How To Reheat Pizza In An Air Fryer (The Right Way)

Gone are the days of eating cold pizza for breakfast! Now you can enjoy perfectly crispy pizza for breakfast (or dinner I guess) thanks to the air fryer! That’s right friends, here’s how to reheat pizza in an air fryer!

I’m *sometimes* known to be a bit lazy when it comes to eating leftover pizza. Like, I am not picky, I just want food so cold pizza doesn’t bother me. But, my friends and family seem convinced that I should be heating up my pizza.

But what’s the best way to reheat pizza, really?

The microwave? Heavens no – talk about chewy sad pizza crust.

The oven? Who has time for that?

But then the air fryer became an option and I thought I should give it a try. Low and behold, reheated crispy pizza in the air fryer is absolutely delightful and much better than cold pizza.

There are some tricks to learning how to reheat pizza in an air fryer. In this post I will go over everything I have learned about perfectly reheating pizza in the air fryer so you do not have to trial and error the process like I did (this process works with just about any pizza recipe).

Here’s what you’ll need

While there aren’t really ingredients for reheating pizza in an air fryer. There are some different kinds of pizza that can be reheated and require different cooking times.

• Leftover Pizza: This post is specifically for reheating pizza, meaning leftover pizza. While you can make fresh pizza in the air fryer, this is not the post for that. For that, head over to my Air Fryer Pizza recipe. This process will work for any type of leftover pizza as long as it’s not frozen. Just be sure to see my notes about cooking time for thin verses thick crust pizza.

How to reheat pizza in an air fryer

Reheating pizza in an air fryer is super simple. Only two steps and less than 5 minutes to perfectly hot and like-new pizza.

Step 1: Prep
Place your leftover pizza slices in your air fryer in a single layer. Optionally place parchment paper under the slices to make cleanup easier. Like I mentioned, this is especially helpful for extra cheesy or greasy pizza.

Step 2: Air Fry
Set your air fryer to 350°F (176°C). Given that pizza comes in different shapes and sizes, how long to air fry leftover pizza will vary depending on the crust type. For thin crust, air fry for 3 minutes. For thick crust, air fry for 4 minutes.

Recipe tips

Storage: Because of the size, you can only reheat a few slices at a time in an air fryer. That being said, I don’t expect you to have leftovers! I recommend only reheating what you think you will eat. The more times pizza is reheated, the less good it tastes.

Spacing: Air fryers work by circulating hot air throughout the basket. This means it is crucial that the pizza is laid in only one layer and with a little bit of space between slices to ensure air can circulate there.

Why this Recipe Works

So to recap how to warm up pizza in air fryer, it is super fast (under 5 minutes) and results in reheated pizza that is crispy by not hard. If that isn’t enough, here are a few more reasons you need to air fryer your leftover pizza.

• Quick is an understatement when it takes less than 5 minutes for this process. That is borderline comparable to the microwave.
• Easy is another under statement considering all you have to do is place slices into the basket, close the basket, and press “on”. Just don’t walk away in case a topping starts to burn…
• Save energy by using the air fryer. Heating up an air fryer is way quick and only heats an area large enough for small quantities. This means you are not wasting the energy you would with an oven preheating and heating an entire oven when you only need to heat 2 pieces of pizza.
• Crispy bottom and gooey top is exactly what you get with an air fryer. I’ll be honest that I do not fully understand why the top ends up beautifully gooey and not burnt but do I care? Ok yes, a little bit because I am a curious soul. My hunch is that the quick cook time is so short that the top doesn’t have time to burn, only to become melty again while the hot air being pushed from underneath ensures the bottom is crispy.

FAQs

Can I heat frozen pizza in the air fryer?

Yes! This process takes about double the time. To cook frozen pizza in an air fryer, cook at 350°F for 8-12 minutes. Check on it at 8 minutes and then continue to cook as needed.

How do I keep the toppings from burning?

Great question! To prevent common toppings (bell peppers, olives, etc.) from burning, you can lightly spray the top of the pizza with oil. Fresh toppings like basil and tomatoes are a little harder to prevent from burning. Being they are usually added to a pizza after cooking, it is very hard to not burn them since they were never cooked to begin with, but oil will certainly help.

Make pizza night a full party!

I love a good side with my leftover pizza. Makes it feel less… leftover like? Here are some quick favorites I have been known to enjoy along side reheated pizza.

• Vegetarian Caesar is a classic recipe that comes together very quickly. There is just something so satisfying about a crispy salad with hot pizza.
• Air Fryer Fried Pickles only make sense since I already have the air fryer out!
• Avocado and Mango Green Salad is one of my absolute favorite salads! And while the pairing with a traditional cheese pizza may seem off. The sweet mango and creamy avocado are a great contrast to the gooey cheese and crispy crust.

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @liveeatlearn on Facebook or Instagram!