How To Cook a Frozen Pizza in the Air Fryer
Classic Frozen Pizzas
Frozen pizza is a go-to for many families, loved by kids and adults. Whether you’re indulging in a quick snack or it’s the only option your picky eaters will go for, keeping a stash of frozen pizzas in your freezer ensures you always have an easy meal ready to go.
While convenient, frozen pizzas often fall short in flavor and texture. Baked in the oven, they can end up unevenly cooked—underdone in the center or burnt on the edges.
That’s where the air fryer comes in! It speeds up the cooking process and gives your frozen pizza a crisp, delicious finish. Not only does it make this meal even simpler, but it also improves the taste. Keep reading to discover how to make the perfect air fryer frozen pizza!
Any Frozen Pizza Brand or Crust Style
You only need a frozen pizza and an air fryer. Any frozen pizza will do. These instructions work for:
- Red Baron
- California Pizza Kitchen
- Digiorno
- Newman’s Own
- Thin-crust pizzas
- Thick crust pizzas
- Vegan pizzas
- Gluten-free
- Cauliflower crust pizzas
- and so many more!
The Best Pizza Size for Cooking in the Air Fryer
Your air fryer will be able to cook any frozen pizza to perfection. However, most family-sized pizzas are not going to fit. Most air fryers are only 14-inches wide. A frozen pizza from the supermarket is usually 16-inches round. It would be more convenient to use a personal-size pizza.
But still perfectly doable if you have a pizza that does not fit in your air fryer basket. All you have to do is cut your pizza first, then cook it in batches.
A decent kitchen knife should slice through a frozen pizza easily. If you have a front-loading air fryer with racks, you can put half of it on each level and cook them together. If yours has a basket, you might have to cook them separately.
Keeping the Pizza Toppings From Blowing off the Pizza
Cheese pizzas, pepperoni pizzas, loaded pizzas— they all cook in the same amount of time! The only difference is that some of the toppings may blow off the pizza. Here are a few ideas to stop the toppings from blowing around in the air fryer:
- Add more cheese on top of the other toppings.
- Place a wire rack on top of the pizza to hold the toppings down.
- Use toothpicks to hold down individual, lighter-weight toppings such as pepperoni or veggies.
How To Air Fry a Frozen Pizza
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (200°C).
- Remove the pizza from the box or package and place it in the air fryer. Cut it into slices if it is too big to fit.
- Add some diced peppers, crumbled leftover pork sausage, or black olives. Sprinkle on Italian seasoning and some of your favorite spices.
- Use a wire rack if you have lighter-weight ingredients. Toppings like spinach, mushrooms, or pepperoni may fly off the pizza due to the hot air blowing in the air fryer.
- Add additional cheese. Most pizzas come with mozzarella. Adding some white cheddar, Monterey Jack, or provolone can change the flavor a lot.
- Air fry for 8 minutes. It should have a golden crispy crust with melted cheese throughout.
- If you like your crust a little crisper, continue to air fry for another 2 minutes.
Don’t Overcook It
Don’t Overcook ItFrozen pizzas are delicate. They can burn very quickly. Be sure you check your pizza after 8 minutes before deciding to cook it more. Once it is burned, there is no going back.
Punch up the Flavor with Sauce and Seasonings
There are so many delicious ingredients to add to a frozen pizza to take the flavor up a notch. Try adding:
- Parmesan cheese
- Red pepper flakes after it’s cooked
- Fresh basil leaves
- Sriracha for a nice kick
- Spicy ranch dressing or nacho cheese for a dipping sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you thaw your frozen pizza first?
Cooking the pizza while it is still frozen is actually better than thawing it first! Cooking a frozen pizza in an air fryer quickly lets it cook on both sides. The air fryer prevents it from becoming soggy as it bakes. The convection of the air fryer will cook it evenly across the surface, making the middle cooked and the crust crispy.
Do you need to spray the air fryer?
