It’s hard to imagine not eating any pizza you have in your possession right away, but if you’re stocking up on frozen pizzas you still don’t want to risk them going bad. After all, the only thing more disappointing than wasted food is wasted pizza. As engineered as frozen products are to last a long time, they don’t last forever — and homemade pizzas especially will have a real shelf life even after they go in the freezer. It’s important to note that frozen pizzas should not get you sick no matter how long they’re in the freezer, as the low temperatures inhibit the formation of bacteria. Instead, frozen pizza going bad is more about quality degrading to the point where you probably don’t want to eat it anymore, even if it’s technically safe.
And by that measure, you’ll have anywhere from three months to a year to eat your frozen pizza, assuming it is stored properly. The big divide is between store-bought frozen pizzas and one’s you freeze yourself. While some frozen pizzas actually have minimal to no artificial preservatives, they have been engineered and packaged from the ground up to last as long as possible in your freezer. Because of this, they will usually stay good for up to a year, and you can even push it up to 18 months. Most frozen pizza brands will have a “best by” date that is six to nine months from when you buy it, but that is just for what they consider ideal quality.
Double wrap homemade pizza to give it a longer shelf life in the freezer
If you are making frozen pizza at home, your shelf life is a little shorter. For homemade pizza, it is best to eat it within two to three months, which is in line with most homemade foods you freeze yourself. It is important that you wrap your pizza properly for it to stay good this long, which means at least a double wrap with both plastic wrap and foil. The thing that will make any frozen pizza go bad is not bacteria, but freezer burn, and tightly wrapping it is essential to preventing the moisture loss in the freezer that causes freezer burn. Any pizza, commercial or homemade, that ends up unwrapped in the freezer won’t last long.
Leftover pizza that has already been cooked will have an even shorter timeframe than homemade pizza. Properly wrapped pizza that has already been cooked before being frozen will be best in one to two months. Cooked food generally doesn’t last as long in the freezer because it has already lost moisture from cooking, so it will be quicker to dry out from freezer burn. If your pizza has been in the freezer longer than these times, the signs of freezer burn are normally pretty obvious. The big two are ice crystals forming on the food, and the pizza getting discolored, with a leathery texture. Once your frozen pizza gets there, it’s best to just let it go. While freezer burn does not make you sick, it can give your pizza a less-than-desirable flavor and texture.
