The Genius Way To Give Leftover Pizza New Life

The greatest among us have made the holy bed-to-kitchen pilgrimage for a slice of cold, leftover, pepperoni — barely chewing with our eyes closed, illuminated by the soul-shocking LED spotlight of the wide-open fridge door we'll never remember to close all the way. As it is, leftover pizza is glorious. But you can give it a new lease on life by flipping it into a chicken Caesar pizza sandwich — or any kind of sandwich — using day-old pizza as your bread.

Leftover pizza's still good for three to four days, but you'll never need that long since you're hip to this genius hack. One TikTok version of the pizza sandwich kicked things off with two cuppy pepperoni-topped Sicilian squares. Once those were reheated in the air fryer, toppings were next: Caesar salad (with croutons), plus a breaded and fried chicken cutlet, all gently pressed together and cut in half. Lunch. Served.

@seriousfoodfetish

Today is day 1 of pizza week! First up, using leftover pizza to make a sandwich because innovation 🙂‍↔️ #pizza #creatorsearchinsights #todayweareeating #series #pizzasandwich #caesar #chicken #food #pizzatiktok #fyp #asmr #mashups

♬ Got To Be Real (Αs performed by Cheryl Lynn) – Pop Music Workshop

Not to go too deep on why "pizza sandwich" is the actual greatest thing since sliced bread, but since we're all here, your sando skills will soar with a few tricks of the trade. Thick, square, bouncy slices give you the stability of focaccia versus floppier triangular cuts (though those will still work for a wrap-like situation). 

And, about those insides, anything goes. Keep it trad Italian with mortadella, fresh burrata, and roasted salted pistachios; grab a few slices of last night's steak or caprese salad for leftovers-on-leftovers energy; or lean into the comfort classics by loading up your slices with chili mac 'n' cheese. Of course, your go-to sandwich cold cuts and veggies also taste great when layered between slices of pizza.

As it turns out, leftover pizza is good for more than just, well, leftover pizza. Once you've exhausted your pizza sandwich options, it might be time to take your pizza prowess on the road with a few variations on the theme. (There has never been a more user-friendly scenario than turning congealed cheese into something you'd actually want to eat.)

Whip up a legit, brunch-worthy leftover pizza breakfast casserole with a quick ingredient sweep of your fridge. Taking inspiration from other easy breakfast meal prep stunners, like French toast casserole or the life-affirming sausage, egg, and cheese bake, pizza casserole only asks that you slice your pizza into 1-inch cubes and throw them in a baking dish with whisked eggs and shredded cheese; then live your best life after about an hour in the oven.

Later in the day, leftover pizza becomes the secret to a better salad because who wouldn't want pizza croutons instead of the regular, non-pizza kind? The simple version involves cutting your fridge pizza into squares, then pan-frying the pieces for a few minutes until just a little more crispy than your pizza used to be. But you can go for cuteness overload by making bite-sized triangular croutons that look like tiny slices of pizza. With ideas like these for upcycling your leftover pizza, you'll be kissing your fingers like "mamma mia, che buono!" in no time. (You don't even need to speak Italian to know that means it's delicious.)