by The best way to reheat leftover pizza is not by tossing it in the microwave for a brief zap. There are better ways to reheat leftover pizza and we’re here to tell you about the best ways to to reheat leftover pizza.
If you’ve had pizza, then you’ve likely been left with leftover slices. It’s completely understandable, as pizza pies can be quite large. Having leftover pizza is one of the reasons why pizza is the best food, because pizza is a delicious leftover food that can taste pretty darn awesome after it’s spent a night or two in the fridge. In order for your leftover pizza to taste as good as it can, you’re going to want to reheat it the correct way.
When reheating a pizza, the goal should be to return the pizza to as close of form as when it first came out of the oven. Of course, you’re likely never going to get it quite perfect, but using these Top Vegas Pizza-approved methods, you’ll get your pizza back in shape much, much better than if you were to reheat pizza in a microwave.
When reheating a pizza, we want the cheese to get melted again and the crust to return to having the crispiness it first came with. Reheating pizza in the microwave might make the cheese melt, but the crust can become very gummy and chewy, which is certainly not what we want.
Here are the best ways to reheat pizza.
Reheat Pizza in a Skillet
One of the best ways for people to reheat leftover pizza at home is to do so in a skillet on a stove-top. Most of the time, you’ll only have a slice or two that you’re looking to reheat, so this method works great. You’ll end up with a slice that maintains a crispy crust but is nice and hot with melted cheese. Heck, if you do it good enough, you might even be able to convince some people that the pizza is fresh out of the oven.
The first thing you’ll want to do is grab a skillet and put in on medium heat on the stove-top. Once the pan gets hot, add a slice, crust side down, and let it cook there for a couple of minutes. You’ll notice the top of the pizza where the cheese or other toppings are will begin to show some oil and melting. That’s when you know it’s time to proceed to the next step.
For the next step, get yourself some water. Filling up a small glass that’s easy to pour out of will do. Pour a little bit of water directly onto the pan on each side of the pizza slice. A few drops or about a teaspoon per side will do, but don’t use too much water. Be careful as to not pour the water on top of the pizza.
After you pour the water on both sides, cover the pan. You’ll notice that the pan starts to steam up. Cook the pizza covered like this for another couple of minutes until the cheese is melted to your liking and then your pizza to ready to serve.
Reheat Pizza in the Oven
Another great way to reheat cold pizza is to do so in the oven. First, you’ll want to preheat the oven to 375-450 degrees. Make sure you let the oven reach the temperature you set it to and that you don’t jump the gun by being impatient.
Grab a baking sheet and line it with tinfoil. Place your slices on top of the tinfoil. Once you oven has reached the target temperature, place the baking sheet with the pizza slices on it into the oven. We prefer to use a rack the is lower in the oven. From there, bake the pizza for about five minutes or until it’s back to life the way you like it.
Reheat Pizza on a Pizza Stone
If you’re the owner of a pizza stone at home, then you probably love it and swear by it when making your own pizza. You can use a pizza stone for more than just baking a pizza, though. You can also use a pizza stone to reheat a pizza, or even just to reheat a slice or two. Using a pizza stone to reheat a pizza is simple, but it can take a little bit longer than you might like. That said, if you’re one who likes to reheat a pizza in the oven, the time it takes is similar. Reheating pizza using an oven and a pizza stone can give you a great crispiness to the crust while softening the upper part of the body and cheese.
When it comes to how to reheat a pizza in the oven using a pizza stone, the first thing you’ll want to do is get the stone and place it in the oven. We like using the bottom rack. Preheat the oven to 400-500 degrees. While the oven preheats, the stone heats up and rises to temperature, which is what you want. This is where it can take a little longer than you may like, but it’s worth it if you ask us.
Once the oven (and pizza stone) reach the desired temperature, place your slices on the stone, close the oven door, and bake for 5-8 minutes, depending on how you like the pizza. We like to wait until the cheese starts to bubble again, similar to how it would bubble upon being freshly baked at first. You can, of course, leave the slices on the pizza stone in the oven to bake longer if you like a more well done slice.
Reheat Pizza on the Grill
This method to reheat pizza is a little more out of the box. It involves reheating cold pizza on a grill, and yes, it works much better at resuscitating a pizza than zapping it in the microwave.
Set your grill to medium-high heat and let it warm up to temperature, which usually takes a few minutes. Once the grill is hot, put your pizza slices directly on the grill grate. Just make sure that the gaps in the grating aren’t so large that the pizza falls through. After five or six minutes, the pizza should be thoroughly reheated with melted cheese and a nice return of crispiness to the crust.
