Hot or cold, pizza will always have your back when you’re hungry. But if you have leftovers, can you really eat them the next day?
Have you ever wondered if you can eat frozen pizza the next day? It’s always important to play it safe when it comes to storing food, so let’s find out.
Yes, you can eat frozen pizza the next day as long as you store it properly. Leftover pizza should be allowed to cool and then placed in the refrigerator immediately, where it will keep for 3-4 days.
Frozen pizza is great convenience food. That said, even convenience foods don’t last forever. So let’s talk about how long it keeps, exactly how to store it, and how to tell if it’s gone bad.
Can You Eat Frozen Pizza the Following Day?
If you’ve cooked frozen pizza and you have some left over, it’s fine to reheat and eat it the next day as long as you stored it in the fridge overnight. As soon as your pizza is cool, place it in an airtight container and put it straight in your fridge, and it will remain safe to eat.
As with all perishable foods, leftover pizza shouldn’t be left at room temperature for more than 1-2 hours or it will spoil and become a breeding ground for bacteria that can make you sick. Pizza, after all, is topped with dairy and meat, both of which require refrigeration.
Even vegan pizzas should be refrigerated if you wish to save the leftovers, as bacteria can spread through the tomato sauce and vegetables if the pizza is left at room temperature. It is always a good idea to store cooked leftovers in the fridge if you wish to use them for another meal.
How Should You Store Leftover Pizza?
The critical thing is the temperature. Leftover pizza must be stored below 40°F (4°C), so in the fridge. It is also best to put it in an airtight container, as this reduces the airflow and prevents the pizza from drying out or getting soggy (if your fridge is damp).
To achieve this, let the pizza cool down once it has been cooked, and then put the pizza into a sealed container. You may find that it is best to cut it into slices first to make this easier. Put the lid on and place it in the fridge.
It is important to let the pizza cool first, as adding hot food to your fridge can cause problems. It may raise the temperature on the inside of the fridge to above 40°F (4°C), which could compromise the safety of the other food that’s stored in it.
Note that you should refrigerate leftover frozen pizza within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if the room is over 90°F (32°C). The danger zone for bacterial growth is between 40°F (4°C) and 140°F (60°C), and you should not leave pizza out for more than 1-2 hours within that range.
How Long Will Frozen Pizza Remain Good For?
Properly refrigerated, leftover pizza will keep for 3-4 days. Of course, this depends on the ingredients and the temperature of your fridge. If your pizza has short-life ingredients such as seafood, try to eat it up within no longer than 1-2 days maximum.
If you want to re-freeze the pizza instead of putting it in the fridge, you can do this, too. Wrap it tightly in an airtight container so that it doesn’t get freezer burn, and place it in the freezer. It should remain safe to eat indefinitely, but the quality may go down after a couple of months, so aim to use it up quickly if you can.
How Can You Tell If Frozen Pizza Has Gone Bad
If you have forgotten about leftover frozen pizza and found it in the fridge after a few days, there are some methods you can use to tell if it has gone bad. You need to check its appearance, smell, and texture. It is best to get the pizza out of the fridge and inspect it closely (but not bite into it).
If you can see any signs of mold appearing on any of the ingredients, the pizza needs to be thrown away.
This is true even if it is only on one ingredient; the rest of the pizza may contain invisible mold spores. Meat that has taken on a gray or greenish hue may no longer be safe to eat. Check the other ingredients too.
If the pizza looks fine, gently touch the different ingredients. Any sliminess or stickiness indicates that it has gone off. If the meat and other ingredients are still firm, there’s a chance the pizza is still safe to eat.
Finally, there’s the smell test. You should allow your pizza to warm up to room temperature before performing this test, as cold pizza has very little scent. Once it has sat on the counter for about 10 minutes, smell it carefully. If the pizza smells sour, musty, or otherwise strange, it should be thrown away.
How to Reheat Frozen Pizza
You can reheat frozen pizza in the oven or the microwave. The microwave is faster but tends to ruin the texture, so the oven may be preferable if you aren’t in a hurry. You should make sure that you cover the pizza with some foil to prevent it from burning, and use a low temperature.
If you are microwaving the pizza, do so in short bursts to avoid making it chewy and rubbery, and don’t heat it more than is necessary.
For a crispy leftover pizza, preheat your oven, toaster oven, or air fryer to 400°F (204°C), place the pizza on a pan, and slide it in the oven or air fryer for a few minutes.
Final Words
If you want to store leftover frozen pizza for a second meal or snack, make sure that you cool it and place it in the fridge within 1-2 hours of cooking it. This ensures that it will last well and it should then be safe to eat for up to 3-4 days after it was first cooked.
