How many of you have ever ordered pizza only to discover it to be cold and tasteless when you get home? How to keep pizza warm in oven if you’re hosting a pizza party or have leftover pizza?
Luckily, there’s a way to keep pizza warm in the oven without having to wait. By using an oven thermometer, you can make sure that the temperature of your pizza is maintained throughout.
You can keep your pizza at the ideal temperature every time by using the tips in this article! Try these techniques the next time, and you won’t eat cold pizza ever again!
Table of Contents
Why It’s Crucial To Keep Your Pizza Warm?
Of course, it’s obvious that the best way to enjoy pizza is to keep it hot and fresh. But did you know that maintaining food safety also includes keeping leftover pizza warm?
Pizza should not be stored at room temperature for longer than two hours because it is perishable. By doing this, you can stop bacteria from growing that can make you ill. It is advised to reheat food at a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Read More: How Long Does Pizza Good For In The Fridge?
Can A Pizza Box Be Put In The Oven?
Yes, as already stated. Pizza can be kept warm by being stored in a cardboard box, and doing so is fairly simple. This method is the simplest and most effective way to keep pizza warm at a party. How hot should pizza be kept, then? Simply place the box inside the oven after setting the temperature to the lowest possible setting, usually 170 degrees Fahrenheit. A climate resembling an oven is produced inside the pizza box by the low heat.
Furthermore, unless the oven is set to a temperature of over 400 degrees, the cardboard won’t catch fire! Maintain a low temperature, and if the pizza has been warming up in the oven for some time, turn off the oven and leave it to continue warming. Anything below 300 degrees Fahrenheit, if you’re still unsure of the safest temperature to keep pizza warm.
Tips To Keep Pizza Warm In Oven
1. Keep Your Pizza Warm With Aluminum Foil
What is aluminum foil? The extremely malleable and flexible thin sheet of aluminum known as aluminum foil.
How does using aluminum foil to keep pizza warm work? Has it anything to do with the oven-heated pizza we’re trying to keep warm?
Pizza starts to lose moisture as it heats up, releasing it into the air. The aluminum foil reflects this moisture back onto the food’s surface, causing it to re-evaporate.
This water vapor is trapped around the food, keeping it moist and delicious, if your aluminum foil cover doesn’t have an opening for it to do so.
This is your best bet if you want a pie that keeps for longer than three hours.
Aluminum foil doesn’t insulate quite as well as ceramic tiles, which I believe would offer even better protection against heat loss. Foil is ideal for working with slices or mini pizzas because all of those tiny bits add up in volume while remaining manageable when eaten on whole pie crusts, which have less mass overall and cool faster.
- Slice the pie using a pizza cutter. After that, wrap each piece in aluminum foil to prevent drying out and clumping together!
- It’s crucial to maintain a constant temperature throughout the cooking process if you want the best possible pizza. Strong proteins that are prone to rising when exposed to high temperatures or prolonged exposure can help create an evenly baked crust by preheating at 400°F.
- Place the pizza on a baking sheet and leave about an inch between each slice to allow any steam to form during baking to circulate without burning either side before picking up the next one. This will make it easier for you to remove each piece when they are finished cooking.
- 10 minutes is all you need to get a mouth-watering pizza in the oven. The cheese has reached the proper temperature when you notice bubbles forming. Open your packaging after removing the food from the oven.
2. Using The Pizza Box
What is a pizza box? A pizza box is a container used to carry pizzas out of an oven or the kitchen of a pizzeria.
In what way does a pizza box keep pizza warm? Please take note that when you take your sizzling hot pizza out of the oven, you should place it into its own unique home—the pizza box!
Your pie will stay fresh for several hours at room temperature thanks to the slight ventilation in the crust’s bottom that lets heat and steam escape while keeping humidity inside.
When you put two slices together after they’ve finished baking, air can move between them, which will help them cool more quickly.
Additionally, you can reheat a slice in the oven for a minute to reheat it, keeping the crust crispy, after you have placed one slice on top of another to cool it off.
- Set your oven to 200°F for preheating.
- Once the pizza is delivered, you ought to open the box and let any accumulated steam escape.
- Look for vents before sealing the box. Look carefully because they are usually present in pizza delivery boxes. Put your thumbs inside if they haven’t been opened to break the perforation and release the steam before more of it builds up inside. This will also help to ventilate the room by letting hot air out. If the top or sides aren’t cut out, make some slits yourself with a sharp kitchen knife (or anything else that can pierce paper).
- Set the oven to between 140 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit and place the pizza box inside. You’ll save time and avoid setting your cardboard boxes on fire thanks to the lower temperature!
