The Brilliant, Low-Effort Way to Always Have Pizza at a Moment’s Notice

Every Friday night we order two large pizzas for our weekly pizza night. One large cheese and one large pepperoni pizza are more than my family can eat in a single sitting, but our over-ordering of pizza is fully intentional: The leftovers are headed straight to the freezer.

Consider this a lazy form of meal prep if you will, but stashing extra pizza in the freezer, rather than just eating up the leftovers, means that we always have pizza slices at the ready. These slices can become a quick weekday lunch for one, or we can pull out multiple slices for a nearly no-cook weeknight dinner. This pizza strategy has saved dinner more times than I can count in recent months.

While I’m personally a big fan of pizza for breakfast (as is my 5-year-old), ordering extra pizza is actually a meal prep hack I learned from food writer and meal prep pro Tracy Benjamin (of the popular site Shutterbean). Order slightly more pizza than you typical eat (or, hey, even a whole extra pizza) and freeze the slices individually. Later you can pull from your single slice pizza stockpile for easy weekday lunches or nights when you’re too tired to cook.

And while I also keep store-bought frozen pizza on hand at times, going the takeout-and-freeze route has a couple of unique benefits. For one, I can grab just one slice or five — no need to heat up an entire pie if only my son wants a quick lunch. Plus, I love the fact that I get to support our local businesses by placing a big takeout order — especially now more than ever!

Read more: The Best Ways to Store Leftover Pizza

While we typically just stash leftover pizza slices in a big zip-top bag in the fridge, freezing individual slices that are easy to grab and reheat requires just a teensy bit more effort. Separate the slices from each other using a knife or a pizza cutter. Wrap the slices individually in plastic wrap and then freeze these wrapped slices in a single layer in the freezer on a baking sheet. Then move the frozen pizza slices to an airtight container or zip-top bag for long-term storage. Frozen pizza slices keep well for about two months in the freezer, if they last that long.

We use a couple of strategies for reheating these frozen pizza slices, depending on the number of slices. The very best way to reheat a slice or two of pizza is on the stovetop with a large skillet, a little water, and a lid. For four or more slices, I like to use the broiler and heat a baking sheet for about five minutes under the heat and then add the slices to the hot pan and broil everything for four to five minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

Read more: We Tried 5 Methods of Reheating Pizza — And Found a Clear Winner