Leftover pizza is one of those foods that should be easy to reheat, but somehow the microwave manages to turn a perfectly good slice into something soft and chewy.
The cheese gets hot. The toppings are warm. And the crust? Somehow it has the texture of a damp sponge.
An air fryer fixes most of that. The hot circulating air warms the pizza quickly while bringing some of that crispness back to the crust. You get melted cheese, hot toppings, and a bottom that actually has some bite to it.
So, how do you reheat pizza in an air fryer?
The quick version
Set your air fryer to 350°F (175°C) and heat refrigerated pizza for about 3–5 minutes.
For a thin crust, start checking around 2–3 minutes. A thicker or deep-dish slice may need 4–6 minutes.
Put the pizza in a single layer and don’t stack the slices. Start checking early because air fryers vary, and nobody wants to turn leftover pizza into a cracker.
That’s really all there is to it.
But there are a few small things that make a big difference.
What temperature to reheat pizza in an air fryer
For most leftover pizza, 350°F (175°C) is the best starting point.
It is hot enough to crisp the crust and melt the cheese without being so aggressive that the outside dries out before the middle gets warm.
Here’s a useful starting guide:
| Type of pizza | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Thin crust | 350°F / 175°C | 2–3 minutes |
| Regular crust | 350°F / 175°C | 3–5 minutes |
| Thick crust | 350°F / 175°C | 4–6 minutes |
| Deep dish | 325–350°F / 165–175°C | 5–7 minutes |
| Frozen leftover slice | 350–375°F / 175–190°C | 6–10 minutes |
These are starting points, not magic numbers. A small air fryer can behave differently from a large one, and some models move a lot more hot air than others.
The important thing is to check your pizza early rather than blindly following the timer.
Several established cooking guides land around 350°F / 175°C and 3–5 minutes for refrigerated slices, with thicker pizza taking longer.
How to reheat pizza in an air fryer
You don’t need much preparation.
1. Put the pizza in the basket
Place your pizza slices in a single layer.
Try not to overlap them. Air fryers work by moving hot air around the food, so if two slices are sitting on top of each other, the middle parts won’t heat or crisp as well.
For one or two slices, leave a little space between them when possible.
2. Set the air fryer to 350°F (175°C)
For a normal refrigerated slice, 350°F / 175°C is a good starting point.
You usually don’t need to add oil. Pizza already has plenty of fat from the cheese, sauce, and toppings.
You also don’t need to spray the crust with water. That might sound like a good way to stop it from drying out, but you’re trying to bring the crust back to a crisp texture, not add more moisture.
3. Start with 3 minutes
Set the timer for about 3 minutes for a normal slice.
Thin crust pizza may already be ready at this point. A thicker slice will probably need another minute or two.
Open the basket and have a look.
The cheese should be melted and the pizza should be hot in the middle. The crust should feel crisp rather than soft.
4. Add more time in small amounts
Still cold in the center?
Give it another 30–60 seconds.
This is much better than putting it in for 7 or 8 minutes straight and hoping for the best.
The exact reheating time depends on the thickness of the pizza, how cold it is, how many slices you’re heating, and your particular air fryer. Competitor guides make the same point, with recommended times ranging from roughly 2 minutes for thin slices to 5 minutes or more for thick pizza.
How to reheat pizza in an air fryer without drying it out
This is probably the second most important question after temperature.
The biggest mistake is simply cooking it for too long.
You’re reheating pizza, not cooking it from scratch. The pizza is already cooked, so you’re mainly trying to warm the center and bring the crust back to life.
A few things help:
Use moderate heat.
350°F / 175°C is usually enough. Going straight to 400°F can make the crust brown very quickly.
Check early.
Start checking thin pizza after 2 minutes and regular pizza after about 3 minutes.
Don’t overcrowd the basket.
Good airflow helps the crust crisp instead of trapping moisture around the slices.
Take fresh toppings off first.
If your pizza has fresh basil, rocket/arugula, salad greens, or another delicate topping, remove it before reheating and add it back afterward.
And don’t worry about getting the first attempt absolutely perfect. Your air fryer is going to teach you something about itself pretty quickly.
If the pizza comes out too dry, reduce the time next time.
