I Tried 5 Ways to Reheat Pizza. One Was the Absolute Best. [CNET]

I put an air fryer, toaster oven, large oven, skillet and microwave to the test to find the absolute best way to reheat slices of pizza.

In what may very well qualify as the most sacrilegious act of my life, I recently purchased an entire large pizza for the sole purpose of packing it up for the fridge and freezer. This despicable act had a noble goal, however, which was to determine, once and for all, what is the best way to reheat pizza.

As a household of one, ordering a whole pizza isn’t economically feasible and frequently results in leftovers, thus finding the best way to reheat pizza is as much a personal endeavor as it is professional.

Enter me, one large pizza and five different methods for reheating it: microwave, toaster oven, conventional oven, air fryer and my personal, dark horse proposal: sauté pan with lid. 

And what are we looking for in a reheated pizza slice? Three things, mainly: crust integrity, cheese texture and the ability for the method to increase the crisp of pepperoni, America’s favorite topping, which can actually be made better than its original state by the process of reheating.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I chose a square pizza with a medium-thick crust here, both for space reasons and to better represent pizza consistency across the country, rather than the droopy-thin slices that can categorize New York style pizza, where this experiment was conducted.

In order from least effective to most effective, utilizing both refrigerated and frozen slices, here are how the five methods for reheating pizza panned out.

Microwave

• Pros: quickest
• Cons: limited space, least quality
• Time requirement: 1 minute

There once was a time that the mighty microwave was an all-powerful device, saving us precious time and essentially doing the cooking for us. Those days are over. Following some AI advice, I opted not to cover the pizza slices for the microwave, as to not cause them to steam, but did place them on a plate, because I’m not a monster. (She says, as someone who regularly defrosts bagels directly on the glass.) Working in 30-second intervals, the cheese got hot and sizzly in only one minute. If you really don’t have two to four more minutes to spare for a better outcome, then I suppose this is the method for you. 

This was the only method where I could actually perceive a slight difference in the slice that began cold versus the one that began frozen, in the same amount of cooking time. As pizza is relatively thin and even and the bread crust airy, the frozen slice meets up with the cold slice pretty quickly. The crust wasn’t soggy here, exactly, but definitely doughy. If you have a palate that is sensitive to crunchy breadstuffs, then this is a potential upside for microwave usage. (My dad will fight me on this one. When I visit home, reheating pizza is automatically a two-device process.) If you are not a fan of cold pizza, then the microwave will do, but just know that you can do better.

Saute pan with lid

• Pros: direct heat, good quality
• Cons: Uneven cooking, limited space
• Time requirement: 3-4 minutes

There is a specific circumstance where this method may be useful: a summer rental house with no toaster oven, no air fryer and no air conditioning, such that turning on the oven seems oppressive. If there’s a microwave available, then it’s a toss-up. You’ll definitely get a crunchier crust here, but it requires a little more time and near constant vigilance.

Placing the pizza slices on a dry saute pan, over medium heat, mimics the hot, flat surface of a pizza oven. The crust will benefit from this direct surface heat, but you have to be mindful not to burn it. The lid is necessary, otherwise the cheese and toppings won’t get appreciably warm, but you’re effectively steaming it from the top. The cheese doesn’t get quite as melty in this way, and there’s no hope for crispy pepperoni, but it all gets hot, and you’ll have a satisfying crust crunch if you seek it.

Conventional oven

• Pros: even heat, most spacious, highest quality
• Cons: slowest method
• Time requirement: 10-20 minutes

Ultimately, the only element working against the conventional oven is the time it requires. My oven took about 10 minutes to come up to the recommended, high-heat temp of 400 degrees, then the pizza, with medium thickness, needed about 7 minutes to become hot and sizzly. I opted to use a sheet pan here, rather than just put the slices directly on the rack, since cleaning a full size oven of drippings is way more annoying than potentially cleaning a toaster oven. 

Quality wise, though, this was easily one of the best outcomes. Maybe a little less cheese caramelization than some other methods, but the crust was deeply crunchy, aided by the sheet pan, and the pepperoni actually got a little charred on the edges, which was a bonus. If you’re looking at reheating an entire pizza (like, how did that even happen?) or even just more than a couple of slices at a time, then this moves from second runner-up to big winner.

Air fryer

• Pros: air circulation, even heat, highest quality, no additional dishes
• Cons: least space, no window for observing reheat process
• Time requirement: 2-3 minutes

Depending on the size of your air fryer, there may be a big drawback here in terms of how many slices you can fit. If it’s only one (as is the case with mine) and your meal requirement is more than one, then this method loses first place on a technicality, because reheating two slices separately is antithetical to the convenience factor of reheated pizza. 

Assuming your larger air fryer can fit at least two, I’ll tell you what — the air fryer was surprisingly fast with its hot air circulation. Without a window into the proceedings, I was surprised to find the pizza bubbly and crispy after only about two and a half minutes. And the outcome was basically perfect: melty, caramelized cheese, crunchy crust and perfectly blistered pepperoni.

Toaster Oven

• Pros: close, direct heat, highest quality, no additional dishes
• Cons: limited space
• Time requirement: 5 minutes

This has been my go-to pizza reheating method ever since I have owned a toaster oven. Its functionality is myriad and goes way beyond toast. It can be used to actually bake: I’ve made both a small pan of cornbread and a cookie or two in the toaster oven. Reheating pizza is its superpower, however, in my opinion. 

The super close, direct heating coils are warming the pizza from the top and bottom both evenly and simultaneously. The top heating coil almost acts as a broiler, caramelizing the cheese and causing the pepperoni to curl up nicely at the edges. Plus, the open window allows you to see when the cheese and pepperoni start sizzling, taking the guesswork out of when the pizza is ready. Plus, laying the slices directly on the rack in the toaster oven means one less dish to wash at the end of the meal.