Best Way to Reheat Pizza (Tested 6 Methods)

A slice of day-old pizza is one of the great free lunches, if you reheat it correctly. A slice of day-old pizza microwaved on a paper plate is a rubbery, limp tragedy. I tested six methods side by side with identical slices from the same pizza. Here are the results. ## The test setup One large pepperoni pizza refrigerated overnight. Six slices, each reheated by a different method. Evaluated on: - Crust texture (should be crisp underneath, not soggy or burnt) - Cheese state (melted but not broken or greasy) - Total time - Effort required ## Method 1: Skillet with lid (the winner) 1. Dry nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. 2. Slice in, crust down, no oil. 3. Heat 2 minutes. 4. Add 2 drops of water to the empty side of the pan. 5. Cover immediately with lid. 6. Cook 1 more minute. **Result:** Crust is crackling crisp. Cheese melts from the trapped steam. The whole slice is hot through. **Time:** 3 min. This beats every other method on every axis except total volume (can only reheat 1-2 slices at a time). ## Method 2: Oven, preheated pizza stone 1. Preheat stone at 500 F for 30 min. 2. Slice directly on stone. 3. 5 minutes. **Result:** Excellent, comparable to skillet. But you wait 30 minutes for the stone to heat and you use a lot of energy. **Time:** 35 min. Only worth it if reheating 6+ slices. ## Method 3: Oven, no preheated stone 1. 400 F, pizza directly on rack (catches drips on foil below). 2. 8 minutes. **Result:** Good, but crust is slightly leathery rather than crisp. Cheese re-melts but loses some texture. **Time:** 15 min including preheat. ## Method 4: Air fryer 1. 375 F, 3 minutes. **Result:** Very good. Crust crisps well, cheese re-melts. Pepperoni crisps up (can be a plus or a minus). **Time:** 4 min. Second-place finisher, excellent for single slices if you own an air fryer. ## Method 5: Toaster oven 1. 400 F, 5 minutes. **Result:** Good, essentially a smaller conventional oven. Crust crisps adequately. **Time:** 6 min. ## Method 6: Microwave (the loser) 1. 45 seconds on high. **Result:** Cheese is molten but the crust is a wet, soggy disaster. The slice flops when you pick it up. Gum layer between cheese and sauce. **Time:** 1 min. The microwave trick of putting a cup of water in the microwave with the pizza reduces sogginess a little but does not fix it. Microwaves steam, and steam is the enemy of crust. Skip it. ## Why skillet wins: the science Pizza crust reheats best when: 1. Bottom gets dry heat conduction (that is how pizza is baked in the first place). 2. Top gets steam for a brief moment to re-melt cheese. A skillet with a lid does both simultaneously in 3 minutes. Dry pan contacts the crust directly, restoring crispness. The lid traps a tiny amount of moisture (from the 2 drops of water) that creates steam just long enough to soften the cheese, not long enough to sog the crust. A microwave does the opposite: steams the whole slice without ever applying dry heat to the crust. ## Bonus method: the wet paper towel hack (microwave only) If you MUST microwave (no stove access at work): 1. Wrap slice in a damp paper towel. 2. Microwave 30 seconds on medium (not high). 3. Unwrap immediately. **Result:** Better than bare microwave. Still worse than any other method. Use only as last resort. ## For multiple slices The skillet method is limited to one or two slices at a time. If you need to reheat a whole pizza: - **5+ slices:** oven with pizza stone, 500 F, preheated 30 min, slide slices on for 4 minutes. - **3-4 slices:** sheet pan in oven, 450 F, 6-7 min. - **2 slices:** skillet with lid. - **1 slice:** skillet with lid or air fryer. ## The storage side of the problem Reheating only works if the pizza was stored correctly. - **Do:** Stack slices with a sheet of parchment between each. Seal in a container or wrap tightly. Fridge, up to 3 days. - **Don't:** Leave in the original delivery box with one slice folded on top of another, open flaps, bottom of fridge. That is how pizza turns to cardboard. ## Reheating thin vs thick crust Thin crust (New York style) reheats perfectly in the skillet. Thick crust (Chicago, Detroit, Sicilian) does better in the oven because the thicker dough needs time to heat through without burning the bottom. 400 F, 10 minutes for thick styles. ## The freezer option Leftover pizza freezes well. Wrap slices individually in plastic, bag them. Reheat from frozen in the oven at 400 F for 12 minutes (do not thaw). Texture is about 90 percent of fresh. The skillet-with-lid method has converted more people to "leftover pizza is better than fresh pizza" than any other trick. Try it tomorrow. The microwave was never the right answer.