If the center is cold but the crust is already dark, lower the temperature slightly and give it a little longer.
Want a really crispy crust?
This is where the air fryer has a huge advantage over the microwave.
A microwave is great at getting food hot quickly, but it isn’t designed to recreate the crisp texture of a pizza crust. The air fryer uses circulating hot air, which helps dry and crisp the surface while the cheese heats up.
For the crispiest result:
Place the pizza directly in the air fryer basket or on the air-fry tray if your model uses one.
Keep the slices separated.
Use 350°F / 175°C.
Start checking after 2–3 minutes.
Don’t cover the pizza unless you have a specific reason to. Covering it can reduce the airflow that gives the crust its crispness.
A piece of parchment can be useful for messy toppings or easier cleanup, but don’t completely block the air from circulating underneath the pizza. Some guides recommend perforated parchment for exactly this reason.
How long to reheat pizza in an air fryer at 400°F?
You can reheat pizza at 400°F, but I wouldn’t make it your default setting.
At 400°F / 200°C, a normal slice may take roughly 3–4 minutes, depending on its thickness and your air fryer.
The problem is that the higher temperature gives you a smaller margin for error.
The crust can become hard before the cheese and center are properly warmed, especially with thin pizza.
So if you’re wondering, “Can I reheat pizza in an air fryer at 400?” — yes.
But if you’re wondering, “What’s the best temperature?” — I’d start with 350°F / 175°C.
Use 400°F when you specifically want a faster, more aggressive crisp and you’re willing to watch it closely.
How to reheat pizza in an air fryer in Celsius
No conversion headache here.
If your air fryer uses Celsius, use:
350°F = 175°C
That’s the main temperature you’ll need for refrigerated leftover pizza.
A simple guide:
| Fahrenheit | Celsius |
|---|---|
| 325°F | 165°C |
| 350°F | 175°C |
| 375°F | 190°C |
| 400°F | 200°C |
For most leftover pizza, 175°C for 3–5 minutes is a solid place to start.
This also works well if you’re searching for how to reheat pizza in an air fryer in the UK or Australia, where Celsius is commonly used.
How to reheat pizza in an air fryer from frozen
There’s a small but important difference here.
If you mean leftover pizza that you froze, you can reheat it directly from frozen. You don’t have to thaw it first.
Start at around 350°F / 175°C for 6–10 minutes.
Thicker slices will take longer than thin ones.
Check the pizza around the 5–6 minute mark. If the middle is still cold, continue in 1-minute increments.
For a very thick slice, dropping the temperature slightly can help warm the middle without turning the crust too dark.
There’s also another situation people sometimes mean by “frozen pizza”: a completely uncooked frozen pizza.
That’s different.
A frozen pizza intended to be cooked from frozen will generally need a much longer cooking time and should follow the package instructions or the air fryer instructions for that particular pizza.
We’re talking here about already-cooked pizza that has been frozen as a leftover.
USDA guidance says frozen leftovers can be reheated without thawing, although they will take longer than refrigerated leftovers.
How to reheat pizza in a Ninja air fryer
Good news: you don’t need a special Ninja pizza method.
For a normal refrigerated slice, start with:
Air Fry → 350°F / 175°C → 3–5 minutes
Place the slice in the basket and check it after about 3 minutes.
Ninja models can vary, just like other air fryers, so don’t assume the exact same timing will work every time.
If your Ninja has a Reheat function, you can use it when you prefer gentler reheating. But the standard Air Fry setting works very well when your main goal is a crispy crust.
The same basic rule applies: start slightly early and add time rather than trying to rescue an overcooked slice.
How to reheat pizza in an air fryer toaster oven
An air fryer toaster oven works in basically the same way, but you usually have more space.
If your appliance has an Air Fry function, use that for the crispiest result.
Set it to around 350°F / 175°C and place the pizza on the appropriate air-fry rack or tray.
Start checking at about 3–4 minutes.
Because toaster-oven style air fryers can have different rack positions and heating elements, your pizza may cook faster or slower than it does in a basket-style air fryer.
If your toaster oven has a Reheat, Bake, or Air Fry setting, the exact best choice depends on the appliance. For maximum crispness, Air Fry is usually the obvious place to start.
