Can You Reheat Pizza in an Air Fryer?
Pizza is undoubtedly one of the most popular foods of modern times. I don’t think I know anyone who does not enjoy pizza in some form or another. With all that stretchy cheese, on a crispy base, slathered in tomato sauce, and filled with delicious toppings! Just thinking of it makes my mouth water.
The best way to eat your pizza, of course, is straight out of the pizza oven and piping hot. But if you have leftovers, it is useful to know that you can reheat pizza in an air fryer.
You arrive home from work later than expected, to a house full of hungry kids. The thought of cooking dinner makes you want to cry. The new pizza place down the street has had rave reviews from the neighbors. Why not give it a try?
When ordering pizza, it is always so tempting to take the biggest size. Pizza parlors have got this little sales trick down to a T. In truth, it costs them so little to make your pizza bigger rather than smaller. But of course, it costs you more, filling their coffers.
Large versus extra-large, not much difference in the amount of the ingredients. But they have all sorts of ‘specials’ and packages that lure us into ordering the bigger size, whether we need it or not.
And then we are left with 2 or 3 slices that remain after everyone has had their fill and cannot eat another morsel. So now you have to ask the question, what do I do with the leftovers? Can you reheat pizza in an air fryer?
The answer is simple. Wrap them up, put them in the fridge, and bring them out as soon as you hear that lamenting voice, ‘Mom….I’m hungry!’ You will probably hear this voice coming across with the deepest sense of urgency, sounding as though the owner of the voice hasn’t eaten for a week.
So you need to know the quickest way to heat up that leftover pizza. You probably own a microwave, and may be tempted to throw the pizza into the microwave for a minute or two, and then hand it to the hungry child, all soft and soggy.
But brace yourself for the complaints. Pizza that has been reheated in the microwave is just not nice! The base loses its crispiness, and the cheese goes all gooey. And if you leave it in for a moment too long, the whole thing shrivels and turns into a hard cracker.
Well, there is an easy solution to this problem, in the form of the air fryer. This little appliance can cook so many things—you can even use an air fryer to cook frozen jalapeno poppers and other snacks! Can you reheat pizza in an air fryer? Yes! Most definitely! In fact, pizzas should come with reheating instructions, telling you that the best way to do this is in the air fryer.
How To Reheat Pizza In An Air Fryer
Pizza comes in so many forms. The options are literally endless. Thick crust, or thin crust? With toppings, or without? What kind of cheese? How much sauce? Decisions, decisions.
The one thing that I think almost everyone would agree with me on is that pizza has to be eaten piping hot. When you have leftovers, you need to know what is the most effective method for reheating them, without ruining the taste or texture.
The air fryer is one of the most useful and practical culinary inventions of recent years. It may come as no surprise to you to learn that this appliance was one of the most popular items given as Christmas gifts last year.
The air fryer can be used for cooking many different items, as well as for reheating foods. There are so many advantages to using an air fryer to reheat your pizza, rather than other methods.
- The air fryer is very economical to use. It has been created using the most up-to-date technology, with energy conservation in mind. As a result, the air fryer is energy efficient, using very little electricity. It uses far less energy to reheat pizza in an air fryer than it would use to heat it in a conventional oven.
- It is convenient and mess-free. The air fryer is easy to clean, and it takes very little effort to reheat pizza in an air fryer. See our useful tips later on, for how to clean your air fryer.
- When you reheat pizza in an air fryer, it tastes as good as when it was first made. It does not taste like a two-day-old reheated pizza that nobody really wants to eat.
- Air fryers actually dehydrate food! So reheating pizza in an air fryer preserves the crispiness of the crust, rather than turning it soft and soggy, which is what happens when you reheat pizza in the microwave.
Some Useful Tips For Reheating Pizza In An Air Fryer
You may think that you can just throw the pizza into the air fryer, press a few buttons, and you’ve got it. Well, it is simple, but not quite that simple. There are a few tips that will help you to achieve the best result.
- When reheating pizza in an air fryer, the heat setting that you need depends on the thickness of the crust. The thicker the crust, the hotter the air fryer needs to be.
- Try not to put too many slices in the air fryer at once. It’s probably best to do no more than 2 or possibly 3 at a time, depending on their size.
- Do not let the pieces of pizza overlap, or touch each other. If they do, they may stick together. The bits that are covered will not crisp up nicely.
- Keep an eye on your pizza while it is reheating. Getting the right temperature and timing can be a bit of trial and error. Keep checking your pizza, and you will soon learn the best way to do it to suit your personal taste.
