You’ve ordered pizza for supper, but not everyone in your family is home yet. You’re trying to wait so that the whole family may eat supper together even though the pizza is growing colder by the minute. What do you do?
Many people might just reheat the pizza slices individually or even all at once, but it’s such a nuisance when the pizza was hot and fresh when you picked it up.
In situations like these, you need the best possible option to keep your pizza warm while you wait.
Can you put a pizza box in the oven? It’s advised to use a pizza stone or tin foil instead of a pizza box in the oven to keep food warm at a low temperature. Never fully heat pizza in a pizza box, as this increases the risk of fire or the release of toxic compounds into your food at higher temperatures.
We’ll provide you the best advice for reheating pizza in this tutorial. We will discuss when and how to bake a pizza box as well as when it would be wiser to use a different vessel.
Is it Safe to Put a Pizza Box in the Oven?
A little yes and a little more nay!
If you adhere to a few important guidelines and are aware of the restrictions, it is safe to place a cardboard pizza box in the oven. We may also state that heating your pizza in a container other than the one it was delivered in is preferable.
The typical cardboard pizza box is quite thin, and it occasionally has parchment paper as a bottom liner. At about 400 degrees, each of these materials run the risk of catching fire. If you mistakenly turn your oven on too high, this could result in a fire. Even if your box didn’t catch fire, your pizza would probably brown from the high heat’s scorching. Yuck!
A cardboard box is used to package and deliver your takeout pizza since it is portable, affordable, and slightly insulating. This makes it a preferred packaging choice for pizzerias all around the world. These boxes typically have inks, dyes, stickers, and decals on them. When heated, these ingredients may become highly harmful and may alter the flavor of your pizza.
Although it is not recommended, you can keep your pizza warm if you need to by putting it in an oven set at a low temperature (let’s say 170-200 degrees). Perhaps you don’t want to serve every pizza at once because you have a birthday celebration or other event? It’s a wise idea to keep a couple boxed pizzas stored in the oven at a holding temperature until required.
The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Pizza Warm
If you put your cardboard pizza box in the oven, is it a good idea? Curiosity begs to differ.
You’ve no doubt read some of the terrifying tales about people who put the box in the oven only to have it catch fire or fill their house and kitchen with thick smoke.
Of course, you don’t want that outcome in this situation. You’re interested in finding out if there is a secure way to put the pizza box in the oven and if there are any other ways to keep the pizza warm.
You should be aware of safety precautions and the many techniques you may use to keep pizza warm without smoke or fire, whether you’re throwing a party or waiting for that absent-minded family member to arrive for dinner.
Placing a Pizza Box in the Oven
Tossing the entire pizza, with the cardboard box and all, into the oven is one of the simplest ways to maintain a warm temperature for a pizza. You can achieve this, but there are certain crucial details you need to be aware of first.
First things first: never reheat pizza inside a cardboard box in the oven. There are clearly restrictions, but you can keep the pizza warm using a very low heat.
If you do it wrong, there may wind up being smoke in the kitchen and that cardboard box on fire.
Although you would believe that because the frozen pizzas you purchase have cardboard underneath, you can actually not put your cardboard box in the oven.
You see, the materials used to make these two things are very different. The cardboard used in such boxes is not simply regular cardboard. They frequently have coatings made of different chemicals and possibly combustible materials.
Consider this. The pizza box at your favorite pizza restaurant certainly features a wide variety of colors and decorations. While it undoubtedly varies from location to location, we assume that it is not just a blank cardboard box.
The “other stuff” in the cardboard that you don’t know whether it includes could be dangerous in the oven.
Pizza in a box could be cooked in your oven on the warm setting, but only for a very little period of time.
Keep in mind that you shouldn’t actually attempt to heat the pizza. In this case as well, keep the box far away from the hot elements.
Another option is to simply place the pizza box inside the oven while it is off, using the sealed and insulated compartment to retain the heat of the pizza. You might be amazed at how effective that can be at preventing heat from your pizza from escaping.
How to Safely Put a Pizza Box in the Oven
Putting the pizza box in the oven is generally not a good idea if your oven doesn’t have a warm setting (we’re talking 170°F).
In general, it’s generally not a good idea to put a cardboard pizza box in an oven that is on, even on low heat. Unfortunately, it’s a widespread misunderstanding that, if you’re not careful, may soon lead to more serious issues.
This will work just fine if you’re keeping it warm for a short while. Just be careful when using the oven’s time and temperature settings.
But remember, you don’t really know what that box is made of, and it can be leaking all kinds of awful stuff into your pizza.
Never set your oven over 200°F if you choose to keep your pizza warm using the cardboard box in the oven. Maximum range of 150-200°F is advised.
Additionally, we advise against cooking your pizza at this temperature for an extended period of time. Your target should be 10 to 15 minutes.
Here are some key tips if you decide to give it a try:
- Never linger in the oven with the cardboard box for longer than 30 minutes.
- Keep your body temperature between 150 and 200 °F.
- Always preheat the oven before using it Look for alternatives when you can
- Try using the closed oven when it is off to keep the pizza warm.
- Be aware that the chemicals in your pizza box may have an impact on your food.
Those cardboard pizza boxes won’t likely start burning until they reach a temperature of about 400°F. If you follow the aforementioned advice, putting it in the oven on warm for 10 minutes won’t do any harm.
