How Long is Pizza Good for In the Fridge? (The Complete Leftover Pizza Guide)

Let’s find out how long is pizza good for in the fridge. Assuming your pizza was kept in an airtight container or otherwise sealed with a Ziploc or plastic wrap, it is safe to eat pizza up to 4 days after it was cooked and eaten originally. This also answers the question of how long is leftover pizza good for.

Here’s some additional good news: Your pizza will have a hard and dry texture before it becomes unsafe to eat – if it still tastes good, it’s probably safe to eat. The first signs your pizza has gone bad is if it is moldy and/or has a rancid smell. Eating bad pizza can lead to food poisoning. Hopefully, that answers your question How Long is Pizza Good for In the Fridge (and hopefully that means you can eat your leftover pizza!).

Keep reading for my complete guide on leftover pizza which includes how to store it and keep it fresh, and how to properly reheat your leftover pizza (skip to the bottom for the best way to reheat pizza).

Storing and Keeping Your Pizza Fresh for Longer

Now talking about How Long is Pizza Good for In the Fridge or how long is leftover pizza good for, regardless of whether you’ve ordered your pizza from a delivery service or made it from scratch with homemade pizza dough, the principles for keeping it fresh remain the same. Generally, after baking, it’s important not to leave the pizza at room temperature for more than two hours. This precaution is necessary because bacteria tend to multiply rapidly when food cools down and remains within the temperature range of 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

The temperature range in which bacteria can multiply rapidly is referred to as the “DANGER-ZONE.” The longer pizza leftovers are left at room temperature, the faster the spread of bacteria that leads to food poisoning. While it’s easy to get caught up in a movie and forget about leftover pizza, if you plan on saving it for later or another day, it’s important to refrigerate the leftovers right away. This will help prevent any risk of spoiled food.

How to Store Your Leftover Pizza to Keep It Fresh for Longer

You should never leave food out overnight. When food is left at room temperature and in the open air, mold can quickly start to grow on your food and make it unsafe to eat.

My rule of thumb: Always place leftover food in the refrigerator or freezer within 2 hours. Let’s continue our discussion about how Long is Pizza Good for In the Fridge.

Storing Leftover Pizza in the Fridge

To store leftover pizza in the fridge, put it in an airtight container, a Ziploc, or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and place it in your fridge within 2 hours.

According to the USDA’s food safety guide, leftover pizza will last up to 4 days in the fridge if correctly refrigerated within the 2-hour timeframe.

Storing Leftover Pizza in the Freezer

Freezing leftover pizza is an incredibly underrated way to keep it fresh, especially if you’re not going to finish all of the leftovers the next day.

By freezing your leftover pizza, you better preserve its freshness, its texture, its flavor, and its toppings. Plus, frozen pizza can be eaten up to 3 months after you placed it in the freezer.

Again, to properly store leftover pizza in the freezer, it should be placed in an airtight container or Ziploc and placed in the freezer within the 2-hour timeframe.

But how do you properly reheat frozen pizza? I’m glad you asked…

How long can pizza last in the freezer?

Now we shall exactly find out how Long is Pizza Good for In the Fridge. Cooked food can be kept fresh for an extended period by freezing it. For instance, frozen pizza has a shelf life of approximately 2-6 months when stored in the freezer. If you wrap the slices securely in foil or plastic wrap or seal them properly in an airtight container, your pizza can maintain its quality for a period of two to six months. Although it may still be safe to eat beyond this time frame, it might not taste as good. Having said that, if your pizza develops an unusual color or odor, it’s best to discard it regardless of the time mentioned above.

Once you have thawed your pizza in the refrigerator, you can keep it stored for a few days before reheating and consuming it. However, if you choose to thaw it using an oven or microwave, try to consume the leftovers immediately rather than refreezing them.

How to Reheat Leftover Pizza

Now that you’ve properly stored your leftover pizza slices, it’s time to reheat them.

Please, I’m begging you, don’t use a microwave. Microwaves turn pizza into a soggy mess – you can do better.

Here’s the main way that I’ll recommend and, below, a few non-traditional ways to reheat leftover pizza.

Reheating Refrigerated Pizza

The best way to reheat pizza overall is in the oven (in terms of flavor, speed, and convenience).

Here’s how to reheat pizza in the oven:

1. Preheat your oven to 400* Fahrenheit.
2. Place your pizza slices on a baking sheet (or directly on the rack).
3. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes, until it’s hot.
4. Take it out, let it cool, and enjoy!

Convenient and fast reheated pizza.

Reheating Frozen Pizza

If you chose to freeze your leftover pizza (good choice), we’ll vary our reheating slightly:

1. Preheat your oven to 425* Fahrenheit.
2. Place your pizza slices on a baking sheet (or directly on the rack).
3. Place in oven for 15-20 minutes, until it’s hot.
4. Take it out, let it cool, and enjoy!

An optional last step (which works for reheating refrigerated pizza too) is to turn your oven to broil for the last few minutes of reheating to get your pizza crust extra crispy.

2 Other Ways to Reheat Leftover Pizza

Besides an oven, a toaster oven, and a microwave, here are 2 more (less common ways) you can try reheating your pizza to get it tasting just how you want it:

1. Reheating Pizza with an Air Fryer

If you have an air fryer, use it.

Here are the steps to reheating pizza with an air fryer:

1. Place pizza slices in the air fryer basket on parchment paper.
2. Set the air fryer to 360* Fahrenheit.
3. Let reheat for 3-6 minutes, until it’s hot.

Reheating pizza with an air fryer is faster and will make the pizza crust extra crispy.

2. Reheating Pizza with a Skillet – The Best Way to Reheat Pizza

Reheating pizza with a pan or skillet is the best way to reheat a slice of pizza.

Yes, seriously.

Here are the steps to reheating pizza in a skillet (reheating pizza in the pan):

1. Preheat non-stick skillet on low-medium heat (optional: use a little olive oil)
2. Cook for 2 minutes or until the bottom crust is crispy
3. Place 2 drops of water into the skillet away from the pizza
4. Cover skillet for 1 minute, allowing the steam to melt the cheese
5. Take off the heat, let it cool, and enjoy!

Just try it.

Final Word: How Long is Pizza Good for In the Fridge?

Assuming proper refrigeration and the use of airtight containers, pizza is good for up to 4 days in the fridge.

The best way to tell if pizza is bad is by tasting it. If the texture is dry and hard (if the pizza doesn’t taste good), throw it away. Also, check for mold or a bad smell if you’re unsure how long the pizza has been in the fridge.

If you decide to freeze leftover pizza (good choice), it can remain fresh for up to 3 months!

And don’t forget to try reheating pizza in a pan/skillet.

Trust me, you’ll never go back to your microwave days.

Further Reading:

• How Much to Tip Pizza Delivery Driver?
• Top 100 Amazing & Fun Pizza Facts