So, how long is pizza good for in the fridge? When you can order pizza online and have it delivered to your door, requesting an additional pizza for takeaway or delivery is not unusual. You can always put the leftover pizza in the refrigerator for later use.
Is there anybody who doesn’t like eating a pizza for breakfast the following morning? Some individuals even like to eat it cold from the fridge without reheating it beforehand. So, how long is it safe to store the leftover pizza in the refrigerator?
How Long Is Pizza Dough Good for in the Fridge?
4-5 days. Pizza dough may go bad during the yeast fermentation in the same way as sourdough can when it’s been left out for an excessive amount of time and has gotten over fermented. This produces a smooth pizza dough that lacks structure because it has been over-fermented.
The same thing happens to pizza dough if it’s allowed to sit at room temperature for too long. So, suppose you don’t keep the dough in the refrigerator or freezer. In that case, it will begin to emit an overwhelming scent of yeast, and potentially hazardous germs will begin to proliferate.
After being molded into balls, the dough might turn sticky and discolored if stored in the refrigerator for more than 5 days. You could even see that a crust is beginning to develop around the dough or that it has developed a grey hue.
After being stored in the freezer for a few months, the dough has a greater risk of developing freezer burn and crystallization, which you may see. If you see any of these symptoms, you should discard the dough and prepare a new one as soon as possible.
How Long Is Pizza Good in the Fridge For?
The straight answer to that question is 3-4 days.
Before considering whether or not it is safe to eat a pizza that you stored in the refrigerator for extended periods, it is important to consider when you placed the pizza in the refrigerator after it had cooled to room temperature. This is the most important factor to consider.
To ensure you can safely reheat a pizza, you must store it in the refrigerator within two hours after receiving it (or preparing it, in the case of homemade pizza).
Do not take the chance of storing your freshly baked pizza for another day if you let it rest in the pizza box for more than a few hours. Toss it, instead, since a pizza you left out for an extended period doesn’t have a very long shelf life.
Assuming that you refrigerated your pizza within that window of time, you should be able to store it in the refrigerator for up to three or four days.
If you leave it out for any longer than that, you run the danger of germs growing in it, which may cause food poisoning.
This basic rule of thumb is valid for most perishable meals or foods the manufacturer prepares to prevent any foodborne germs that may contribute to foodborne diseases. Pizza leftovers are only one example of this rule of thumb’s applicability.
Suppose you topped your pizza with an ingredient highly susceptible to spoilage, such as shrimp. In that case, it presents a greater potential for the growth of pathogenic bacteria. And then, we would advise consuming any leftovers the following day or within the next 24 hours to be extra careful.
You may still eat a pizza you left over after a couple of days. However, it is best to throw it away, particularly if it smells rotten, which is one of the first symptoms that the pizza has gone bad.
Discoloration and the appearance of mold are two further telltale symptoms that food has gone bad. This indicates that it’s time to eliminate the excess pizza in your fridge.
How Long Is Pizza Sauce Good for in the Fridge?
In most cases, pizza sauce may be stored in the refrigerator for up to seven days without going bad. However, the amount of time it stays good for will vary widely based on factors like the brand, the contents, the storage container, and the refrigerator’s temperature.
Because pizza sauce is composed mostly of tomatoes, herbs, and maybe even a little oil, it does not truly include any natural preservatives.
Even in the vast majority of brands you can purchase in stores, you will probably not discover anything in particular that extends the shelf life of this sauce.
This is great.
And if you make your sauce from scratch, the same thing is probably true if you follow a recipe perfectly.
Consequently, this indicates that you need to be very careful about storing the sauce.
While moving it to the refrigerator may seem like an easy solution, there are a few things you should and shouldn’t do to ensure it is good for as long as you need it to.
How Long Is Uncooked Pizza Good in the Fridge?
You may store uncooked pizza in the fridge for up to four days, like cooked pizza. If you leave out the uncooked pizza for more than four days, it will rot, and you should discard it.
How Long Does Pepperoni Pizza Last in the Fridge?
As per the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), when your pepperoni pizza is refrigerated at a temperature less than 40 ° F, you can keep it for up to four days.