Keeping Pizza Warm With a Pizza Stone
A pizza stone is a fantastic choice for keeping pizza warm and is also considerably safer in general. You might also want to read our post on the best pizza stone alternatives if you don’t have or can’t find a pizza stone.
With this choice, your pizza will taste so much better and you won’t have to worry all the time that you might be about to start a very real cardboard fire in your oven!
One of our favorites is undoubtedly heating or warming your pizza on a pizza stone. If you have a lot of pizza, it might not be the best solution, but if you only need one or two pizzas, it’s a really wonderful choice.
The problem is this. A pizza stone will preserve the quality of your crust because it heats up quickly. While simply popping the box in the oven is an easy and practical answer, we all know how quickly the quality may deteriorate.
We adore the pizza stone in part because of this. When you only use it for warming purposes, it won’t necessarily make your crust more crisp, but it also won’t allow it to lose its quality or become soggy.
Here are some steps for keeping pizza warm using a pizza stone:
- First, preheat your pizza stone (this is a little known secret that works wonders)
- After placing the pizza stone inside the oven, preheat it to roughly 200°F.
- For roughly 20 to 30 minutes, allow the stone to preheat in the oven.
- Place your pizza on the heated stone at this point and turn off the heat.
From this point, you can keep the pizza warm by leaving it in the oven for a short while, but you can also remove the pizza stone from the oven and keep it warm that way as well.
Those pizza stones will continue to be warm for a while, and they’ll also keep your pizza warm.
Because pizza stones are porous, heat is being circulated inside of them through tiny pores that are invisible to the naked eye. When you use the temperature that we advised using here, your pizza stays nice and toasty without getting any hotter.
Without a soggy crust or a chilly pizza. Just a warm, delicious pizza that retains all the fresh pizza’s characteristics.
However, letting your pizza stone heat up does take some time. The use of aluminum foil is preferred by some people for this situation.
Keeping Pizza Warm With Aluminum Foil
Keeping pizza warm may be accomplished quite effectively by using aluminum foil. You might be shocked to learn that using a high temperature in the oven for a little period of time is possible after you see the instructions.
The pizza stays warm for a very long time thanks to the foil’s insulation. Your crust may crisp up a bit more than usual, but that’s all.
The intriguing aspect of this method is that you don’t even need to wait until your pizza is warm to utilize it. Pizza can be used cold and will still warm up.
This is a fantastic way, even if you’re reheating pizza that has been in the refrigerator for some time. Simply put, you might need some preparation time to prepare all that pizza.
Follow these steps to keep pizza warm with aluminum foil:
- Pizza slices should be wrapped in foil. Although you can wrap as much as you want at once, we advise serves in separate portions for ease of wrapping. Just keep them separated from one another to avoid the cheese from sticking the slices together.
- 400 degrees Fahrenheit is the recommended oven temperature. In order to prevent the pizza from burning or overcooking, you can lower your temperature a little bit, but don’t go above this level.
- Slices are placed in the oven. Using foil or a baking sheet, you may just place them on the grates. We do advise allowing some room between wrapped slices so that steam can move.
- For about 10 minutes, bake in this way. The cheese may start to bubble, as you may have noticed. It is finished and ready for removal at this point. It will stay warm if you wrap it in foil and keep it away from the oven.
Did you know that keeping your pizza warm with aluminum foil might keep it that way for almost three hours? The heat is trapped in the foil for a long period after the heating procedure is finished.
The only drawback of this method is that your pizza might slightly dry out, but it will still be nice and warm and taste great without any safety concerns.
FAQs
We’re confident you’ll find this definitive guide on pizza storage to be an invaluable tool. Sure, you may put the whole pizza box in the oven, but be careful not to overheat it or leave it in there for too long.
If you are looking for additional options, you can find a number of useful approaches here. If you need any more information, please feel free to peruse the frequently asked questions and answers area that follows.
Can You Use the Stovetop or Microwave to Keep Pizza Warm?
However, if you’re in a pinch, you may also use the cooktop to keep your pizza warm while you make other plans. By using that approach, you can only make as many pizzas as your pan can hold.
As a second option, others suggest using a microwave. Short bursts of operation at around 50% power will keep it toasty for a while.
This method is not advised since it may alter the pizza’s texture and flavor, but it can be useful in a need. It achieves its goals in its own unique fashion.
Can You Put Pizza in the Oven Without a Pan?
Perhaps the pizza you’re baking will have an effect on this. Frozen pizzas are often baked directly on the oven rack without a pan.
Many of these need baking directly on the rack, but you may also use a pan if you wish.
When baking a pizza without a pan, it might be difficult to gauge when it’s done and how to take it out of the oven without damaging the crust. Think about how you’ll remove the pizza from the oven without damaging the pie or being burned.
You may use a pizza peel for this, which is the recommended method.
Can You Reheat Pizza in the Cardboard Box?
You shouldn’t reheat your pizza in the cardboard box, even though most cardboard boxes won’t catch fire until they reach above 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Those containers aren’t trustworthy, and they could leach toxins from the packaging into your food. Instead of taking any chances, just transfer your pizza to a different oven to reheat it.
Conclusion
If you must heat a pizza in the oven, do it at a low temperature and keep a close eye on it, since it is just a single degree away from setting your house on fire.
Take out anything else in its packing that might explode in the oven, such as metals or plastics. You may draw parallels between their mechanism and that of hardwood oven floors.
In order to avoid mishaps, it is recommended that you either invest in other cooking alternatives and procedures or just take the pizza out of the box and heat it as usual.