Air Fryer Frozen Pizza
If you want to cook a frozen pizza inside your air fryer, this post will be an eye-opener, as I’ll share some hard-hitting facts on cooking a frozen pizza in an air fryer.
There are way too many guides on the internet on how to cook an air fryer frozen pizza; however, they all fail to mention how difficult it can be to cook the pizza crust.
In most cases, when you cook the pizza face up, it can cause the toppings and cheese to overcook, but the base remains soft and does not get as crispy as it should.
Some people may achieve a crispy base(I’m not sure how?), perhaps by cooking in the air fryer at a lower temperature for a longer time, but I have NEVER had that luck, so this is my way of doing it.
However, I have found a solution after several attempts, and the results will blow you away.
Table of Contents
How to Cook an Air Fryer Pizza?
There are many ways to cook pizza in an air fryer; if you check out some other air fryer blogs, they would suggest a different way to cook a pizza.
But I always recommend cooking both sides of the pizza for the best results.
I know you might be confused about how one can cook both sides of the pizza in an air fryer without making a mess.
I cook the pizza for a few minutes in the air fryer, then take the pizza out and cook the base for 4-5 minutes on a hot pan until you get a nice and crispy base. This method is easy and cooks the base of the pizza crust very well.
How to make Air fryer FROZEN Pizza
1. Place the frozen pizza in the air fryer and make sure you measure the size of the pizza and that it fits in your air fryer basket(I had to trim the edges of my pizza just to make it fit).
2. Add more mozzarella cheese and toppings if you like. In this case, I have added extra cheese on top. Now set the temperature at 190°C and cook the pizza for six minutes.
3. Take out the pizza with a flat-turner and place the pizza on a hot pan.
You can brush the pan will a little oil so the base doesn’t stick to the pan. Cook it for another 2-3 minutes(be careful and do not burn the pizza base) and your pizza is done.
How to hold down your toppings inside the air fryer?
If you have this issue where the toppings move around while being cooked in the air fryer, you can always sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top to melt and hold the toppings down.
Pressing the toppings down slightly with a spoon can also help. However, some mozzarella cheese on top of the pizza should solve the issue for most of us.
In the pizza that I cooked for this post, I added more cheese in the center and was unsure if I should add more cheese on the sides, but now I feel it did need some mozzarella cheese on the sides.
So you can always add and remove toppings or cheese from the frozen pizzas as it is still yet to be cooked.
The time and temperature to cook Frozen Pizza in the Air Fryer
I cook my frozen pizzas at 380°F or 190°C-195°C for about 5-6 minutes. This is a personal pizza with a thin crust.
Even if you are dealing with a Pan Pizza, I would still say cooking the pizza for 6 minutes at 190°C is good enough because you will cook the base on a pan.
The whole point of cooking it in the air fryer is to get the toppings cooked to perfection and have the cheese all nice and melted.
If you are dealing with a deep-dish pizza, I recommend reheating the pizza slice at 325 for a longer time, which should be about 8-10 minutes.
I recommend a lower temperature for deep-dish pizza so the toppings won’t burn, as you cannot use the flip technique with a deep-dish pizza slice.
You might want to cook it in a pan later to crisp up the bottom.
Do you need to preheat the air fryer?
No. You do not need to preheat the air fryer to reheat your pizza. Preheating the air fryer is time-consuming and an unnecessary step.
You can directly place your frozen pizza inside the air fryer, cook it at the highest temperature for 3-4 minutes on one side and 3-4 minutes on the other, and get the best-tasting frozen pizza.
You do not need to preheat the air fryer or even thaw the pizza, making air fryer frozen pizza one of the best ways to eat pizza.
Tips to get the Perfect REHEATED Pizza
1. Make sure to add more cheese if needed. If you do not have a lot of cheese on your pizza, you can cook it at a lower temperature, around 170-180°C, so you do not burn the toppings and the cheese.
2. Use a parchment liner if you do not want a mess in the air fryer.
3. You can spray some oil on the pizza so that you do not burn the toppings while you cook the pizza inside an air fryer.
4. You can add more toppings and cheese if you think the frozen pizza doesn’t have enough cheese or toppings of your liking. Feel free to customize a frozen pizza as much as you would like.
5. The thicker the pizza base, try cooking it at a slightly lower temperature for a few minutes longer. With lower temperature, I mean the 170-180°C range.
STORAGE AND REHEATING frozen pizza slices
Storing and reheating leftover pizza slices is the easiest. First, freeze the pizza slices in a tray, and then put them in a zip lock bag and freeze them together.
This way, the frozen pizza slices will not stick to each other. You can take out one pizza slice at a time and reheat it in the air fryer at 190°C for 4-5 minutes(pan pizza and thin crust).
If you are reheating a deep-dish pizza, I suggest reheating it at 170°C for 6-7 minutes.
Reheating a frozen slice of pizza in the air fryer is easy, and it is one of the best ways to reheat pizza slices. You get a perfectly melted cheese along with a crispy crust, just like it tasted when made fresh.
Air Fryer Frozen Pizza
Equipment
- 1 Philips Air fryer
- 1 Flat Turner
Ingredients
- 1 Frozen Pizza (could be of any brand)
Instructions
- Place the frozen pizza in the air fryer. If you need more cheese, then you can add cheese on top of your pizza and even your favourite toppings. I simply added more mozzarella cheese.
- Cook the pizza at 190° C for about 5-6 minutes till the cheese is golden brown on the sides and perfectly melted in the center and the toppings are cooked to perfection.
- Now take the pizza out with a flat turner and cook the pizza on a slightly oiled pan for like 2-3 minutes. This is to crisp up the pizza base.
- Your PIzza is done.