Reheating our leftover pizza is a serious matter that we probably should discuss sooner rather than later. I mean, just mentioning “reheating” and “pizza” brings up bad memories, at least for me, as the only thing that comes up to my mind when I think of leftover pizza, is the taste and texture of the soggy and mushy pizza slices coming off the microwave when I try to reheat it the next day.
Not a pretty sight I can assure you. But I mean, it’s easier and more economical than preheating my main oven just to leave the few pieces of pizza left from the previous day for a couple of minutes to heat, right?
Apparently, these two options are not the only ones out there. And in this article, I am going to show you just how you can reheat your pizza in an Air fryer.
What is exactly an Air Fryer?
It’s this new invention that most people now acquire at their homes, and honestly, I think you should too.
Air Fryers basically deep-fry your food, but with air instead of oil. Sounds confusing, I know. But, I am going to break down for you. The Air fryer has a fan and a heater so that the hot air circulates around the food and the fan makes sure all the hot air is equally heating the food resulting in cooked and crispy delicious meals, with almost no oil at all!
If that doesn’t sound tempting enough, I don’t know what is.
Now for the million-dollar question:
Can we reheat pizza in an Air fryer?
Of course, we can. And perfectly so too!
It’s really the best of both worlds. You get to have the perfectly crispy, sizzling, and hot pizza slice as if it’s heated in the regular oven and at the same time you won’t have to wait for longer than a few minutes, so rapid like the microwave.
The only downside is that you will have to do 2-3 slices at a time as Air fryers are not that big. However, I don’t believe we should consider this as a problem as it already takes a few minutes to reheat your pizza, so overall it won’t be long or bothersome.
Benefits of reheating pizza in an air fryer:
I have some convincing to do, that’s why I am going to lay out all the advantages of actually using an Air fryer to reheat your pizza.
Quick reheating:
It is definitely faster than the regular over, takes almost no time to preheat and just a few minutes to actually crisp up the pizza. Although, it is not as fast as the microwave. But on comparing the results, the Air fryer wins without a doubt.
Suitable for any pizza type:
No need to worry about the thickness of the crust or the toppings when it comes to reheating the pizza in the Air fryer. They all reheat perfectly with the same amazing results.
Crisps up the pizza:
Like I mentioned before, reheating your pizza in the Air fryer really is the icing on the cake. Less time than the oven, more crispy, and better cooked than the microwave. In fact, it almost resembles the freshly made one when it comes out of the oven, with the gooey melted cheese, and everything.
No need to use oil:
This is a general rule when it comes to cooking or reheating any type of food in the Air fryer. No oil is needed. As simple as that. You will have yourself a healthy and delicious food that doesn’t require a drop of oil.
Less cleaning:
The Air fryer has its own rack, that’s why we won’t need any baking tray or aluminum foil to set before putting our food in the device. It’s easy to clean and doesn’t cause much trouble.
How many times can you reheat a pizza?
Although, there aren’t any specific guidelines to the number of times you can reheat home-cooked food, yet, generally speaking, it is advised to not reheat your food many times.
Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about that, as I don’t think you will need to reheat your food that often. Only if you are cooking food in bulk, which can be frozen in portions so that you won’t have to reheat and refreeze it.
Can you reheat a pizza twice?
Like I mentioned earlier, it is not advised to reheat leftovers twice. For safe reheating in a saucepan, microwave or oven, leftovers should be reheated until steaming hot.
Maintaining a temperature of 165°F (70°C) for at least 2 minutes is the key to safe reheating. It could take longer if they are not completely defrosted. So, if you are wondering how long to reheat pizza. This is your answer.
Tips that guarantee the success of reheating your pizza in the air fryer:
- Add parchment paper to the bottom of the Air fryer tray so that when the cheese melts, you don’t need to clean the Air fryer tray.
- Oven style Air frying: just place your food in the middle of the Air fryer tray so that it’s not close to the heating center of the device.
- Crisp up the bottom of the pizza slices by spreading a perforated aluminum foil.
- In case of having a pizza slice with thick crust and a relatively long time in the Air fryer, then remove the toppings so that they won’t dry up during the heating time and leave the pizza slice to crisp up for half the required time and then put the toppings back for the other half of the time.
- Adjust small cooking time at first and check the pizza slices regularly and add a few more minutes if needed, so that you have perfectly crispy pizza slices.
How do you reheat pizza in an air fryer?
Ingredients
- Any number of leftover pizza slices
- Oil spray (optional for toppings)
Instructions
- Start by spreading parchment paper on the bottom of the Air fryer tray. Place on top of the parchment paper your pizza slices. Make sure they aren’t overlapping so that the heated air coat all the slices and all of them are equally crispy.
- Spray some oil on the pizza slices so that the toppings don’t over crisp and dry out.
- Start your Air fryer and adjust the temperature at 360°F/180°C. The time can vary according to the thickness of your pizza crust. That’s why I recommend adjusting the time at 3 minutes first, then checking afterward, if it’s not ready then leave it for an extra 3 minutes maximum.
- Enjoy your pizza after cooling for 2 minutes.
Notes
- We didn’t preheat the Air fryer in this recipe that’s why we adjusted the time to 3-6 minutes. However, if we are reheating the pizza on multiple rounds, then the first round will take longer time than the ones after it.
- This recipe was based on 3.7 to 6 qt. air fryers, larger air fryers require less time than the time mentioned.
Hi, I’m Julie, the passionate foodie and founder of Juliesfamilykitchen.com. I created this blog out of a drive to prove someone wrong, and then I realized how much I truly enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. In my free time, when I’m not running around after my kids or spending quality time with my partner, you can usually find me in the kitchen experimenting with new dishes.