How To Make Frozen Pizzas at Home
With just two little tricks you can fill your freezer with all the made-ahead frozen pizzas you could ever want.
Serves2 to 4
Makes1 large pizza
Frozen pizzas have their time and place, like when we need a backup
weeknight meal
It’s also easy to do. With just two little tricks you can fill your freezer with all the made-ahead frozen pizzas you could ever want.
Frozen Pizza Is Your New BFF
Whenever I’m planning a pizza night, I’ll often prepare extra dough and toppings. A few pizzas get baked straight away for dinner and the rest get frozen for later meals. These pizzas are perfect for instances when I run out of time or motivation to make a full meal.
If I know a particularly busy time is coming up, I’ll make sure I have a good supply of pizzas along with my other freezer meals to see me through.
Frozen pizzas also make a great food gift to give new parents too busy to cook or students heading back to school. Smaller individual-sized pizzas are a good after-school snack for kids still living at home — older children can even heat their own pizzas.
Made ourselves with toppings that we get to choose, I see absolutely nothing wrong with having a few frozen pizzas in the freezer!
Key Steps to Better Frozen Pizza at Home
Par-bake the crust.
The first trick is to par-bake the crust, which sounds more complicated than it really is. Par-baking really just means you partially bake the crust before topping and freezing it. This ensures an extra-crisp crust and zero sogginess upon final baking. (P.S.: These par-baked crust can be frozen without toppings too, which is an ingenious way to prep for a personal pizza party.)
Freeze the pizzas uncovered in a single layer.
When the par-baked crusts are cooled, top them with your favorite toppings and then freeze them unwrapped on a baking sheet until solid, about three hours. This prevents the wrapping from clinging to the cheese and sauce and makes them easier to unwrap later.
Double-wrap the pizzas before freezing.
The second trick is to wrap the par-baked and topped pizzas first in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. This double layer protects pizzas and their toppings from drying out in the freezer, which leads to freezer burn and a less-than-stellar pizza. Wrapped this way, pizzas can be kept frozen for up to three months.
Bake the pizzas from frozen.
When you’re ready to bake your frozen pizza, crank the oven to 500°F and ready a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven for baking. Take the pizzas directly from the freezer, unwrap, and bake from frozen.
How To Make Homemade Frozen Pizza
With just two little tricks you can fill your freezer with all the made-ahead frozen pizzas you could ever want.
Makes 1 large pizza
Serves 2 to 4
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 pound
pizza dough, at room temperature at least 1 hour
- 1/2 to 1 cup
sauce: tomato sauce or other spread
- 2 to 3 cups
other toppings: sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms, pepperoni, cooked sausage, cooked bacon, diced peppers, leftover veggies, or any other favorite toppings
- 1 to 2 cups
shredded or sliced cheese (8 to 16 ounces), such as mozzarella, Monterey Jack, provolone, fontina, or any other favorite
Equipment
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
Baking stone (or baking sheet)
Plastic wrap
Aluminum foil
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven, place a baking stone or baking sheet on the rack, and heat to 450°F.
Roll out the pizza rounds. Divide the pizza dough in half to make 2 individual pizzas, if desired. Place the ball of dough in the middle of a piece of parchment paper. Roll it out to your preferred thinness. If the dough starts to shrink back and crinkle the paper, let it rest for a few minutes and then try rolling it out again. If making 2 individual pizzas, repeat with the second round of dough.
Par-bake the pizza rounds. Slide the pizza rounds on the parchment sheets onto the hot baking stone or baking sheet. Bake until the rounds are puffy and dry on the top, but still very pale, 3 to 5 minutes.
Let the pizza rounds cool completely. Remove the parchment from beneath the pizza rounds and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
Top the pizzas. When cool, top the rounds as you would if you were going to bake them right away: Spread some sauce on the pizzas, add toppings, and sprinkle cheese over the top. Note: Pizza rounds can also be frozen un-topped.
Freeze the pizzas. Place the pizzas on a baking sheet and freeze, uncovered, until solid, about 3 hours.
Wrap the pizzas in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Once frozen, remove the pizzas from the freezer and wrap them first in plastic wrap. Write the pizza toppings on a piece of masking tape and stick the label to the plastic wrap. Then, wrap the pizzas in a layer of aluminum foil. The double layer protects the pizzas from drying out in the freezer.
Freeze for pizzas for up to 3 months. The pizzas can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Bake the frozen pizzas. When ready to bake the pizzas, heat the oven to 550°F (or the temperature at which you normally cook your pizzas). If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven as it heats; frozen pizzas can also be baked on the foil used to wrap them. Unwrap the pizzas, discard the plastic wrap, and slide into the oven. Bake until the crust is dark brown and the cheese in the center of the pizza is bubbly, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool a few minutes, slice, and serve.