Whether you're tired from a long day at work or simply want to comfort yourself with your favorite food, a crunchy, gooey, warm slice of pizza always hits the spot. Though a wood-fired, freshly baked pizza pie might not be readily available all the time, a few frozen pizzas stashed in your freezer can undoubtedly save the day.
Before you knock it, we've gathered a few ways to cook your frozen pies that'll enhance the flavors, maximize the crunch, and yield photo-worthy 'zas you'll hardly remember came from a box!
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Make frozen pizza in an air fryer.
Air fryers can transform soggy leftovers into fresh-as-new entrees, make the crispiest french fries ever, and even cook hard-boiled eggs in minutes. So why stop there? Make the most out of this versatile appliance by air frying frozen pizza for crispy crusts that give your favorite spots a run for their money.
Benefiting from the convection heating that circulates air around the food, an air fryer quickly heats all sides of a frozen pizza evenly and prevents it from becoming a soggy mess. Here's how to make pizza in your air fryer:
Set the air fryer to 380-400 F and heat the frozen pizza for six to 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the crust), or until golden and crispy. Due to size constraints, an air fryer is ideal for a small, personal pie or heating individual slices.
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Grill your pizza outdoors.
During the hot summer months, when you can't seem to keep your home cool, turning on the oven might be the last thing you'll want to do. Instead, take your frozen pizza outdoors, turn on the grill, and transform this classic dish into an even tastier meal. Lending its signature charred flavor, grilling your pizza helps add dimension and depth, mimicking the results of a wood-fired oven.
To get a perfectly cooked and crispy pie using your grill, simply preheat it for at least 15 minutes on high heat. Then, reduce the temperature to medium or medium-low, place the frozen pizza directly on the rack, close the lid, and grill the pizza for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the crust. Keep a close eye to make sure the bottom doesn't burn and rotate it as you go depending on the hot spots around your grill. Once the cheese begins to bubble, and the crust becomes crisp, carefully remove the pizza from the grill using heat-resistant tongs, cool, and enjoy.
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Cook your pizza in a smoker.
Similar to a traditional grill, a smoker can help impart more flavor to your frozen pizza. Using flavorful wood chips to fuel the grill, foods made in a smoker take on the aromas and taste of the smoke created as it cooks. Preheat the smoker to the temperature specified on the package to ensure that the pizza doesn't stick to the grates. Unlike a traditional grill, a smoker uses indirect heat, so you won't have to worry about the bottom overcooking or burning the edges too much.
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Invest in a pizza stone or cast iron pan.
Most delicious pizzas involve a specially designed pizza oven that can reach upwards of 800 F to cook a crispy pie quickly. Though achieving these high temperatures at home isn't possible using your traditional oven, heat-retaining kitchen tools like pizza stones or cast iron pans can help keep your crust crisp and your cheese gooey.
First, insert the stone while preheating the oven to ensure that it's very hot when ready to use. Next, make sure your frozen pizza is completely thawed, or use a microwave to heat it thoroughly. Placing a very cold pizza on a very hot pizza stone—which is usually made out of ceramic materials that are sensitive to drastic temperature changes—can risk ruining the stone, or worse, breaking it altogether.
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Cook your pizza in a waffle iron.
You may have encountered a video or two on the internet featuring foods like cinnamon rolls or grilled cheese sandwiches cooked in a waffle iron. Recently, however, cooking pizza in a waffle iron has become a new norm. Avoid making a mess when trying this hack for quickly crisping up pizza by sandwiching a slice between two sheets of parchment paper. For best results, use a thawed pizza slice for more even cooking.
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Zhoosh your frozen pizza with toppings.
Make your pizza party fun limitless by adding your favorite toppings like pepperoni, pineapple, or hot peppers. Rival popular delivery pizza joints by zhooshing the crust with olive oil or melted butter mixture infused with garlic, oregano, and parmesan cheese or by adding copious amounts of cheese for an even gooier slice.
When cooking the pie in a cast-iron skillet, try adding a few tablespoons of olive oil to the bottom of the pan to help crisp the crust as it cooks. Or cut your frozen pizza into strips and finish with a warm side of marinara or zesty ranch for dipping.
