Can You Freeze Cooked/Leftover Pizza? 


Last updated on August 7th, 2022 at 10:09 am

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Pizza is one of the greatest foods and is loved by almost everyone. You can eat it hot or cold and you can eat pizza for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

There are so many different variations of pizza that you can create. 

You can have different crusts, there’s stuffed, garlic Parmesan, Asiago crusted, pretzel, pepperoni and cheese-filled, etc. You can either choose from a traditional marinara sauce or add a white sauce instead. 

After the cheese, you can add all kinds of toppings to personalize your pizza. You can add various kinds of meat, extra cheese, and vegetables to make a delicious dinner. 

If you end up having leftovers, are you able to freeze the leftover pizza?  Can you make a pizza and then place it in the freezer to enjoy another day? 

You can place cooked or leftover pizza in your freezer for up to six months. Your homemade pizza and leftover pizza will both last in the freezer for that long if prepared properly. 

It is best to flash freeze your individual slices of leftover pizza. After you have flash-frozen the slices of pizza, you can wrap each slice individually and place it back in the freezer. 

How Do You Reheat A Frozen Pizza? 

Pizza being delivered to your door is one of the greatest conveniences. You can simply order and about a half-hour later, dinner is served. 

Another great convenience of pizza is that it can still taste great as leftovers. Is there a way to make your frozen leftover pizza taste just as great as it was when you had them delivered? 

The best way to reheat your frozen pizza is in the oven. Turn your oven to 375º and bake your leftovers for about 15 minutes. 

Warming your pizza in the oven tastes much better than warming it up in the microwave. Your crust won’t get as hard when warmed in the oven and it will heat it evenly. 

You can still use the microwave to warm up your leftover pizza but frozen pizza in the microwave will get soggy. 

To microwave leftover pizza that wasn’t frozen you can sprinkle a bit of water onto the crust. This will keep moisture in the crust and not make it as hard. 

You can microwave your pizza for about 30 seconds. If you find it still needs more time, you can keep microwaving at 10-second intervals. 

How Long Is Leftover Pizza Good For In The Fridge? 

Pizza is one of those foods that can taste just as good, if not better, the next day. You can choose to heat it up or eat it cold. 

Maybe you ordered an extra-large pizza for dinner or just weren’t as hungry as you thought you were when dinner came around, what do you do with the leftovers? 

How long will your leftover pizza last in the fridge? 

Leftover pizza is good in the fridge for about four days. You can still eat it for five days in the fridge, but you do run the risk of getting a food-borne illness depending on how the pizza was handled before putting it in the fridge. 

It’s probably just best to order yourself another pizza to enjoy. 

Is It Better To Freeze Pizza Baked Or Unbaked? 

Making your own pizza can be fun. Rolling out the dough and trying to toss it into the air can be a great memory-making experience with your family. If you create a pizza masterpiece, should you place it in the freezer unbaked or baked? 

It is best to at least have your pizza crust baked before placing it in the freezer. You will want your crust to still be a little bit doughy if possible. 

If you fully cook your crust before placing it in the freezer, when you heat it, it may end up being overcooked if you aren’t careful. 

How Can You Tell If Your Pizza Has Gone Bad? 

The most obvious way to tell that your food has gone bad is by the mold that starts to form. The best rule to live by when it comes to leftovers is “When in doubt, throw it out!” 

Is there any specific way to tell if the pizza has gone bad? 

The best way to tell if your pizza has gone bad is by the texture. The first sign that your pizza has started to turn is that it is now hard and dry. 

You can still eat the pizza when it is dry and hard, however, it might not taste great.The next sign of your pizza going bad is when it starts to smell. 

If left too long, then it will eventually become moldy. 

How Do You Keep Your Pizza Crust From Getting Hard In The Microwave? 

Reheating pizza can be a bit tricky. You need to make sure that all your pizza reheats evenly and that it’s not too hot. Also, when you reheat your pizza, the crust tends to get a little hard. 

Is there a way you can prevent your crust from getting hard in the microwave? 

To keep your pizza crust from getting hard you can either sprinkle water over the crust to keep in moisture or add a wet paper towel on top. As long as you add moisture, your crust shouldn’t become hard. 

The microwave will heat the water inside your food to make it warm again. This is why the crust becomes hard, the moisture was used to heat the food. 

Can You Eat Pizza That Was Left Out Overnight If You Reheat It? 

Evenings can sometimes get away from you. You think you have all this time and then next thing you know it’s time for bed. You feel like you only sat down to relax for just a minute before your night-time routine begins. 

Some things are acceptable to be left out overnight, but what about pizza. If you forgot to place your leftover pizza in the fridge, is it still okay to eat the next day? 

If it was out all night, can you just reheat it? 

Pizza is only good for two hours after sitting out at room temperature. According to the USDA, all perishable food items are not safe to eat after sitting out for two hours. 

If you did decide to reheat pizza that has been left out overnight, that still will not remove any of the bacteria that may have found its way on your pizza. 

Now this answer might seem wrong to people as they could claim that they are leftover pizza that was left out all the time and never got sick. While that may be true, that doesn’t mean that you weren’t at risk of getting sick or that your body didn’t have to fight off sickness because of that pizza you ate. 

Pizza should always be refrigerated and not left out for more than 2 hours. That is the best way to make sure that you and your family stay safe. 

Final Thoughts

Leftover pizza can make for some of the best lunches the next day. Taking leftover pizza to work is not only a great money saver, but delicious as well. 

You can freeze your cooked or leftover pizza in your freezer for up to six months. Next time you customize and make your own pizza, you can save it in your freezer for a few months to enjoy over and over again. 

Hannah R.

Hey, I'm Hannah and I'm the founder of Get Eatin'.

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