There are a couple of methods of reheating leftover pizza – WITHOUT having to fire up the oven. My favorite option is to use a toaster oven. It is simple, fast and clean-up is easy.
The high temperature, direct heating elements and hot air in the toaster oven turns the leftover cold pizza slices into piping-hot snacks with a re-crisped crust and melted gooey cheese.
Leftover pizza don’t have to be cold and soggy. They can still make easy and tasty snacks the next day, just like how it was delivered.
Read on to know more about how to do so using a toaster oven,
Reheating pizza in toaster oven
Step 1: Selecting the function
If your toaster oven has a dedicated Reheat or Pizza function, you can simply that setting.
Otherwise, fret not. You can still reheat pizza using the bake function.
Some toaster ovens have a convection feature. Using either bake or convection bake will get your pizza piping hot. But using the convection bake setting can help to speed up the cooking time.
The convection mode makes use of a fan to circulate the hot air around the toaster oven, which also helps to ensures that the heating is more even.
Step 2: Preheat the toaster oven
The first step is to preheat the toaster oven to 400 degF.
If you prefer a crispier crust base, you can leave the baking pan in the toaster oven during preheat.
Step 3: Prepare the pizza slices
I like to place the pizza slices on an aluminum foil as that makes cleaning easier.
Arrange the leftover pizza slices in a single layer. Do not stack the pizza slices or place them too close together so that they don’t stick together. Try not to overcrowd the baking pan to avoid creating a mess of melted cheese later.
Lightly sprinkle a little bit of water onto the pizza crust to lock in some moisture. This prevent the crust from getting too dry and hard, but do not add too much for it to become soggy!
TIP: Feel free to add more cheese and toppings to your pizza.
Step 4: Reheat the pizza
When preheating is completed, put the pizza slices on foil onto the baking tray and slide the tray back into the toaster oven.
TIP: If your toaster oven comes with more than one rack, the user manual should have instructions specifying the rack position to use for the bake/pizza/reheat function. Usually, it’s using the middle of lower rack for reheating the pizza, but do follow the instructions for best results.
The reheating of the pizza should be done in about 5 minutes.
However, the exact time is dependent on a number of factors, such as the model of toaster oven, whether you are using convection bake or non-convection bake, the type of pizza, whether it’s a thin-crust or thick-crust pizza, type of toppings and the number of slices.
It’s recommended that you check in the pizza. You may need to lower the temperature if the pizza toppings are over browning.
Some people like their pizzas reheated at a lower temperature of 300-350 degF, but for a longer time of 8-10 minutes. You can also give that a try and see what works best for you!
Step 5: Remove the reheated pizza
Once you see the crust browning and cheese bubbling, it’s time to take the reheated pizza out of the toaster oven. Let the pizza cool for 3-5 minutes before serving.
Warning: Use a metal tong or silicone spatula to take the pizza out of the toaster oven to avoid scalding.
FAQs
How to reheat frozen pizza in toaster oven?
The biggest challenge about reheating frozen pizzas is to avoid mushy soggy results.
The steps to reheating frozen pizzas in a toaster oven is the same as the steps mentioned above. However, you cannot simply put the frozen pizza into the toaster oven directly. The frost will become steam when heated, causing the pizza to become soggy,
You will need to let the frozen pizza slices thaw completely on the countertop first, before putting them in the toaster oven.
Some higher end toaster ovens have defrosting settings so the additional thawing time will not be needed.
How to store leftover pizzas?
Leftover pizzas will stay good for around 3-4 days in a refrigerator and up to a month in a freezer, if properly stored in an airtight container or ziplock/resealable bags in the refrigerator.
Airtight containers and ziplock bags are the best ways to retain the original taste as they keep air out.
If you don’t have such airtight containers or resealable bags, you can follow the stack and wrap process.
Wrap a slice of pizza in foil and stack them until you are done with all the leftover pizzas, then wrap them in a plastic wrap. Paper towels or wax paper can also be used in place of foil, but foil does a better job at keeping the flavors fresh.
Can I use a microwave instead of a toaster oven to reheat pizza?
Yes, you can.
Microwaving leftover pizza is probably the most common and the fastest way to get piping hot pizza. However, it is not the tastiest option. You often end up with a soggy pizza with a rock-hard crust.
Hence, I still prefer using a toaster oven to a microwave.