Reheating pizza badly is one of the easiest ways to ruin good leftovers. The microwave makes it soggy; most people’s default approach leaves the base soft and the cheese rubbery. The right method restores the base to crisp and the cheese to properly melted — almost like fresh.
The Best Method: Skillet on the Hob
This is the fastest and most effective method for reheating one or two slices. Place a heavy frying pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. No oil needed. When hot, add the pizza slices base-down. Cook for 2–3 minutes until the base is crisp and the underside has some colour. Then add 2–3 drops of water to the pan beside (not on) the pizza, immediately cover with a lid, and cook for another 1–2 minutes. The steam from the water reheats the cheese and toppings gently from above without making the base wet. Remove and eat immediately.
The result: crispy base, properly melted cheese, hot toppings. Better than delivery in some cases.
Method 2: Pizza Oven
If you have the oven fired up anyway, reheating pizza in a pizza oven at 200–250°C takes 2–3 minutes and produces an excellent result — the stone crisps the base from below while the dome heat warms the top. Don’t use full pizza temperature (450–500°C) for reheating; the exterior will burn before the centre is warm. Reduce the flame and let the stone cool slightly before loading the leftover slices.
Method 3: Oven with a Pizza Stone or Tray
For reheating multiple slices at once, a domestic oven works well. Preheat to 200°C (fan). Place the pizza directly on a preheated pizza stone or a hot baking tray (preheat the tray in the oven so it’s hot when the pizza goes on). Cook for 5–8 minutes until the base is crisp and the cheese has re-melted. Using a cold baking tray is the most common mistake — the pizza steams rather than crisps.
What Not to Do
- Microwave: Fast but produces a soft, chewy base and uneven heating. The only situation where this is acceptable is if you genuinely don’t care about texture.
- Cold baking tray in the oven: Steams the base instead of crisping it.
- Too high a temperature: The crust burns before the centre is warm. 200°C fan is the sweet spot for domestic oven reheating.
- Covering with foil: Traps steam and softens the base. Leave uncovered.
Storing Pizza for Reheating
Pizza keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let it cool completely before refrigerating — storing warm pizza creates condensation that makes it soggy. Stack slices in an airtight container with a sheet of baking paper between layers to prevent them sticking. For longer storage, pizza freezes well — wrap individual slices in cling film and freeze for up to a month. Reheat from frozen in a 200°C oven for 10–12 minutes or defrost first and use the skillet method.
Timing
| Method | Time | Result | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skillet + steam | 4–5 min | Excellent | 1–2 slices |
| Pizza oven (200–250°C) | 2–3 min | Excellent | Multiple slices, oven already on |
| Domestic oven + hot stone | 6–8 min | Very good | Multiple slices |
| Microwave | 1–2 min | Poor (soft base) | Speed only, texture irrelevant |
See also: best pizza stones | how to cook frozen pizza in a pizza oven | Margherita pizza recipe
Reheating Multiple Slices
For two or more slices, the domestic oven is more practical than the skillet. Preheat the oven to its highest setting (220–240°C) with a baking tray inside. When the oven is fully up to temperature, place the cold pizza slices directly on the hot tray — the preheated metal conducts heat directly into the base and re-crisps it from below while the oven heat warms the toppings from above. 5–7 minutes is enough for most pizzas. Don’t cover with foil — this traps steam and makes the base soggy.
Air Fryer Method
An air fryer reheats pizza well — the circulating hot air re-crisps the base and heats the toppings in 3–4 minutes at 180°C. It’s faster than the oven for one or two slices, produces a reliably crisp result, and doesn’t require preheating a full oven. The limitation is basket size — large slices may not fit flat, and folding or overlapping slices gives uneven results. If you have an air fryer, it’s arguably the best method for a single slice of standard-size pizza.
Reheating in the Pizza Oven
If you have leftover pizza from a pizza oven session, the oven itself — once it has cooled to around 200–250°C — reheats pizza in under 60 seconds and produces the closest result to fresh. Slide the slice directly onto the stone, watch it closely, and retrieve it as soon as the cheese starts to bubble. This only works practically if you’re already doing a follow-up pizza session the next day and the oven is being fired up anyway — it’s not worth lighting the oven just to reheat leftovers. See our guide to what else to cook in a pizza oven for more ways to make use of a fired-up oven.
