Air Fryer Pizza gives you individual sized pizzas in less time than it would take for delivery, so any night can be pizza night.
A wise person once said there’s no such thing as bad pizza. It’s so true! I always thought New York style pizza was the gold standard, but then I went to Italy and my entire perspective shifted. The crust was so light and airy, the cheese was so bubbly, and I loved that the individual size meant I could get whatever toppings I wanted without worrying about anyone else.
I’ve been chasing that pizza ever since and even considered building a pizza oven in my back yard. But it turned out that wasn’t necessary because if you have an air fryer, you’re already on your way to REALLY GOOD PIZZA.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Pros of Air Fryer Pizza
The intense heat of an air fryer helps pizza dough rise quickly, making it super light and airy inside with a crisp, crunchy outer layer. You know how some pizzas have big air bubbles in them? Making pizza in an air fryer is a great way to get those!
“Frying” the dough makes it come out almost like a savory elephant ear/funnel cake like you’d get at the fair. A friend of mine tasted it and said it reminded her of Pizza Hut pan pizza in terms of fluffy dough, but airier and less greasy. I think that’s a great description too. It’s so good topped with sauce, cheese, and your favorite pizza toppings!
How Long Do You Cook Pizza In An Air Fryer?
How long to cook pizza in an air fryer depends a little on what you’re using as your base. To make the best air fried pizzas, start by using store-bought refrigerated dough (or make your own homemade pizza dough in advance).
My favorite is the dough sold at some grocery stores in the bakery section. In particular, my stores have them already rolled out for you. Those are the easiest to work with. Just cut a piece of it that is the size of your air fryer basket and get going. My air fryer is a 5.3 quart Secura and I love it!
If you instead have a ball of dough, you’ll use 1/4 pound of dough per pizza and stretch or roll it until it is as close to 1/4-inch thick as you can. That can be tough sometimes. Letting it rest at room temperature for a little while before or in the middle of stretching can help. Just don’t leave it long or it can start drying out.
I’ve tried a variety of techniques to get the best crust and my preference is to rub the stretched dough on both sides with a bit of olive oil, and then put it into the air fryer without any toppings. I often sprinkle some cornmeal on the top, since I actually flip it over and the top will become the bottom. Cook it for 5 minutes at 350°F, and then flip it and cook it for another 5 minutes. At that point, spread on your sauce and toppings and put it back in until the cheese is melted, 3-5 more minutes.
For an even quicker pizza, you can also use a pre-cooked crust, like an 8-inch Boboli crust or even a pita. In this case, you only need to heat the crust and melt the cheese so it will only take 4-5 minutes to cook. The crust won’t puff up the same way it would if you started with raw dough, but the pizza will still taste great.
Making More Than One Air Fryer Pizza
The downside to making pizza in the air fryer is you can only do one at a time, and they take about 15 minutes to bake. If you’re feeding a family of 4 (or more) that can be a bit tricky.
One thing to note though is that the pizza is VERY hot when it comes out of the air fryer. My kids need awhile before they can dig in. So here’s what I do. I make a shared pizza for the kids first, doing half with toppings for one of them and half with toppings for the other. Then I let that rest while making a pizza for the adults. When our pizza comes out of the air fryer, I put theirs back in for just a minute or two. It’s still warm from cooking and just needs mild warming. At that point, I start a third pizza and we sit down to slice and eat the first two. It works out.
But honestly, because of this timing issue, I prefer to make pizza in the air fryer when it’s a midnight snack for two, or if I’m making a quick lunch for the kids.
What About Toppings?
The one downside of making air fryer pizzas is that the fan can cause the toppings to blow around or fall off. This is especially true if you’re using lightweight toppings, like fresh basil. But I have a simple solution!
When you add the toppings in the last round of cooking, start by just adding the pizza sauce and cheese. Then cook for 1 minute. The cheese will be softened. Add the other toppings then and push them into the softened cheese. That holds them in place for the final bit of cooking time. Now you can add pepperoni, bell pepper, onion, or whatever else you like!
More Air Fryer Recipes
Browse through every one of my air fryer recipes or get started by exploring the delicious and easy options below.
Air Fryer Pizza Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: Italian
DESCRIPTION
Air Fryer Pizza gives you individual sized pizzas in less time than it would take for delivery, so any night can be pizza night.
Ingredients
-
1/4 lb. pizza dough, at room temperature*
-
1/2 tsp. olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. cornmeal, optional
-
1 Tbsp. tomato sauce
-
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
-
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-
Toppings of your choice (fresh basil, pepperoni, sliced mushrooms, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350°F.
- Stretch or roll the dough into a very thin disk just small enough to fit into the basket of your air fryer (about 8 inches in diameter and ¼-inch thick).
- Rub both sides of the dough with olive oil, then place it in the air fryer basket. Sprinkle top with cornmeal, if using.
- Cook for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for 5 minutes more.
- Spoon the sauce onto the dough. Use the back of the spoon to spread it into a thin layer, leaving a ¼-inch border around the edge.
- Sprinkle the Italian seasoning over the sauce.
- Sprinkle the cheese on top. Cook for 1 minute to soften the cheese. Add remaining toppings and continue to cook for 3-4 more minutes, until toppings are heated and starting to brown in places.
- Let pizza rest for a few minutes before eating. It’s very hot!
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
Notes
*If starting with a cooked crust, like a Boboli or a pita, start with step 2. Cook the pizza for 4-5 minutes total.
This post originally appeared in August 2020 and was revised and republished in September 2023.
How did I never think of this before?! I live on my own and making a pizza in the air fryer is perfect for me. Thank you for the recipe!
It’s just right for one or two people!
Followed your suggestion about air frying the dough, bought refrigerated dough from Publix deli, sauce and cheese for 3 or 4 minutes. Then added italian seasoning, toppings , a sprinkle more seasoning and fresh grated parmesan cheese. Air fried another 9 minutes, let cool and enjoyed the best pizza I have had in years! Crust was crispy but light and tender inside. One little thing I did was to put parchment paper under the dough in my basket . No mess at all to clean. Thank you from a newby air fryer!
That sounds fantastic, Laura! So happy you enjoyed.