The pizza crust has a fair amount of oil in it. As it cooks, the oil will come out into the air fryer. There is no reason to add olive oil spray to prevent it from sticking to the rack or basket. Cooking a frozen pizza in an air fryer removes some of the oil, making your pizza a little healthier than cooking it by other methods.
Final Thoughts
Cooking frozen pizza in the air fryer is simple and fast—just pop the pizza in and set the timer. It’s a no-fuss way to make a meal that both kids and adults will enjoy, all without creating a mess in the kitchen.
Head to the store, grab a few frozen pizzas, and play around with different cook times and toppings to find your perfect combination. Don’t be afraid to get creative and try new twists on your favorite pizza. With the air fryer, you’ll discover a quicker, healthier, and more flavorful way to enjoy pizza!
When you’re ready to take cooking pizza to the next level try homemade pizza dough in the air fryer!
If you’re a pizza lover or looking to make quick prepacked meals taste better in the air fryer, try these recipes!
More Pizza Recipes in the Air Fryer:
- Air Fryer Biscuit Pizza
- Air Fryer Cabbage Steak Pizza
- Air Fryer Pizza Sliders
- Air Fryer Pizza Sticks
- BBQ Chicken Naan Pizza
More Meals to Cook from Frozen in the Air Fryer:
- Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Air Fryer
- Frozen Mozzarella Sticks in the Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Frozen Egg Rolls
- Air Fryer Frozen Taquitos
- Air Fryer Frozen Corndogs
Air fryer tips and tricks
- Air Fryer 101
- Learn these common Air Fryer Mistakes!
- All about the Best and Worst Air Fryer Accessories
- How to Clean Your Air Fryer
- How to Cook Any Recipe in the Air Fryer
- FREE Download → Air Fryer Tips & Temps
- Air Fryer Buying Guide
- Watch Fabulessly Frugal YouTube Channel for Air Fryer Recipes
How To Cook Air Fryer Frozen Pizza
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 box frozen pizza
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 °F
- .Take the pizza out of the box or package and place it in the air fryer.
- Now is your chance to doctor it up and give your pizza some extra flavor. Look in your refrigerator and see what you have.
- Add some peppers, slice up some leftover sausage, and throw it on there. Sprinkle on some Italian seasoning and some of your favorite spices.
- If you have some shredded cheese, add that as well. Most pizzas come with mozzarella. Adding some cheddar or Monterey jack can change the flavor a lot.
- Air fry for 8 minutes.
- After that, it should have a golden crust, and the cheese should be evenly melted. If you like your crust a little crisper, put it back for another 2 minutes to perfect it.
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Another excellent way to go, is to make your own homemade pizza dough, custom make your pizza sized to fit your particular air fryer, there is no law that a pizza has to be round! Make it square if your air fryer drawer is square like in a Cosori or many other makes. You can dress it up the way you want, use your favourite brand of pizza sauce or make your own. Make a batch of pizza dough and put together a bunch of pizzas topped the way you like them, wrap them up in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. Experiment, have fun. When you feel like a pizza, they will be there waiting for you. I’d been making my own pizzas for years, and I had a buddy who asked me if I had ever tried freezing one. That gave me the incentive to try it out, and since then I have made an awful lot of them for friends who have asked me for one. If you find that a pizza does not cook all the way through, perhaps the dough does not cook completely, you can try par-baking the dough in the oven for 5 minutes before letting it cool and dressing it. I usually do that with regular sized pizzas of 12″ or more, which works great.
Try it out, you may be pleasantly surprised at the results. Making your own is also considerably cheaper than buying the frozen ones.
Thank you for this insight! Yes, we love to make homemade pizza and have this delicious homemade pizza dough recipe- https://fabulesslyfrugal.com/recipes/easy-peasy-homemade-pizza-crust-recipe/
I’ve experimented a little but this answers all the questions—except one! How do you keep the added toppings (esp pepperoni) from flying off in the convection wind? I covered last one with big-hole vented foil and that worked well. Don’t know if that best though.
Great question, Ann! Have you tried using a wire rack or toothpicks? Another option is to try placing other heavier toppings on top? Let me know if you find something that works super great!