Can You Freeze Leftover Pizza?
Yes, indeed. You can freeze cooked pizzas, leftover pizzas, and other pizza variants for up to two months. Isn’t that quite a while? However, this will only work if you have a good understanding of how to store it properly.
How Long Does Frozen Pizza Last?
The shelf life of frozen pizza is about one year, in addition to six months beyond the “best before” date. A pizza’s shelf life depends on various aspects, such as the best before date, the method of preparation, and the storage conditions of the pizzas.
Is It Bad to Eat Cold Pizza?
Pizzas may be consumed warm, cold, or at room temperature, provided that you met the temperature parameters for storing the pizza appropriately in each case. In addition, certain people choose cold pizzas over reheated pizzas.
It seems you should be OK as long as the pizzas were properly stored within shallow containers, covered, and kept at the appropriate temperature for the allotted time. It is perfectly safe to eat a cold pizza as long as the 2-hour rule is adhered to and you consume the pizza within three to four days after its preparation.
How To Store and Keep Pizza Fresh For Long?
If you want your pizza to stay fresh for as long as possible, it doesn’t matter if you got it from takeout or made it from scratch at home using dough that was just the right amount of chewy. Generally, after you cook the pizza, it shouldn’t be left out for more than two hours at room temperature. This is because germs may develop on the pizza anywhere between 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit after it has cooled down.
We refer to this temperature as the DANGER-ZONE. The more you keep the leftover pizza at room temperature, the faster the bacterium that triggers food poisoning spreads throughout the meal.
It is very common for people to forget about the leftover pizza while watching a movie. Nevertheless, suppose you want to store the pizza pieces for tomorrow. In that case, we advise you to refrigerate the leftovers as soon as possible to eliminate any possibility of the food being spoilt.
Refrigerating Pizza
Suppose there is a pizza that you will keep in the refrigerator after it you’ve eaten it. In that case, you should securely wrap it in plastic or aluminum foil on a plate. It would be best if you moved it to an airtight container. The food safety guidance published by the USDA states that leftover pizza may be safely stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days if properly refrigerated within 2 hours.
Freezing Pizza
It is one of the greatest methods to maintain the freshness of cooked meals to freeze them. In a pizza case, this helps keep the crust crisp and the toppings safe to consume for a longer period. The easiest thing to do with any leftover pizza slices is to
- Place them in an airtight container
- Cover them with a freezer wrap or aluminum foil
- Place the container in the refrigerator.
You may keep frozen pizza for up to two to three months.
How To Reheat Leftover Pizza?
Now that you know you can consume your pizza without risk, the question becomes: how can you reheat it such that it doesn’t get extremely dry?
To begin, you should not use the microwave. Instead, it’s a fast and simple method, but the resulting crust is chewy and difficult to cut through with your teeth.
Use a reheating method that gives you the best possible crust on your pizza. Everyone knows that a crunchy crust is superior no matter what kind of pizza one eats.
Utilizing a regular oven is the method that will save you the most time and effort. For example, put your pizza slice on a baking oil-coated baking tray or a pizza stone, then set the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
After around ten minutes in the oven, the cheese on top of your pizza should be bubbling and melted, and the dough should be crisp. You may also use a toaster oven with this approach successfully.
If you need to reheat a few slices, you can make things simpler by placing the skillet directly on one of the stove’s burners.
Place the slices in a normally preheated skillet at a temperature between medium-high and high. Then, immediately reduce the temperature to medium and cook them for a few minutes.
To facilitate the melting of the cheese, you would want to cover the pan with a lid.
Any of these approaches may be used successfully for making vegan pizzas and pizzas using frozen dough.
Final Words – How Long Is Pizza Good for in the Fridge?
You may save money by making pizza at home instead of ordering it from a restaurant, and the results will still be just as tasty. Because you can customize it however you want, making pizza at home is far more fun and flavorful than buying it ready-made from a store.
So, now you know how long you can store a pizza and how to store pizza in the refrigerator properly. So we’re sure you’ll order more pizza to satisfy your cravings.
This was a complete guide on how long pizza is good for in the fridge.
