Homemade frozen pizza is the ultimate meal prep recipe. Just par bake some pizza dough, top it with whatever you want, and freeze it for up to 3 months. Then, when you need a super-quick meal, take the frozen pizza out of your freezer and pop it right in the oven. Bam! (Sort-of) instant pizza night!
In the video above and the recipe that follows, I'll walk you through the process of homemade frozen pizza, step by step, with lots of tips and helpful techniques along the way.
But first, a couple of things to keep in mind:
- The first step is to assess the state of your freezer. Is it full of random bags that will make it impossible to lay your pizzas flat? Before you do anything else, take a few minutes to reorganize your freezer so you'll have a flat place to stack your pizzas when they're ready. The flatter your pizzas are, the more evenly they will bake from frozen.
- Try not to overcrowd your parbaked pizza crusts with toppings. For your meal prep spread, choose one or two sauces, one or two types of cheese (you'll need 4 to 6 ounces of cheese per 12-inch pizza), and ½ to ¾ cup of other toppings (chopped veggies, meat, etc.) per 12-inch pizza. If there is too much on top, the crust will have trouble baking nicely in the oven.
Does fresh mozzarella work on frozen pizza?
In the video above, I topped some of my pizzas with cubed fresh mozzarella and some with shredded low-moisture mozzarella as an experiment. The point was to figure out whether both cheeses worked equally as well on frozen pizza, or if one was clearly the better choice.
The verdict? When I baked the pizzas from frozen, the low-moisture mozzarella melted beautifully, not much different than it would on a fresh-made pizza. The fresh mozzarella, on the other hand, became a bit dehydrated in the freezer; rather than melting and spreading out into creamy pools, it browned into little cheese nuggets. Though I didn't hate the result of my frozen fresh mozzarella pizzas, it's safe to say that lower moisture cheeses are the better bet for this meal prep recipe.
How to Make Homemade Frozen Pizza
Equipment
- Rolling pin (optional)
- Large rimmed baking sheet or baking stone/steel
- Pizza peel (optional)
- Plastic wrap
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 2 (14- to 16-ounce) balls pizza dough, at room temperature (I recommend my 1-Hour Pizza Dough, Overnight Dough, Whole Wheat Dough, Neapolitan Dough, or Sourdough Pizza Dough.)
- Toppings of your choice
Instructions
To make and freeze the pizzas
- If you're using a baking stone or steel, place it on a rack in the middle or bottom third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 500°F or as high as possible (mine gets up to 550°F).
- If you're making 12- to 14-inch pizzas, roll or stretch out each ball of dough to a 12- to 14-inch round. (Make sure your freezer is spacious enough to fit the pizzas you're making; if your freezer is small or overstocked, mini pizzas might be the way to go!) If you're making mini pizzas, divide each ball of dough into four to 6 equal-size pieces, and roll out each piece to a 4- to 8-inch round, depending on how thick you like your crust. Place the dough rounds on a baking sheet, pizza pan(s), or pizza peel (if you're using a baking stone or steel).
- Prick the dough rounds all over with a fork. Transfer the baking sheet(s) to the hot oven, or shimmy the dough rounds from the pizza peel to the hot baking stone/steel. Bake just until the crusts are light golden on the bottom and no longer tacky on top, 2 to 5 minutes. Remove the crusts from the oven.
- Arrange your toppings on the counter in separate bowls, and place the parbaked pizza crusts on a large cutting board or other clean surface. Top the crusts with your desired sauce(s), vegetable(s), meat(s), cheese(s), and condiments.
- Wrap each topped pizza in a layer of plastic wrap, pressing down gently to eliminate air bubbles, then wrap it once more in a layer of aluminum foil. This double wrapping keeps the pizza nice and fresh during its extended stay in the freezer. If you do not keep plastic wrap in your home, feel free to wrap the pizzas in double layers of aluminum foil or one layer of parchment followed by one layer of foil.
- Label the wrapped pizzas, and find a flat place for them in the freezer. It's not the biggest deal if they don't lie perfectly flat, but the flatter they are in the freezer, the more evenly they will bake in the oven when you're ready for pizza night. Freeze your pizzas for up to 3 months.
To bake your homemade frozen pizzas
- If you're using a baking stone or steel, place it on a rack in the middle or bottom third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 500°F.
- Take your homemade frozen pizza out of the oven. Peel off the aluminum foil and plastic wrap and place the pizza on a baking sheet, pizza pan, or pizza peel (if using a baking stone/steel).
- Transfer the frozen pizza to the oven. Bake until the crust is evenly browned around the edges, the cheese is bubbling, and the toppings have begun to brown in spots, 8 to 10 minutes on a baking stone/steel, 10 to 15 minutes on a baking sheet/pizza pan.
- Remove the pizza from the oven, slice, and serve!
Video
Want to freeze homemade pizza dough for later? Check out this post.
Looking for more pizza-making videos? Subscribe to my YouTube channel!
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