So while cold pizza does come with its own set of merits, and some people do prefer this option, knowing how to reheat pizza in an air fryer is also useful. However, this time we focus on heating pizza in just one single device, and that’s an air fryer.
The humble air fryer has undoubtedly become one of the most popular kitchen appliances out today. It seems as if everyone owns one, and it makes sense to know how to get the most out of it. Also, it’s impossible to make a mistake.
You see, if you want your pizza to come out tasting just as good as when it was first made, or delivered even, then you need to know the correct way of doing things. So, that is where we can help.
What we have here are just a few simple steps that you need to follow in order to successfully reheat pizza in an air fryer. If this is something you have never thought of trying before, then we hope to change your mind.
Can You Actually Reheat Pizza in an Air Fryer?
But let’s address something clearly important, and that’s to answer the question of whether or not you can indeed reheat pizza using this method.
The short answer is undoubted yes. In fact, it’s far superior to what you would ever achieve using a microwave oven. With a microwave, it tends to make everything limp and pretty horrible.
But with an air fryer, it’s different.
An air fryer has the ability to not only reheat your pizza successfully but can make it crispy as well. Not only that, but it may still make the cheese all stringy and gooey just as you like it.
However, it can easily go completely wrong if handled incorrectly. That is why you must understand what to do.
The truth is that an air fryer will transform your old pizza in a matter of minutes. Not only that, it won’t completely ruin it all in an instant.
When you think about it like that, then what is there not to like about it all?
The Beauty of the Air Fryer
One of the best things about the air fryer is the speed at which it reheats your pizza. Also, you get perfect results almost every single time.
The blast of the heat is enough to get your pizza crispy, and it’s also extremely easy to use. After all, you preheat it, throw the pizza in, and it’s all ready in minutes.
So, onto the key steps and what you need to do to get the desired end result.
Preheat Your Air Fryer
The key, as it is with anything connected to the air fryer, is to go ahead and preheat it before you even think about placing your pizza in there. You should be looking at around 325ºF or 160ºC.
Now, you want to ensure you allow the air fryer to heat for around three to four minutes. The instruction manual for your particular version can offer some guidance on the preheat schedule. However, those few minutes act as a general figure.
But what you want here is to get that familiar sizzle as soon as your pizza slices touch the basket of the air fryer. That helps to get that crisp you want from the base, and that’s all before the air fryer gets to work with the toppings.
Once you have preheated your air fryer, spray some olive oil on the base. Don’t spray too much of it either.
By doing this, you stop the pizza from sticking to the base of the air fryer. It’s a simple trick you probably already use elsewhere, so use the same approach when it comes to reheating pizza.
Using Your Air Fryer
It’s important you lay the pizza slices down on a single layer in your air fryer. Also, have space between the slices. This helps the air to circulate, and it results in a better crisp at the end.
This may mean you need to reheat in more than one batch. However, it’s better to have something tasty at the end with it taking longer than cramming all those pizza slices in and having a poorer experience.
Ideally, you would have a clear space between each slice. This may result in you needing to trim some of the slices to ensure you get that space.
This just transforms how your pizza turns out at the end.
The Time
With the time, this only takes three to four minutes before you have piping hot pizza ready to consume. But that may not appeal to you. After all, we all love pizza in our own way, so prepare to adjust the time accordingly.
The problem is that some people prefer their pizza to have a certain temperature when reheating it. So, you may find that these few minutes are not long enough. Due to this, you need to open your air fryer after three minutes and see if the pizza feels the correct temperature for you.
If it is, then tuck in. However, if it still feels too cold, then simply place the pizza back in the air fryer for another minute before checking again. You may not think 60 seconds could make such a difference, but that’s an eternity for an air fryer.
And that’s it. But you probably want a few extra tips designed to help avoid running into a whole host of problems. After all, you probably look forward to the leftovers, so we want to help you avoid destroying it.
Tip 1: Avoid Overcrowding
We mentioned this earlier, but overcrowding your air fryer with slices of pizza is the biggest mistake you could make. You already do this with other food in your air fryer, so don’t make the mistake with pizza.
Just because something has already been cooked doesn’t then translate into you squeezing as much as possible into your air fryer. Instead, treat your individual pizza slices as if they were never cooked before.
By doing that, you get better results.
How many slices depends on the size of your air fryer. But you should have an idea of the number from other items you have made in your air fryer.
Tip 2: Getting The Slices Extra Crispy
So if you want to get some of that crisp and crunch back into your pizza after reheating, then you can do one simple thing before you throw those slices in your air fryer.
For this, you need to spray your pizza slices with some olive oil. This does not mean you then soak the pizza in oil.
Instead, a couple of sprays over the slices makes a difference. Then, throw it in for those few minutes and see what the end results turn out like.
But you don’t need to add more olive oil to the pizza slices mid-way through cooking. That ruins the pizza, so only do it at the beginning to get best results.
Tip 3: Check the Temperature For Your Model
The temperature we noted earlier is average. However, different models may have a different understanding of the perfect temperature for reheating pizza.
Now, don’t expect a vast difference. We do only feel there is the potential for some slight changes in temperature. But then, it may result in your pizza either being undercooked, or overdone.
So, getting the temperature correct does make a huge difference in how things turn out.
Tip 4: Use Tongs to Remove
To remove the pizza slices, use tongs. It just makes the entire process of taking your piping hot pizza out of your air fryer so much easier. Silicone-tipped tongs work best. It stops you from scratching the base of your air fryer.
Tip 5: Top Up That Cheese
Adding some extra cheese just as you throw the slices in the air fryer may lead to an extra bit of bite to your leftovers. Cheddar will work best in this instance.
It’s going to help add some extra bite to it all. So we do recommend sprinkling some grated cheese over the entire slice. Then, throw it in the air fryer for those few minutes, and you will see how it transforms everything.
Of course, you don’t need to just stop at the cheese. Add in any other toppings you like, if you have it laying around.
As it’s completely optional, you may wish to ignore this tip. However, it may bring the pizza back to life even when you felt it sort of looked past its best.
And with those few simple steps, you can successfully reheat pizza in your air fryer. Also, it should come out tasting just as good as you hoped.
Gone are the days of worrying about it reappearing all soggy and limp. Instead, this approach results in perfect pizza, as if it has just been made. So, give it a try, and see the difference it makes compared to other approaches out there.
