How to Cook Frozen Pizza in the Oven (Crispy, Not Soggy)
Updated: September 2026 | By Andris Lagsdin, Inventor of the Baking Steel
What is the best way to cook frozen pizza in the oven?
The best way to cook frozen pizza is on a preheated Baking Steel at 425°F for 10-12 minutes. Preheat the steel for 45 minutes before cooking so it is fully saturated with heat. Place the frozen pizza directly on the steel, do not thaw it first, and cook until the bottom is golden and crispy and the cheese is bubbly. The steel is what gets you a crisp bottom instead of a soggy one, and it gets you there faster than the box.
The Problem With Frozen Pizza (And How to Fix It)
Frozen pizza gets a bad reputation. Most of it is deserved, soggy bottom, cheese that cooks unevenly, crust that goes from pale to burnt with nothing in between. But the problem isn't the pizza. It's the method.
I keep frozen pizzas in my freezer. I'm a guy who makes pizza from scratch, and I still keep a few stacked in there for Tuesday nights. The difference is mine come out with a crispy, golden crust that tastes like it came from a real pizzeria. The secret is the Baking Steel Original, and one thing most people skip: a proper preheat.
Why Frozen Pizza Gets Soggy
Still using a pizza stone? We put both to the test in a real home oven. The results aren't close. See why steel wins every time →
Most frozen pizzas end up with a soggy, undercooked bottom because your oven rack or baking sheet can't transfer enough heat fast enough. The top cooks before the bottom gets crispy, leaving you with a limp, disappointing crust.
The Baking Steel solves this by storing intense heat and delivering it straight into the bottom of the pizza the moment it lands. Steel conducts heat 18x better than ceramic. That is why a frozen pizza comes off the steel with a crispy, golden crust in 10-12 minutes, faster than the box and with far better results.
The One Thing Most People Skip
Preheat for 45 minutes: I know it sounds like a lot for a frozen pizza, but this is the whole game. The steel needs to be fully saturated with heat so when that frozen dough hits the surface, it starts crisping immediately. Don't skip this step. Trust me.
While you're preheating, drop the temperature 25°F below whatever the box says. If the box says 450°F, go with 425°F. The steel is doing the heavy lifting on the bottom crust so you don't need as much oven heat. Keep a close eye on it, it cooks faster than you think.
Frozen Pizza Temperature & Timing Guide
| Box Temp | Baking Steel Temp | Time on Steel | Time Without Steel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400°F | 375°F | 10-12 min | 15-18 min |
| 425°F | 400°F | 10-12 min | 14-17 min |
| 450°F | 425°F | 10-12 min | 12-15 min |
Baking Steel vs. Other Methods
| Method | Temperature | Time | Crust Quality | Bottom Texture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baking Steel | 425°F | 10-12 min | Crispy, golden | Crispy, no soggy spots |
| Pizza Stone | 425°F | 12-15 min | Decent | Can be soggy |
| Baking Sheet | 425°F | 15-18 min | Soft | Often soggy |
| Oven Rack | 425°F | 12-15 min | Uneven | Soggy bottom |
Not Every Frozen Pizza Wants the Same Treatment
Most advice about frozen pizza treats it as one thing. It isn't. What's in the box changes how you should cook it, and the difference comes down to one question: how much has that crust already been baked?
Par-baked artisan pizzas
Katie's, Amy's, and most of the small-batch frozen pizzas showing up in grocery freezers now. These crusts have already been baked once, some of them in a wood oven at 800°F. You are not baking the dough. You are reheating it and crisping the bottom while the cheese melts. They need the least time of anything on this list, and they are the easiest to overshoot.
Rising crust
DiGiorno Rising Crust and anything else that puffs up in the oven. That dough is raw and it has to cook all the way through. Give it the full time. Pulling a rising crust early is how you get a gummy layer right under the sauce.
Thin and crispy
Totino's, Red Baron thin, DiGiorno Thin & Crispy. There is almost no dough to cook, so the steel does its work fast. These go from golden to burnt in about ninety seconds. Stay in the kitchen.
| Type of frozen pizza | Start checking at | What you're watching for |
|---|---|---|
|
Par-baked artisan Katie's, Amy's |
8 min | Cheese melted, bottom crisp. The crust is already baked. |
|
Rising crust DiGiorno and similar |
12 min | Edge fully risen and set, no soft band under the sauce. |
|
Thin and crispy Totino's, Red Baron, Thin & Crispy |
6 min | Edges browning. Do not walk away. |
These are starting points, not rules. Every oven is different and every freezer is different. Check early, and once you know where your oven lands, you'll cook that pizza the same way forever.
What I did with Katie's
I picked up a Katie's Burrata Margherita and ran it on the Original. The bag says 48-hour leavened dough, hand stretched, 800°F wood-fired crust, and you can see all of that before it ever goes in the oven.
I cooked it at 425°F on convection for 8 to 10 minutes. The box calls for 8 to 12. I cut the time because the steel was doing the work on the bottom, and with a crust that has already seen 800°F you are not trying to bake it again.
That's the move on any par-baked pizza: leave the temperature alone and take time off instead.
Burrata that actually melted, basil that held its color, and a bottom that cracked when I lifted it. From the freezer.