3. Using A Pizza Stone
Unlike more conventional metal baking sheets, pizza stones are made of natural materials, which alters their thermal conductivity.
The toppings will stay moist and taste even better if you perfectly toast the bottom of your pizza crust on a stone. These are extremely inexpensive and can be purchased at any grocery or home goods store.
- Heat the oven to 200°F and place the pizza stone inside. Ideally, this process should take you around 30 minutes, but depending on the type of ovens being used, it could take anywhere from 45 to even less time!
- When the pizza is delivered, remove it from the box and place it directly onto the pizza stone in your oven.
- Pizza should be spread out on a baking sheet and covered with aluminum foil to prevent steam from escaping. Reheat in the oven for 10 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit (or 185 degrees Celsius).
- You can turn off the oven but leave the pizza inside for two hours because the heat from a pizza stone will keep the pizza warm. Pizza tastes best when consumed within two hours.
4. Warming It On The Middle Rack
You can still give this a try as soon as possible, even though it’s not the best option if you won’t be eating it right away.
Additionally, by using this technique, the crust will develop the desired crispy texture and stay warm in the oven.
- Set your oven to its lowest setting. It might be between 170 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slide the pizza right onto the middle rack. Without spilling any sauce on the surface of your oven, carefully remove it from its box or tray and slide it into position.
- Pizza is best when eaten within an hour or two of cooking. We don’t want the pie to start drying out and becoming soggy around the edges if you leave it in for longer than that.
5. Use A Dish To Keep Pizza Warm In Oven
You can use just about any oven-safe dish that is large enough to accommodate your leftover slices. Simply check to make sure the dish is not made of plastic, which will melt if exposed to high temperatures.
This can be accomplished using any kind of ceramic or metal dish!
Make sure to leave a small amount of space at the top for air flow before placing the pan in the oven to gradually heat it up. Pizza slices can be eaten right out of the pan once they are nice and hot.
Pizza lovers without ovens, we didn’t forget about you! Try the two suggestions listed below.
6. Using A Skillet Or Frying Pan
If you’re hosting a larger party and require a backup option to your oven, the frying pan method works well on warm days when turning on an oven doesn’t make much sense.
If you only have a few slices to work with, this method is quicker. Here are the steps:
- Consider using a stainless steel non-stick pan.
- Heat pizza for about two minutes on a non-stick pan over high heat. Keep an eye out for burning by inspecting the bottom of the crust. A crust that maintains its crispness is what you want.
- Now set the stove’s heat to medium. The cheese should melt and the sauce should become warm.
- You can also cover the pot with a lid if the cheese isn’t melting easily. Try to maintain a medium-to-low head in that situation.
This is a fantastic way to heat without using an oven. Although you might burn the pizza in the first scenario. To master it, you’ll need to practice a little.
Please note that when I need to quickly keep pizza warm in the oven, this is the first thing I think of.
7. Use A Microwave
For those who prefer their pizza a little bit crispy, use this technique. Using this technique, you can easily keep your pizza warm for three hours or longer.
You will need to cut your pizza slices appropriately because one of the issues with microwaves is that they are not very big.
- Use aluminum foil to wrap the pizza slices. Even cold slices will work.
- Fill a glass or cup that can go in the microwave with water until it is two-thirds full. Place the pizza in the microwave along with the half cup of water.
- the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t go above 400 degrees Fahrenheit. As it may burn your pizza
- Bake it, then watch for the cheese to bubble. You might need to give the pizza in the microwave one or two more blasts, depending on how much is inside. Don’t push yourself too hard. Just to be sure, check every 30 seconds.
Why putting water is essential:
Pizza will not become overly soft and squishy as a result of the water in the glass evaporating as you heat it. Additionally, it keeps the base crispy while still enabling the melting of the cheese.
When you want to keep pizza warm in the oven, the water absorbs some of the microwaves, causing the pizza to heat up gradually and evenly while also reducing the amount of water that evaporates.
Without adding any water, the pizza absorbs more of the microwave energy, which causes it to heat up more quickly. Due to this, the water molecules in the pizza were able to easily vaporize, permeating the crust and leaving it with a soggy texture.
How To Keep Pizza Warm At A Party?
Learning how to keep pizza warm at a party or in general is essential to ensuring that it is still enjoyable, whether you need to do so while you wait for your kids to get out of school or for leftovers later in the day. Aluminum foil is the best option if you need to keep pizza warm for more than three hours. Is it possible to bake a pizza box? Yes, but making sure your oven is set to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and individually wrapping each pizza will ensure that it comes out crispy. Pizza slices should be baked for around ten minutes.
