Is It Safe To Put A Cardboard Pizza Box In The Oven?

Leftover pizza is an inevitability. Sometimes our eyes are much bigger than our stomachs when it comes to a good pizza.

We look at the Dominos or Pizza Hut menu, pick out a massive selection of delicious pizzas, and find that we can only eat one of them! 

So what do you do with leftover pizza? Do you save it for tomorrow and eat it cold? Place it in the microwave? Or maybe even the oven? These are all valid options, and reheated pizza usually tastes just as good the next day as it did the day you bought it.

But the question now is how do you heat the pizza up? Can you place it directly into your microwave? Maybe onto a baking tray? Or maybe you could even just place the pizza box right into your oven?

Many people have asked these questions regarding their leftover pizza, but sometimes find that they just don’t get any clear answers, which can inevitably lead to disaster!

Want to avoid ruining your perfectly good pizza? Read on below to find out whether you can put your cardboard pizza box into the oven!

Is It Safe To Put A Cardboard Box In The Oven?

Absolutely not. Placing paper or cardboard products into the oven can lead to catastrophic fires that would likely need attention from your local firefighting team!

While cardboard pizza boxes might be built to handle high temperatures to keep your pizza warm, they are not designed to handle temperatures that go over 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Anything beyond that temperature would cause the cardboard to set alight. Theoretically, you could place the cardboard box into the oven at a lower temperature, but this is still recommended against.

There is still a great chance of a fire risk from placing cardboard into the oven at a low temperature, and at a low temperature, your pizza will not reheat quite as effectively.

Thus you should just avoid the risk outright, as the benefits definitely do not outweigh them.

Why Can You Not Put Paper Or Cardboard Into The Oven?

Paper can set fire incredibly easily, and very instantly. Thus it is incredibly dangerous to place it into your oven. You should not be putting any kind of paper product into your oven, to avoid creating a dangerous fire. 

If you are unsure whether you can place a paper product into your oven, you should make sure to check carefully. Check the packaging to see if it mentions that a product is oven safe, before placing it in. 

Even oven-safe papers like parchment paper, which are coated in oven-safe oils, are not fireproof, and can still burn and set alight under intense temperatures. Thus, you should make sure to be careful even with paper products that are designed for oven use.

The same all applies to cardboard, which is made from interlaced paper, and thus, is just as susceptible to burning.

What Can You Use To Place Pizza Into The Oven?

If you have some leftover pizza that you want to reheat in the oven, then there are plenty of surfaces you can use to carry the pizza. Of course, you should avoid just using the cardboard box, as it will set fire. 

Instead, you should try using a baking tray. Baking trays are designed to handle intense temperatures and can help to crisp up your pizza, to give it a nice and satisfying crunch.

If your pizza does not fit onto a baking tray, try dividing it up into individual slices, and placing those slices in a different formation that is more suitable. 

You may also have your own pizza-shaped baking tray, which is designed to cradle the circle shape of the pizza while still allowing the full range of heat to reach the pizza.

If you don’t have one, these trays can be bought very inexpensively from your nearest grocery store or hardware store.

You could even place your pizza onto a favorite plate, and then pop it into your microwave for around two minutes. This means you can access reheated pizza far quicker, and without risking damaging your plate.

Pizza takes quite well to being reheated in the microwave, and can be done in just a short few minutes, meaning you could well pace out your leftover pizza over the course of the day, with half of it for lunch, and then the other half for dinner!

Can You Reheat A Pizza In A Pizza Oven?

Maybe a few of you reading this have access to your own specially designed pizza oven. If so, you can also use that to help to reheat your pizza.

Just make sure to keep an eye over your pizza as it heats up in the pizza oven, as pizza ovens can reach some pretty intense heats. 

Your pizza should only need a few minutes to heat up satisfactorily, before it may begin to burn, hence why you should try to keep a close eye on it.

Let’s Wrap Up

So, there you have it, you definitely should avoid placing a cardboard pizza box into your kitchen oven.

Cardboard pizza boxes may be designed to keep your pizza warm, but they are definitely not designed to survive temperatures exceeding 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Instead, you should try to use other solutions, such as baking trays, to heat up your pizza safely, and far more effectively than simply placing it in the oven in the cardboard packaging.

Even your microwave can more effectively heat up your pizza than the original cardboard box! 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Put A Pizza Box In The Microwave?

You should generally avoid putting the cardboard box from your pizza into a microwave oven. The pizza would be able to heat up far more effectively without the box, anyway.

Pizza boxes are not designed to be microwave safe, so you also run the risk of combustion.

Is It Better To Reheat Pizza In The Microwave Or Oven?

Generally, it is better to reheat your pizza in the oven, as that can help it to re-achieve that slight crunch in the crust. Reheating in the microwave can lead to your pizza being slightly chewy and unsatisfying. 

Can I Eat Frozen Pizza Microwave?

Yes. You can cook a frozen pizza in the microwave. However, the pizza may come out slightly soggy and may be lacking in crispiness, which you may usually associate with pizza. 

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Jess Smith

Hi, my name is Jess Smith, and I love cooking in my spare time. Around three years ago, I decided to give up my day job as a teacher to pursue my passion for food. While I have enjoyed sharing tips and tricks on Social Media, I have decided to expand my horizons through this blog.

Through this blog I hope to help others learn the basics and more intricate details of cooking. I know from personal experience how frustrating it can be to cook a meal, only to realize you are missing one ingredient from your list. This is why I love to write articles chatting readers through some great substitutes that can be used in an emergency.

I hope you will find this blog useful, and that it will help you to develop your culinary skills, to help you cook up a storm!

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