A Step-By-Step Guide To Reheating Pizza In An Air Fryer
When reheating pizza, the goal is always to make the pizza piping hot, but still lovely and crispy, as if it has just come out of the pizza oven freshly made. Follow our step-by-step guide for how to reheat pizza in an air fryer. This will give you perfectly reheated pizza every time.
To Reheat Thin -Crust Pizza
- Turn on your air fryer and preheat it to 325°. (It heats up very quickly, so this should only take a few minutes.)
- Place the pizza slices in the basket. Take care not to let them touch or overlap each other.
- Set the timer for 3 minutes.
- Carefully remove the pizza slices, using a silicone or wooden lifter.
- Tuck in and enjoy.
To Reheat Thick Crust Pizza
- Turn on your air fryer and preheat it to 360° Fahrenheit.
- Place the pizza slices in the basket, making sure that they are not touching each other.
- Set the timer for 3 minutes. (The timing will depend on how thick the pizza is, and how big the slices are)
- Check the pizza to see if it is hot enough. If the cheese on top is bubbling, you can take it out. If it is not hot enough, put it back in for another 2 minutes.
- Enjoy your pizza.
Can You Cook Store Bought Frozen Pizza In An Air Fryer?
I love having a couple of frozen pizzas in my freezer. It is such a useful standby for those days when you really don’t feel like cooking.
Frozen pizza is very handy for those times, but it can also be a nuisance because it takes ages for the oven to heat up to the correct temperature before you can cook the pizza.
The air fryer has changed all that. Cooking frozen pizza in the air fryer is both fast and easy. It only takes a few minutes, and you’re eating scrumptious, hot cheesy pizza.
Cooking frozen pizza in an air fryer works better in a shelf style rather than a basket style air fryer because the baskets are not usually big enough to hold a full-size frozen pizza all at once.
There is no need to defrost the pizza before cooking. It can go straight from the freezer into the air fryer.
To Cook A Frozen Pizza In An Air Fryer
For cooking a frozen pizza, the air fryer needs to be hotter than for reheating cooked pizza.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°.
- Place the frozen pizza directly onto the rack in the air fryer. Set the timer for 6 minutes.
- Check if the cheese is bubbling. If it is, the pizza is ready. If it isn’t, put it back in for another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove carefully and cut into slices before serving.
Useful Air Fryer Hints And Tips
You may be one of those super-tidy people who always like their kitchen to be sparkling clean and clutter-free. Nothing on the counters and everything put away in its place. This sounds wonderful, and I’d love my kitchen to look like this all the time, but it does have a downside.
Let me share a useful little secret with you. Clear some counter space for your air fryer, and keep it out on your kitchen counter all the time, rather than packed away neatly in a cabinet under the counter.
If your air fryer is out on the counter, it takes almost zero effort to pop that slice of pizza in, and you will know in an instant how easy it is to reheat pizza in an air fryer.
While counter space is always at a premium, and there is so much stuff in my kitchen, this little trick has been a game-changer for me. It was well-worth sacrificing the counter space to have this brilliant appliance at hand and ready to be used in an instant. It has made daily kitchen tasks so much more simple.
This is not my only helpful air fryer hack. Here are a few other useful tips and tricks that will make cooking with your air fryer a breeze.
- The base of the air fryer can get very hot. Depending on what type of counter you have, the heat may damage the surface. I recommend placing the appliance on a board in order to protect your kitchen counter surface from the heat.
- Because the air fryer gives off a lot of heat, it should be placed in a position with good ventilation, preferably in front of an open window, so that air can circulate around the appliance.
- Avoid using non-stick cooking spray on your air fryer basket. It has a special non-stick coating, so it is not necessary, and the spray may cause this coating to peel.
- Always clean your air fryer after you have used it. Allow it to cool, then wash the basket and pan in warm, soapy water with a few drops of dish-washing liquid.
- Use a soft, clean sponge to wash the basket and pan. Never use an abrasive scourer or sponge on your air fryer. Avoid using things like steel wool. The basket and pan are treated with a special non-stick coating. Abrasive scourers and cleaning agents will scratch and damage the non-stick coating.
- Using a clean, damp, soft cloth, wipe down the outer surface of the air fryer all over. Cleaning your air fryer well after every use will not only prolong the life of your appliance. If you keep it out on your counter, you will no doubt want it to look shiny and clean, rather than greasy and grubby.
- After washing, dry your air fryer basket and pan with a soft towel. Removing all traces of water will prevent damage to the basket and pan.
- Avoid using metal spoons, tongs, and lifters in your air fryer. These will scratch the non-stick coating, and damage the surface of your air fryer basket. Rather use only silicone or wooden utensils.
By implementing the above hints and tips, you can reheat pizza in an air fryer and enjoy delectable pizza within minutes.
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