Additional Tips
- Using an oven thermometer, which lets you know how hot your oven is actually, would be the ideal way to keep pizza warm in the oven. Inserting one will reveal the oven’s actual temperature and whether or not your preheating time was accurate.
- By giving it a quick cleaning, you can keep your pizza stone fresh for longer. Just take the paper sleeve off every few weeks or as needed, give it a quick wash with soapy water, and put it back in the oven until you need it again!
- You can always use tortilla warmers to keep your pizza warm as long as its diameter doesn’t exceed 10 inches.
- When the pie is ready, place it on the pizza stone you’ve placed in the oven. Due to the fact that unglazed pottery naturally absorbs some of its own weight in moisture while being heated, sogginess is prevented while the delicious crisp crust is maintained.
- Place your dough on a cooling rack before putting it in the oven if you don’t have a pizza stone and want to avoid that cardboard-tasting crust. For best results, wrap this tray in aluminum foil and place it on heated baking sheets!
- It’s a good idea to place a cup of boiling water onto the shelf underneath where your pizza will be baking if you intend to bake it for more than an hour. While not making it soggy, this adds moisture and helps prevent them from drying out.
- Don’t keep the pizza in its box for too long if you value your taste buds! That flavorful sauce will quickly be lost to the cardboard.
- Do not forget to remove the pizza from the oven before it begins to burn. Before being completely taken out of the oven, this should be done in about 5 minutes. The crust might become a little too crispy and lose its fluffiness if you wait.
How Long Will Pizza Stay Warm In A Box?
How long will a box of pizza keep a pizza warm? Depending on the pizza, the answer may vary. While other pizzas only require a short time to stay warm, some can be heated in the microwave for hours at a time.
In either scenario, the pizza ought to stay warm for at least three hours. It will be okay to eat during that period. A quality pizza restaurant will put the pizza right into the box. In this manner, the customer can enjoy the pizza right away.
However, if you’re baking authentic Neapolitan pizza with delicious herbs, seasonings, meat, onion, and more toppings – see the best ways to keep your pizza warm in a box below.
- Using an Oven
In most cases, the oven is used to keep pizza that has been delivered in a box warm. This approach might seem practical, but it also has the potential to be dangerous. The pizza may burn if the pizza box is overheated. You can put the pizza in the oven on a warm setting if you’re concerned about this. It will keep warm in the oven for approximately 30 minutes.
- Using an Insulated Box
Most pizza boxes have vents to reduce steam buildup. If you can’t find an insulated box, you can always make a tiny hole in the box’s corners. Placing a thick towel or blanket on top of a pizza is another way to keep it warm. You could also set two towels at an angle.
- Preheating Your Oven
Pizza will stay warm for at least two hours in a conventional oven if you prefer to reheat it there. To do this, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. To ensure even heating, you can also place the pizza on a rack in either scenario. Alternative: For a crispier crust, use a sheet pan. It must be cooked until the cheese is melted in either case.
Read More: Why Do They Call It Oven?
- Wrapping Aluminum
Wrapping your pizza in aluminum foil is another method for keeping it warm. Any department store will have aluminum foil that you can purchase and cut to fit your pizza. By doing this, you can keep the pizza warm for up to three hours and prevent heat loss. Make sure the aluminum foil is tightly wrapped around each slice of pizza before reheating. You can serve your guests pizza once it has warmed up. After that, plate your dishes and then put them in the oven.
FAQs
What temperature do you keep pizza warm in the oven?
Aluminum foil is the best option if you want to keep pizza hot for at least three hours. Place your delicious meal inside an oven that has been preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and cooking for 10 minutes.
Does my pizza need to be covered before baking?
It’s always preferable to wrap things in aluminum foil before putting them in the oven. This makes sure that it stays warm all through! Nothing is worse than arriving home to discover that your delectable dinner has cooled down too much.
How to keep pizza warm for 2 hours?
Cook at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours with aluminum foil inside the oven. Your pizza will be thoroughly heated at this temperature without becoming overcooked.
Make your pizza in a slow cooker rather than an oven if you want to keep it for longer than six hours! After placing some parchment paper on the bottom, place it on low heat for three hours or longer.
Final Words
Despite being a staple in America, many people are unaware of how to keep pizza warm in the oven. It’s not hard to keep pizza warm. Limiting the heat is essential for keeping pizza warm in the oven.
In this post, I’ve compiled a list of techniques for maintaining the warmth of pizza in the oven. Pick one and give it a go!