Though you did your best to finish it all, you ended up with some leftover Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza to take home and stash in the fridge.
You likely already know that this Chicago-style pizza tastes best when it’s fresh from the oven, so how can you recreate that experience with the leftovers.
Well, you gotta reheat it in your oven at home – but you can’t simply pick any ole oven temperature and wait for the magic to happen.
Keep reading and we’ll do our best to help you reheat that Lou Malnati’s pizza to perfection.
Steps For Reheating Lou Malnati’s Pizza Leftovers
Before we get started, let’s get one thing out of the way – this reheated pizza is not going to be quite as yummy as it is when they bring it out in the restaurant.
But, we’re going to help you get it pretty darn close.
Keep in mind these steps are for pizza that was previously cooked and needs reheated, not pizza that needs heated from frozen.
1. Preheat The Oven
Don’t just pop the leftover pizza in the cold oven!
You’ve got to let it fully preheat first.
So, pop that oven temp up to 350° F and wait for it to get completely preheated.
2. Prepare The Cold Pizza
Take your Lou Malnati’s pizza out of the fridge and out of the box.
Place the leftover Lou Malnati’s pizza either on a baking sheet or in an oven-safe skillet.
It really doesn’t matter which one you use, however if you want to crisp up the bottom on the stovetop afterwards go with the skillet.
3. Put The Pizza In The Oven
Once the oven has fully preheated, you can put the pizza in the oven to heat back up.
How long should you leave it in?
Well, that’s a tricky question since all ovens cook differently and I have no idea of knowing how thick your piece of pizza is.
A good rule of thumb is to give it 15 minutes and then check on it.
You want to see that the cheese is melting and that the inside is no longer cold.
This means that you’ll need to remove the pizza from the oven and slice into the middle to test the warmth of the cold pizza.
I know, this is a process, but you really do want to eat your Lou Malnati’s leftovers just as piping hot as it comes out in the restaurant.
Just don’t leave it unattended for too long cause you don’t want it to burn.
4. Remove From Oven And Enjoy
Once the pizza has cooked to perfection, you can remove it from the oven and get ready to chow down.
There is no need to let it sit before slicing and serving up.
Just be careful if you dig in immediately as that cheese will be hot and you don’t want to burn your tongue or the roof of your mouth!
Option: If you want to crisp up the bottom a bit, place your skillet (with pizza still on it) on the stove at a medium heat and cover with a lid.
You’ll know the crust is crispy when you start to see the cheese bubbling and browning on the sides of the slice.
Be careful not to leave it too long or the crust bottom will burn.
Reheating Lou Malnati’s Pizza Tips
Some tricks to enhance the reheat experience:
Put foil on a baking sheet, spray the sheet lightly with cooking spray under the spot where the pizza will be.
Spray a little bit of water on top of your tomato sauce.
The extra water will help the sauce and cheese recover some of the moisture they lost from the original bake, and the cheese will be more melty.
Use a foil tent to shield the top crust so that it does not burn on the reheat.
Final Word
As you can see, reheating your Lou Malnati’s leftovers is a really simple process.
You just gotta make sure you use the right temperature to preheat your oven.
While it won’t taste as good as fresh Chicago deep dish pizza, it will still taste pretty darn good.