And remember: the higher rack position in some toaster ovens can expose the pizza more directly to the heating element, so watch the cheese if it’s browning too quickly. Toaster-oven guides also recommend checking early because these appliances vary considerably between models.
What setting should you use to reheat pizza in an air fryer?
If your air fryer gives you several choices, don’t overthink it.
For crispy leftover pizza:
Setting: Air Fry
Temperature: 350°F / 175°C
Time: 3–5 minutes
If your air fryer has a dedicated Reheat setting, that can work too, especially if you prefer a slightly softer crust.
If your pizza is already quite dry, Reheat or a slightly lower temperature can be useful.
If you’re trying to get that crisp bottom back, Air Fry is the better choice.
Why does the microwave make leftover pizza soggy?
There’s a reason your microwave and air fryer produce such different results.
Leftover pizza contains moisture from the sauce, cheese, and toppings. As the pizza sits, some of that moisture moves into the crust.
The microwave heats the food very quickly, but it doesn’t give you the same dry, circulating heat needed to crisp that surface.
That’s why microwave pizza can be hot but still soft.
The air fryer moves hot air around the slice, which helps heat it while also drying the surface and restoring some crispness. Food scientists have specifically pointed to this rapid hot-air circulation as one of the reasons air fryers work so well for reheating pizza.
We’ve actually covered this broader problem in our Microwave to Air Fryer Conversion guide, especially for leftovers that are meant to stay crispy.
A few things that can go wrong
The crust is burning but the middle is cold
The temperature is probably too high for the thickness of the pizza.
Try 325°F / 165°C and give it a little more time.
This is especially useful for thick-crust or deep-dish pizza.
The pizza is warm but still soggy
Make sure the slices aren’t overlapping.
Also, don’t cover the pizza during reheating and don’t overcrowd the basket. Air needs room to circulate.
The cheese is getting too dark
Your pizza may simply be too close to the heating element.
Lower the temperature slightly and check the pizza more often.
This is particularly common in smaller basket air fryers and toaster-oven models.
The crust is rock hard
You probably went a little too long.
Try reducing the cooking time rather than immediately lowering the temperature.
For a thin slice, even an extra minute can make a noticeable difference.
Do you need to preheat the air fryer?
This one depends on your air fryer.
For a quick reheating job, you can often put the pizza straight into the basket. Some air fryer reheating guides specifically skip preheating, while others preheat to get a more predictable crisp result.
For the simplest approach, start without preheating and check the pizza a little later.
If you find that your particular air fryer gives you better crust results after preheating, preheat it for a few minutes and shorten the cooking time accordingly.
The important thing is consistency. Once you know how your air fryer behaves, you can repeat the same method every time.
Can you reheat pizza more than once?
You can, but the quality usually gets worse each time.
Every reheating cycle gives the crust another chance to lose moisture and become harder.
That’s why it’s better to reheat only the number of slices you’re actually going to eat.
And there’s a food-safety point here too: properly stored leftovers should be reheated thoroughly. USDA guidance recommends reheating leftovers to 165°F (74°C) and says perishable leftovers shouldn’t sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Refrigerated cooked leftovers are generally recommended for use within about 3–4 days.
So if that pizza has been sitting on the kitchen counter all night, the air fryer isn’t going to make it safe.
The method I’d use
When I just want a good slice of leftover pizza without thinking about it too much, this is the routine:
350°F / 175°C
3–5 minutes
Single layer
Check early
Add 30–60 seconds if needed
That’s it.
Thin pizza usually needs less.
Thick pizza usually needs more.
Frozen leftovers need considerably longer.
And if you want it extra crispy, give the slice a little more time rather than immediately cranking the temperature way up.
One more useful connection
If you’re using your air fryer because you’re converting cooking instructions from another appliance, our Oven to Air Fryer Converter can do the temperature and time adjustment for you.
The same basic idea applies here: air fryers use concentrated heat and fast-moving air, so copying an oven temperature and time exactly isn’t always the best approach.
Your turn
Try one slice first.
That’s honestly the easiest way to figure out your air fryer. Start at 350°F / 175°C, check it early, and make a note of what worked.
Next time, you’ll know exactly how many minutes your particular air fryer needs.
And suddenly that leftover pizza from last night doesn’t feel like leftovers anymore.
