https://www.berrygerrybakes.com
  • Cart is empty
  • Bread Machines
  • Loaf Pans
  • Toasters
  • Questions
  • Ovens
  • Bread Machines
  • Loaf Pans
  • Toasters
  • Questions
  • Ovens
  • Home
  • Shelf Life
  • Does Pizza Go Bad Overnight or When Not Refrigerated?

Does Pizza Go Bad Overnight or When Not Refrigerated?

Posted on May 24th, 2021
by Berry
Categories:
  • Shelf Life
Does Pizza Go Bad Overnight or When Not Refrigerated?

Question: Does pizza go bad when not refrigerated? Does it go bad overnight? Read on to find out.

You ordered a number of pizzas for your party but your guests didn’t manage to eat all of them. You now have a lot of leftover pizza and are left wondering whether or not they can still be eaten. Does leftover pizza get spoilt?

does pizza go bad

Or even when your last guest went you decided to do some cleaning and discovered that there’s a lot of pizza left. You don’t want to throw it away and are left wondering if there’s a way you can preserve it for later use.

If you find yourself in either scenario, then you came to the right place. Here, we’ll discuss about the life shelf, storage and different signs that pizza is spoiled. Continue reading for more details.

Does Pizza Go Bad Overnight or When Not Refrigerated? 1

How To Store Pizza

Normally, when you’re done eating your pizza, the leftovers should be kept in the fridge. The faster you put it in the fridge, the better.

To be on the safer side, the pizza should be refrigerated within two hours (or just one of the temperature in your apartment is above 90 degrees F) from when the pizza arrived. This is because perishable foods cannot stay out for longer periods when still at ambient temperature for safety reasons.

Food that is neither hot nor cold, faces temperature danger zone. This is when bacteria (such as Escherichia coli or Salmonella) can multiply fast and grows to which can result in conditions that can result to food poisoning.

If the pizza has been on the counter from when it arrived to when the party ended, consider using other strategies. Perhaps when everybody is done eating, find out if they would like more and if not, clear out the table and put the leftovers in the fridge. Refrigerated pizza can always be reheated when needed.

Does Pizza Go Bad Overnight or When Not Refrigerated? 2

The two-hour rule is not as hard to adhere to as you think. The pizza won’t get spoiled or become unsafe for consumption immediately and can stay on the counter for more than two hours, but the longer it stays out, the higher the chances for it to go bad. In short, you can decide whether you want to eat it or throw it away.

When it comes to refrigerating leftover pizza, you can leave it in the box it came in and eat it for breakfast. However, if you’d like to store it for a longer time, wrap each of the slices in aluminum foil and put them back in the box. Since the boxes allow airflow, the pizza will dry out pretty fast if left in such conditions especially when kept for longer periods.

If you don’t like having pizza for breakfast, and you’re not very sure about when you’ll finish the leftovers, just freeze them.

Does Pizza Go Bad Overnight or When Not Refrigerated? 3

How To Freeze Leftover Pizza

Freezing leftover pizza can be done in a very easy way. All that’s required is aluminum foil and in some instances some freezer bags. Here’s how it can be done:

  1. Wrap every slice using aluminum foil. If you’re going to store the leftovers for more than just a couple of weeks, place the wrapped slices in freezer bags before storing them in the freezer.
  2. Put them in an airtight container (optional). If you don’t want the pizza slices to become squished before they become frozen, put them in a container so that they can remain intact.
  3. Place everything in the freezer.

That’s the entire process. Your frozen leftover pizza can remain in the freeze for several months without losing a lot in terms of quality. When you want to thaw the frozen pizza, just put it in the fridge the night before you plan to eat it.

The frozen pizza can be placed directly in the oven for it to defrost and reheat, but you’ll get better quality when the pizza is defrosted slowly (for instance in the fridge) before it’s reheated.

Does Pizza Go Bad Overnight or When Not Refrigerated? 4

How Long Does Pizza Last?

This is fairly easy to know. Leftover pizza is still safe for consumption for two hours when at room temperature and at least four days when it’s refrigerated, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

As mentioned before, the durations aren’t necessarily hard and fast, and it is possible to get away with keeping the food for a longer time (for instance, 1 to 2 hours at room temperature or even 1 to 2days when in the fridge). This is especially for pizzas that are fairly “dry”, which is the ones that don’t have toppings that include a lot of water. So, if the pizza stayed on the counter from when it arrived till morning, just discard it.

Nevertheless, to remain on the safer side, stick to the guidelines provided by the USDA. if you’d like to stretch the rules a little, go for it, but don’t overdo it.

Counter Fridge
Leftover pizza 2 hours 4 days
Does Pizza Go Bad Overnight or When Not Refrigerated? 5
Homemade pizza quarter

How To Tell If Pizza Is Bad?

Apart from following all the required storage guidelines mentioned above, always check your leftover pizza before eating it. Look out for:

  • Mold and other kinds organic growth. If you notice any, throw it away. If there’s anything wrong in terms of appearance, don’t risk it.
  • Off smell. If the leftovers don’t smell so good, get rid of them. Note that when pizza isn’t wrapped properly, it can pick up some smells. So, if your Hawaiian pizza smells like Pepperoni or Chorizo that was on the same shelf, there’s not much to worry about.
  • Bad taste. In case you’re not quite enjoying your leftover pizza after reheating it, it okay to discard it. In fact, it’s safer to do so because there may be something wrong with the pizza.

Finally, if the leftover pizza seems stale and dried out, it’s probably because it was not wrapped properly. You can choose to go ahead with reheating and eating them, or you can just cut your losses and throw them away.

Does Pizza Go Bad Overnight or When Not Refrigerated? 6
Homemade pizza before baking

 

(Visited 60 times, 1 visits today)

Berry

Add Your Comment Cancel reply

Affiliate Disclosure

BerryGerryBakes.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, and may earn commissions on any sales made through affiliate links on this website. Disclaimer: Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.

Go to UK Site

About Me

RachaelHello and welcome!

Berry here, with some micro bakery action out of Falls River, MA.

I’m happy to pull on my checkered bakers pants twice a week and bake up a little storm. My doughs are hobby sized, typically 12 loaves to the batch, I’m making an attempt to pull some decent bread out of the oven and I’m enjoying it immensely.

This site is simply a gallery of one doughheads meanderings and a collection point for bakery musings, links & snippets.

Thanks for the visit!

Affiliate Disclosure

BerryGerryBakes.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Instagram Feed

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No feed found.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.

Facebook Fans

  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us