# What to do with leftover pizza **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 20, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438 "2020-10-20T20:53:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/61 "2020-10-28T13:40:55Z")
Maybe he was afraid you added condiments not to his liking. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/62 "2020-10-28T16:30:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I stack the remaining slices on paper towels Sounds like a great recipe for paper towel–encrusted pizza. (Maybe it depends on what sort of pizza you do this to, but whenever I’ve stored pizza in or on paper towels, the two irreversibly fuse at the subatomic level.) ---
**Author:** ![GnuMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@GnuMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GnuMe)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/63 "2020-11-22T14:19:35Z")
I don’t refrigerate or freeze, nor do I heat it up. Room temp the next day or the day after is the way I like it. When travelling, I’ve been known to eat it trump-temp with no adverse consequences. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/64 "2020-11-23T15:50:42Z")
I’m going to open all your eyes here today. Not only should you freeze (Saran Or AF) any leftover pizza but you should buy an extra and freeze it. Frozen pizza toasted is better than the original. Crust will be much much crispier. Every doubting Thomas subsequently agreed frozen/toasted pizza was indeed better upon trying. You don’t bake it. Put it on a regular hot toasting cycle. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/65 "2020-11-23T15:52:16Z")
But pizza is more than the crust. Whatever good things have happened to the crust in the freezer, not-so-good things have happened to the toppings. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2020, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/66 "2020-11-23T21:32:00Z")
I can only attest to plain and pepperoni. Both were (net) better after being frozen. Skeptics who have I’ve told have agreed. I do put a lot of emphasis on crust though. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/67 "2020-11-23T23:02:21Z")
Fair enough. I’m in Portland, where if you don’t order your pizza with artichoke hearts, fresh tomatoes, and kale, they kick you out. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2020, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/68 "2020-11-23T23:14:39Z")
Put the pizza in a gallon size ziplock bag and put it in the fridge overnight. next day, preheat oven to 425, place the pizza on a tray with some tinfoil with a little nonstick spray , bake for 7 minutes. Put on a plate, apply a generous amount of Frank’s Red Hot. Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/69 "2020-11-24T02:02:35Z")
^^ " …preheat oven to 425, **remove pizza from ziploc bag** , place the pizza on a tray…" 😀 ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/70 "2020-11-26T23:56:38Z")
were you being facetious, meaning there was no pizza leftover? ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/71 "2020-11-27T00:01:19Z")
and when’s the last time New Haven made national list for best pizza? ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/72 "2020-11-27T00:02:25Z")
I sometimes chop up leftover pizza and use on salad greens in place of croutons. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/73 "2020-11-28T22:31:40Z")
> [@albino\_manatee](#): > > i have, though, attempted the two-for-one burgers concept … and given one to the homeless chap on street corner. When I lived in NYC, my policy was that if I was approached by a beggar, and I had food on me, I gave food to the beggar. I offered leftover Chinese, a tub of strawberries, a fresh bagel, a clementine… whatever I had. My experience was that about half of them were very grateful, and ate my offering. And the other half were pissed at me for blowing their cover. They ALWAYS ask for money for food, but some of them only want drugs, and aren’t actually interested in food. But some are. There was also the guy who used to hang out in front of my local convenience store ask ask if you could buy him some groceries. He wasn’t always there, just towards the end of the month. And he mostly asked for stuff for his kids, milk and sweet cereal, maybe bread and peanut butter. I often picked up something for him, too. I was always tempted to throw in a pack of condoms (he was often with a woman, who was typically pregnant) but I never had the chutzpah to do it. > [@fedman1](#): > > and when’s the last time New Haven made national list for best pizza? I think of it as the home of pizza in the US. The sold “apizz” there long before “pizza” was a thing. ---
**Author:** ![MrMrmrmr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrmrmrmr/32/5828_2.png) [@MrMrmrmr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrMrmrmr)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/74 "2020-11-29T00:24:55Z")
Corn meal on sheet pan , 400 degree preheated oven , 8 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/75 "2020-11-29T17:00:29Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Put the pizza in a gallon size ziplock bag and put it in the fridge overnight. Do you have any idea how much pizza is in a gallon? It’s a lot. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/76 "2020-11-29T18:30:33Z")
Nuke the slice on a (room temerature) plate for 15-35 seconds. There is a balance point where it still tastes like pizza, but is warm enough. You must find this on your own. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438/77 "2020-11-29T18:35:39Z")
I find that microwaved pizza ends up soggy so I avoid that unless there’s no other option. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-leftover-pizza/923438.md?page=3)