How to Cook Frozen Pizza on a Baking Steel
Crispy, golden crust in 10-12 minutes, better than the box, every time.
Preheat Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
Oven Temp: 425°F (or 25°F below box instructions)
Equipment: Baking Steel Original or Baking Steel Griddle
What You Need
- 1 frozen pizza (any brand)
- Parchment paper (optional, for easy launch)
Instructions
- Preheat your Baking Steel. Place it on the middle rack, set the oven to 425°F, and preheat for a full 45 minutes. The steel needs to be fully saturated with heat, this is the whole game.
- Prep the pizza. Remove from packaging. Do not thaw, cook it straight from frozen. Place it on parchment paper for an easy launch.
- Launch onto the steel. Slide the pizza directly onto the hot Baking Steel. Be careful, it's extremely hot.
- Bake 10-12 minutes. Watch it closely. The crust should be golden and crispy on the bottom, cheese bubbly and lightly browned on top. It cooks faster than the box says. If you're cooking a par-baked artisan pizza, start checking at 8 minutes.
- Remove and enjoy. Use a pizza peel or spatula. Let it cool for 1-2 minutes, slice, and eat.
Pro Tip: If the box says 450°F, drop to 425°F. The steel's heat compensates, you don't need as much oven heat.
Ready to Make Your Own?
Frozen pizza is a great backup plan. But once you taste what a Baking Steel does to homemade dough, you'll want to keep fresh dough in the fridge as often as you keep frozen pizza in the freezer. We created the 72-Hour Pizza Dough Mix for exactly that reason, the same cold-fermented dough recipe, already measured and ready to go. Just add water. Your Baking Steel will do the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cooking Frozen Pizza
How long do you cook a frozen pizza?
Cook frozen pizza for 10-12 minutes at 425°F on a preheated Baking Steel. This is 2-4 minutes faster than box instructions because the steel delivers intense heat directly to the bottom crust. A par-baked artisan pizza needs less, start checking at 8 minutes.
What temperature should I cook frozen pizza?
Cook frozen pizza at 425°F on a Baking Steel. If the box recommends 450°F, drop it to 425°F to account for the steel's heat. Keep a close eye on it, it will cook faster than expected.
How long to cook frozen pizza at 425°F?
At 425°F on a Baking Steel, frozen pizza takes 10-12 minutes. On a regular oven rack or baking sheet, it takes 15-18 minutes. The steel cuts cooking time by 30-40% while delivering a crispier crust.
How do you cook a Katie's frozen pizza?
Cook it at 425°F on convection for 8 to 10 minutes on a preheated Baking Steel. The box calls for 8 to 12 minutes. Because the crust is already wood-fired and par-baked, you cut time rather than dropping the temperature.
Do different frozen pizza brands cook differently?
Yes. Par-baked artisan pizzas like Katie's and Amy's have crusts that were already baked, so they need the least time. Rising crust pizzas like DiGiorno have raw dough that has to cook through and need the most. Thin and crispy pizzas like Totino's have almost no dough and can burn in under two minutes.
Can you cook frozen pizza on a pizza stone?
Yes, but a Baking Steel works better. Pizza stones take longer to heat up and don't conduct heat as well as steel. Frozen pizza on a stone takes 12-15 minutes, while a steel takes 10-12 minutes with better results.
What's the best way to cook frozen pizza?
The best way is on a preheated Baking Steel at 425°F for 10-12 minutes. Preheat the steel for 45 minutes, use parchment paper for easy launch, and watch closely, it cooks fast.
How do you make frozen pizza crispy?
Use a Baking Steel preheated for 45 minutes. The high heat and conductivity create a crispy, golden bottom crust that you simply can't get from a baking sheet or oven rack. Don't skip the preheat, that's the whole game.
Should I thaw frozen pizza before cooking?
No, cook it frozen. Thawing makes the dough soggy and harder to handle. The Baking Steel delivers enough heat to cook it perfectly from frozen in 10-12 minutes.
Can I use parchment paper with frozen pizza on a Baking Steel?
Yes. Parchment paper makes it easy to launch frozen pizza onto the hot steel without burning yourself. The paper can withstand the heat of the steel.
What's better for frozen pizza: Baking Steel or pizza stone?
Baking Steel is better. It heats up faster, stores more heat, and conducts heat 18x better than ceramic. Frozen pizza on a steel cooks in 10-12 minutes with a crispier crust. On a stone, it takes 12-15 minutes with less consistent results.
How do I prevent frozen pizza from being soggy?
Use a Baking Steel preheated for 45 minutes. The intense bottom heat cooks the crust before moisture can make it soggy. Avoid baking sheets or oven racks, they don't deliver enough heat to the bottom crust.
About the Author
In 2012 I was sitting at my desk at the end of the day in our family steel shop in Hanover, Massachusetts, reading the Wall Street Journal. One line stopped me cold, steel conducts heat better than stone. I put the paper down, walked into the shop, and started looking for a piece of steel that would fit inside my oven. That piece of steel became the Baking Steel®. I've been making pizza on steel for 14 years, fresh, frozen, and everything in between. Read the full story →
Want to make this with me live? I teach free pizza classes every month, and I share recipes, ideas, and thoughts along the way, join the list here.