How To Cook Frozen Pizza In The Microwave
Pizza seems like a staple food dish in almost every household. It’s quick and simple and seriously, who doesn’t love pizza? Microwave pizza is so easy to make and it takes only a matter of a few minutes so you can heat it when you need a quick solution.
The best part is, you can buy a multitude of frozen pizza products – varying sizes, crusts, toppings, etc. Now you can even purchase pizzas that are keto-friendly, gluten-free, or that meet diet restrictions. You can even make your own frozen pizza from scratch and store it away.
When it comes down to it, you may need a solution for cooking that frozen pizza.
Can you cook it in the microwave if that is your only option? Yes, you can microwave frozen pizza. Cook time depends on the wattage of the microwave you have at home. One thing to keep in mind is that the crust won’t be as crisp as oven-baked pizza.
In this guide, we will walk you through the steps for cooking your frozen pizza in the microwave. Many packages have instructions for this process but it’s not guaranteed. We want to ensure you have the best tools available for any type of pizza.
One thing you really want to have in the future though is a microwave crisper pan. This is a pan that absorbs the microwaves and will heat up like a frying pan to give your pizza a crispy crust. This one from Amazon is my favorite.
Keep reading to learn how to microwave frozen pizza and then some.
Your Guide to Microwaving Frozen Pizza
Frozen pizza comes in many shapes, sizes, and variations. Without even considering the multitudes of brands on the market, there are hundreds of choices.
Just to give you an idea of how vast the spectrum is, here are a few examples for you.
- Brick oven
- Thin crust
- Self-rising crust
- Stuffed crust
- Pan crust
- Cauliflower crust
- Gluten-free crust
- Chicago-style
This list only covers crust options. In addition to crust options, you have a variety of brands to choose from. From there, you will choose flavors and toppings. You can even find pizzas that are made with natural ingredients and designed to be healthy options.
Most people have a few select types of frozen pizzas that they use as their go-to options. This often comes from trying a few and determining you like a specific brand best because of the texture of the crust.
Let’s be honest, no two brands or types of frozen pizza are truly the same when you break it down. There are also various serving options. Single-serving pizzas to family-size pizzas and everything in between.
In addition to all of these options, you can make your own pizza and freeze it to use for the same purposes.
The Process of Making Frozen Pizzas
To give you a general idea of the overall process, we wanted to walk you through the process of making your own frozen pizza. We will then proceed to cooking your frozen pizza in the microwave and what you might be able to expect in the process.
Here is a simple instructional guideline for making ahead pizza to freeze and have frozen pizza available:
- Start by gathering ingredients and choosing the toppings you want for your pizza.
- You can buy pizza dough or mix up your own pizza dough recipe.
- Let your pizza dough sit at room temperature. Do not try to roll it cold.
- Roll out your pizza dough into whatever size and portion you want to make.
- Par-bake your dough. This part of the process helps to set your dough so that you don’t have to worry about it getting soggy or flattening in the freezer. Store-bought frozen pizzas have undergone similar processes.
- To par-bake, heat your oven to 450 degrees. Bake for 3-5 minutes. Your dough should be puffy and dry on top but remain pale in color.
- Add sauce, cheese, and toppings to your pizza crust. You can also just freeze the crust and add toppings later.
- Pre-freeze pizzas on a baking sheet uncovered for about 3 hours.
- Wrap pizzas first in a layer of plastic wrap and then in a layer of aluminum foil
It’s pretty simple to make your own frozen pizzas ahead of time if you prefer to do it that way. Then you just cook them straight from the freezer when you are ready to use them. There is no need to go through a defrost process, which is one of the best things about frozen pizza.
Microwaving Frozen Pizza
There are so many potential ways to cook your frozen pizza, it is unreal. Here are a few options just to give you an idea.
- Oven
- Microwave oven
- Microwave
- Skillet
- Griddle
Most pizzas come with directions for 1-2 methods of heating them up. The most common way to heat frozen pizza is to use the oven but the microwave is still an ideal solution.
Microwaving your frozen pizza is relatively easy and only takes a few minutes. If the crust is thick, it may take up to 8-10 minutes to heat it thoroughly.
Here is the catch to microwaving your frozen pizza. The microwave is not designed to brown the crust of your pizza. This could result in your crust seeming soggy or soft rather than crisp. This is just something to be aware of.
If you have some type of browning dish available or microwave-safe stoneware, this would be the ideal setting to help your crust microwave properly.
Or, they actually make special microwave crisper pans that are ideal for exactly this (this is my favorite one from Amazon).
Rather than give you specific steps for microwaving your pizza, we thought it might be more beneficial to give you a reference guide for the type of pizza and the approximate microwave time.
Before you start, be sure to remove any plastic wrap or packaging from the pizza and to place it on a microwave-safe dish.
Here is a quick reference chart for size and time frames for microwaving. These microwave times assume using your high setting or an average wattage of 1100.
| Size of Pizza | Microwave Time |
| 8-9 inch pizza | 4-6 minutes |
| 10-11 inch pizza | 5-7 minutes |
| 11-12 inch pizza | 7-11 minutes |
| French bread or thick crust pizza | 7-8 minutes |
| Mini pizzas | 5-7 minutes |
Keep in mind that if you are microwaving store-bought pizza, there may be instructions on the box. If there are specific instructions on the packaging, you should follow the instructions provided for the best results.
Cooking Frozen Pizzas Through Other Methods
There are far too many methods to cover each one in this guide. Our primary focus today is about cooking frozen pizza in the microwave.
However, we want to be sure you are aware this is not the ideal solution for cooking your frozen pizza. Most of the other methods for cooking frozen pizza take about the same amount of time.
The best method for heating your frozen pizza is the oven simply because it cooks the crust properly and crisps it in the process. The air fryer and microwave oven are both great tools as well.
However, we fully understand that sometimes these are simply not an option. Not everyone has these tools available and may simply need an alternative solution or a quick fix at the time. This is why we share the method and instructions to help you be as successful as possible as you attempt the process.
If you’re a pizza lover, we’re quite sure this process will be the perfect solution to get that piping hot pizza into your hands in no time!
Related Questions
We hope that you find this guide to be a satisfactory resource for cooking your frozen pizza in the microwave. We are quite certain that you will have delicious pizza if you follow the simple steps provided in the guide. Happy cooking to you!
We invite you to take a look at our question and answer section to see if there is any further information that could potentially be an additional resource for you.
Is it Bad to Thaw Frozen Pizza Before Cooking it?
Frozen pizzas are designed to be cooked from a frozen state. However, it is not necessarily a bad thing to thaw it if you want to. If you do allow your frozen pizza to thaw before cooking it, be sure you don’t attempt to refreeze it.
Additionally, you run the risk of having a soggy pizza as well and the texture of the dough may be compromised from the thawing process. It does not necessarily hurt the pizza but you should certainly be aware of the potential results.
Can You Eat a Frozen Pizza Uncooked?
The great thing about frozen pizzas is that the ingredients on top are already cooked. The dough for the crust is even par-baked slightly so it’s not completely raw dough. You can eat your pizza cold and uncooked, although it might taste better if you heat it up in some way.
What Are Some Popular Frozen Pizza Brands?
There is an astronomical number of brands. Most stores also have their own generic brands. Here are a few popular brands to name a few – Red Baron, DiGiorgio, Tombstone, Totinos, Freschetta, California Kitchen, and Amy’s. There are many more as well.
