you’re just reheating a single slice. If you want to really grill a pizza – like the entire thing – check out this pizza grill box kit that adapts to what you already have in the back yard!
Reheat Pizza Method #5: Breakfast Repurpose
This is perhaps the most unconventional way to reheat pizza while repurposing it at the same time. Yep, for this one you’re going to be reheating a slice but this time in tiny pieces. That’s because you’ll be using the leftovers to make a new meal called breakfast! And let me tell you – this approach is super simple!
Repurpose Pizza for Breakfast
1 Pour a cup of eggbeaters into a microwave safe bowl
2 Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper
3 Take a slice of pizza and cut it up into tiny piece
4 Toss a handful of chopped pieces into the bowl
5 Place bowl in microwave and cover with a paper towel
6 Set temperature to high for 3 minutes and press “Start”
7 Halfway through (around 1 min, 50 sec) mix with a spoon
8 Let the nuking process continue until 3 minutes are up
Reheat Pizza Breakfast Repurpose Results
Believe it or not, this is an extremely tasty option for old pizza. Think about it. You are getting the gooiness of the cheese, combined with meats, veggies or other toppings that once resided on your Za!
For this one, play around with microwave cooking time. Because each oven is different, your microwave may require shorter or longer cooking times.
FYI: You can also use real eggs if you want instead of egg beaters. But if you choose mother nature’s route, be sure to include two teaspoons of milk to help fluff up the egg and pizza combo.
Reheating Pizza Final Thoughts
Lastly, some people want to know how long you can keep old pizza. For example, if you order it on a Friday night, can you keep it in the fridge for an entire week?
Well, there are a number of thoughts on this one but the general consensus is that pizza should be tossed out after a maximum of four days. You can certainly freeze pizza, which will extend its life a good month or two, but it probably won’t taste all that good no matter how you reheat it.
How Do You Like To Reheat Pizza Poll
Perhaps one of the silliest polls I’ve ever put up but I’m going to do it for fun anyway. Be sure to chime in with a choice!
