Do you ever make more pizza than you eat on pizza night? Are your eyes bigger than your stomach? This happens to us a lot. We make more pizza than we can eat. We overestimate the number of pies for guests on pizza night and often end up with extra to store.
We have tried a few methods to store leftover pizza; some are better than others. Let’s take a look at the best pizza storage options to store your homemade [or take n bake] pizza. All that hard work to make those delicious pies can’t go to waste by improperly storing homemade pizza or not cleaning your pizza cutters.
Key Takeaways:
- The best ways to store leftover pizza are in reusable silicone bags or the Perfect Pizza Pack containers, as they create an airtight seal to keep the pizza fresh. Aluminum foil and plastic wrap are not recommended.
- The toaster oven and air fryer are both good options for reheating pizza, as they recrisp the crust without making the pizza soggy. The microwave should be avoided as it leaves pizza soggy.
- Grilling pizza is a unique way to reheat slices that crisps up the crust and melts the cheese. Taking leftover pizza on a camping trip to reheat on a campfire grill was presented as a fun outdoor meal idea.
Table of Contents
How to Store Leftover Pizza
Any pizza lover knows that if you just throw a leftover pizza in the refrigerator, it will be dry and partly shriveled in the morning. Especially if you make thin-crust pizza, it dries out easily left out in the fridge. And thick-crust pizzas like Chicago deep dish and Detroit-style pizza can become soggy and dense.
But when it comes to storing leftover pizza, you have options like storage containers, foil, and plastic wrap.
Storage Containers
Plastic containers like Tupperware create an airtight seal and leave leftover pizza fresh for when you are ready to eat it. But the downside is that Tupperware lids always seem to be lost, and most containers aren’t big enough to fit several slices. But do you know what is the best leftover pizza storage container? It’s called the Perfect Pizza Pack.
Pizza Pack is the perfect pizza storage container. It’s in the shape of a slice of pizza and can open up to fit multiple slices. The pack comes with up to five containers that are made from BPA-free plastic and food-grade silicone. The trays are microwavable for easy convenience. We also love that they are good for the environment because you can reuse them over and over.
Aluminum Foil
Aluminum foil has been the favorite for covering leftovers for years, but it is not a good option. Wrapping leftover pizza in aluminum foil is never a good idea. For one, aluminum foil is not airtight, meaning it won’t keep your leftover pizza safe from bacteria growing on food. Plus, aluminum foil can leave foods with a metallic taste. But hey, it’s better than nothing.
Plastic Wrap
Plastic wrap is a pain. There we said it. It is hard to use, doesn’t seem to stick, and it is not airtight. We do not recommend it at all. Only use in an absolute dire pizza emergency.
Reusable Silicone Bags
If you only have a slice or two to store, use reusable silicone bags. We have been using them for a while now for everything. They are airtight and will keep your food safe. You can freeze them too. Plus it is good for the environment.
We love bringing our lunch food to work, taking them home, washing them, then using the same bag the next day. No more of those single-use plastic ziploc bags. Thank heavens!
How to Reheat Leftover Pizza
Leftover pizza; eat it cold straight from the fridge, cut it into pieces and scramble with eggs, or slather it in a specific flavor of Ranch dressing; however you like to eat leftover pizza is the right way.
Pizza that’s leftover the next day is like salsa, lasagna, and chili. For some reason, it tastes just as good on the second day! While a cold slice will satisfy a craving when you can’t be bothered to heat it up, pizza does taste better when it’s hot. We are not in a college dorm any more.
We tried five different ways to reheat leftover pizza, and here is what we found:
Toaster Oven
If you like a crispy crust similar to St. Louis-style pizza, then we suggest the toaster oven. It’s quick and does a great job crisping up the crust, so you get a crunchy bite every time. You could even get a separate toaster oven just for cold pizza.
Air Fryer
We caved and bought an air fryer last year (or was it two years ago) as everybody was talking about how great they are, but to be honest, we don’t use ours as much as we thought we would.
We like the idea of frying up French fries, cheese sticks, and egg rolls without oil, but we found that we don’t actually eat those foods that much. But for the sake of knowing if it’s good to heat up leftover pizza, we dug it out of the pantry and plugged it in.
The air fryer thoroughly heated the slice, and it took about ten minutes for the crust to crisp up nicely. We think this is a good method for heating up slices. We tried it with thin-crust Minnesota-style pizza, but with some added cooking time, we believe it would be great for thicker crusts and even stuffed crusts, too.
Conventional Oven
It seems like overkill to use the conventional oven and wait for it to preheat for just a slice or two. But we tried it and thought the actual slice turned out very similar to the toaster oven slice, which is no surprise as they are both ovens. It just seems like a lot.
If we are going to heat leftover pizza in oven, we might as well use the oven for something else like roasting garlic or baking lasagna and just threw a slice in, too, that would work, but you get the same results from a toaster oven.
Microwave
While the microwave may be one of the faster methods for reheating pizza, it doesn’t turn out a good slice. Microwaves leave leftover pizza soggy and chewy with a literal grease puddle on top. And if you put it in for more than 45 seconds, you risk the whole crust basically turning to stone. So it’s either too soggy or hard as a rock. No thank you.
Grill
Grilled pizza is amazing. Whether you fire up a charcoal or gas grill or even throw some slices on the campfire grill, this is a great way to heat up leftover pizza. The crust gets crispy, and the cheese gets hot. We recommend this.
We even plan to take some leftover pizza on our next camping trip for some late-night slices thrown on the campfire grill. Eating hot pizza under the stars while sipping some cold beers with friends, does it get any better? Very much looking forward to that!
More Questions About Leftover Pizza
How long does leftover pizza last in the fridge?
Leftover pizza in the refrigerator should be consumed within 4 days of being cooked to ensure best results. After the fourth day, it is recommended to discard the pizza to avoid the risk of illness if consumed.
Can you freeze leftover pizza?
If you find yourself with a lot of leftover pizza and don’t plan to eat it within a few days, you can always freeze pizza. Again it must be in an airtight sealed container like the freezer-safe Pizza Pack.
We sometimes make extra pizza just to freeze it so we have easy grab lunches during the week. And if your local pizzeria has your favorite pizza on special at a good price, grab two or three pizzas, slice them up, and freeze them.
How long does leftover pizza last in the freezer?
Cooked pizza that is stored in the freezer only keeps for about 2-3 months. So don’t forgot about it or move abroad and leave it. Not that we’ve ever done that before.
What’s your favorite way to store leftover pizza?
