How To Make Pizza at Home in a Toaster Oven? (2023 Complete Guide)

How To Bake or Reheat Pizza in a toaster oven

I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t fond of this food. Whether it be frozen, fresh from the supermarket, or homemade, pizza is one of those foods that repeatedly appear in households all across the world.

It’s a common misconception that you need to have a ‘real’ oven to cook or reheat a pizza to the ideal doneness but let me tell you, folks, this is not the case. If you’re living in a place with a small kitchen that can only accommodate a toaster oven, or you want to save on some electricity by cutting out the amount of time you’re using your high consumption oven, then this will be a great read for you!

Tidbit – A toaster oven draws less energy from an electrical socket and uses on average half the wattage of what a conventional oven would. By switching over and cooking your pizza in a toaster oven, you could be saving precious dollars on your energy bill without sacrificing that perfectly cooked pizza.

Find tidbits and helpful hints in this article on how to cook or reheat pizza in a toaster oven!

Cooking Pizza In a Toaster Oven

First things first, if you plan on cooking pizza in a toaster oven, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got your settings switched to convection if your pizza toaster oven has this option. Cooking or reheating on the convection setting will speed up the cooking process and ensure even heating (you could even try a microwave toaster oven combo). Another helpful tip is always to remember to preheat your oven before putting your pizza in; the standard temperature of 400 degrees F will suffice.

If you opt for using your toaster oven for cooking a pizza rather than in your conventional oven, you will have to make some considerations first. When cooking pizza in a toaster oven, take a look at some of the things you should keep in mind:

  • Pizza toaster ovens have hot spots: This means that the food you are cooking has a higher likelihood that it will overcook or burn if you don’t keep an eye on it. Proper rotation of your item will ensure you have the best toaster oven pizza.
  • Heating elements: These elements are positioned fairly close to the cooking rack and, thus, close to your food, often resulting in uneven cooking.
  • The recipe: It may be necessary to make some alternations to your current recipe if you plan to bake your fresh or frozen pizza in a toaster oven. We’d suggest finding a recipe for a thin crust; look at an example of a thin crust toaster oven pizza recipe. Trying to cook a thicker crust pizza from raw may result in a pizza with overcooked toppings and a gooey base.
  • Toaster oven pizza pan: Although some recipes suggest using a pizza pan in a toaster oven, we’d say that popping the pizza right on the grates will most likely produce a better product. Many online reviewers suggest that if you want a cooking plate that maintains heat but you don’t want to use a pizza pan, your best option is to consider a toaster oven pizza stone for information on using a pizza stone; click here. Among many positive characteristics,  a pizza stone can retain heat as no baking pan can; this alone makes it a desirable must-have tool for cooking toaster oven pizza.

Helpful hint: Don’t want to sacrifice your thick crust? No problem. Bake your crust first until it’s almost fully cooked, then place your toppings on and put it back into the toaster oven to finish your creation.

What If I don’t Have Time To Make Dough?

If making fresh dough seems like too much work, but you still want to have something that tastes like pizza, consider swapping in a ready-made bread product for the base instead of making fresh. For example, Pitas, tortillas, English muffins, bagels, or even long sandwich rolls that can be cut lengthwise down the middle work great as pizza bases when you’re in a pinch.

Check out these toaster oven pizza recipes for when you have a pizza craving but not enough time to whip up the dough:

Toaster Oven Pizza Bagels

Sun-dried Tomato Tortilla Pizza

10 Min Toaster Oven Pita Pizzas

Sandwich Pizzas & More!

How to reheat pizza in a toaster oven should be a no-brainer, but then again, a simple misuse of the functions on your toaster oven can result in a pizza disaster. So first, take a look below for a quick refresher on reheating pizza in a toaster oven. Then, follow these steps for a disaster-free dinner.

Reheating Pizzas In a Toaster Oven

Before even thinking about popping your delicious slice of last night’s pizza into the toaster oven, the most important step to take is to choose your settings. Ensure your toaster oven is set to convection; this will speed up the cooking process and ensure even cooking. If you only have a bake setting, don’t worry; you’ll need a little extra time to get that slice of pizza hot. Once your toaster is all set and ready to go, pop your slice directly on the rack. Cooking time will be anywhere between 5-10 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the pizza. To reheat without overcooking a pizza in a toaster oven, a temperature of 350 degrees F works well.

If you’re putting a frozen pizza in the toaster oven, you’ll need more time, and we’d suggest preheating your oven beforehand. Follow the correct instructions for temperature settings on the box if you’re unsure. You’ll know that the pizza is done when the cheese begins to bubble and the crust starts to brown. Take the pizza out carefully with tongs or mitts and let it cool until you can handle it with your bare hands.

Helpful hint: Want to save a little extra energy? Whether you’re trying to cook the best toaster oven frozen pizza or reheating a pizza, turn off the pizza toaster oven a few minutes before you’re ready to take your pizza out and let the residual heat finish the cooking.

Best Toaster Oven for Pizzas

Owning a toaster oven doesn’t have to be like some curse. As you’ve seen from the recipes posted above, the sky is the limit when it comes to making the best toaster oven pizza. With a toaster oven like the Oster Large Capacity Digital Convection Oven, you’ll be well on your way to testing out new toaster oven pizza recipes whenever you have the chance. Cooking a pizza in a toaster oven can be fun and delicious!

Oster Large Capacity Digital Convection Oven

CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT PRICING


Remember what we mentioned before about those things you should keep in mind when using a toaster oven for cooking pizza? Luckily, new age toaster ovens are combatting some of these problems and coming out with ovens that cook more like a conventional oven.

Helpful hint: If you’ve attempted pizza in your toaster oven and haven’t had the best results, check the type of fan your toaster oven has; this could be the key. Consider switching up your current toaster oven to one that has a fan next to the actual heating element; that way, throughout the cooking process, the oven will constantly circulate fresh hot air.

Here are 2 of our top pics for the best toaster oven!

  1. Breville Smart Toaster Oven BOV845BSS with Element IQ
  2. Cuisinart CSO-300N Convection Steam Oven

Breville Smart Toaster Oven BOV845BSS with Element IQ

CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT PRICING


Cuisinart CSO-300N Convection Steam Oven

CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT PRICING


Both of the above have convection settings, digital panels and are highly rated by trusted reviewers for their performance!

For a more detailed review, including more options for the best toaster oven, please take a look at our list of the best of the best.

Have We Made You A Believer?

If you follow closely our tidbits and helpful hints for how to cook or reheat pizza in a toaster oven, we are confident that you’ll be serving up some fine food to whoever is lucky enough to try a slice. Cooking and reheating pizza in a toaster oven is not only a great option for making a  tasty pizza, but it is also an efficient way to cook all sorts of foods.

Next time you look to your conventional oven when baking a pizza, think again and head over to your toaster oven!

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