Can You Put Cardboard in The Oven? Is It Safe For You?

can you put cardboard in the oven
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You got a delicious pizza now by takeaway service but when you touch your pizza you feel that it is not worm enough to eat with your family members. You need to worm it now and it is wrapped with cardboard.

We know that pizza always comes with a piece of cardboard. But have you ever think can you put cardboard in the oven? How safe is it to put cardboard pizza directly on the oven?  

Is it really a recommended and safe method? We will find out can you microwave your pizza with takeout boxes or cardboard containers as well as some potential issues you must know.  

Can you really put cardboard in the microwave oven?

can cardboard go in the oven
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The cardboard containers are a heating element and it will ignite almost 430 degrees temperature. So again we recall the main question can you put cardboard in the oven? Definitely, you can do it. But how safe is it to do this task?

You must maintain lots of safety issues regarding this like always check the labeling of cardboard containers and make sure it is fully safe for the oven.

If you don’t see any specific instruction and labeling about the oven never put it into the microwave oven.

For an emergency situation, you can use a pizza cardboard container into the oven for a certain period of time.  

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Some Potential Reasons Why Cardboard Should Never Go in the Oven

Not only pizza most frozen foods are packed with cardboard containers and plastic containers. So remember about plastic and before putting it into the oven it will start melting within a moment.

Now talk about cardboard before place it into your oven you must recall these potential reasons why you should not put cardboard in the oven to warm up your pizza.  

1. Threat of Burning

can you put cardboard in the microwave
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Maybe you are not aware of the cardboard box ignition point. The cardboard box can start burning at almost 430 degrees temperature.

While you try to bake something with a cardboard box around 425 degrees you are creating a burning situation around you.  

Actually, it depends on your oven what kind of oven you are using. If you are using an older oven probably there is a chance of catching fire in cardboard.

The older oven has lots of downsides like heating element which is made with old technology and increases the risk of fire.  

On the other hand, a new oven means new technology and improved electric circuit. But it is completely not a fireproof oven it has less risk of fire that means you have to aware of the temperature.

Before start baking set the necessary temperature and remember the cardboard ignition point. Never set 5 to 6-degree margins of the ignition point of cardboard because there is a chance to start burning cardboard.

2. Makes Your Food Taste Weird

When cardboard contact with microwave or fire it spread off fumes and the bad smells. So these bad smells could mix with pizza then it could change the food taste.

If you put your food into the microwave oven with a cardboard box, it will really create a very bad smell in your food as well as in the kitchen.  

3. Slows Down Actual Cooking Time

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The cardboard slows down pizza heating time. Keep the cardboard bottom of your pizza is not a good idea because cardboard absorbs heat and it will take extra time to heat your pizza.

However, all cardboard boxes are not the same. Some are designed to cook into the oven. But they are not fully heatproof. Paper is paper and paper always burns. So paper products and cardboard are not fully designed for oven.  

Do not put paper products and cardboard into the oven it will take extra time and slow down your cooking.  

What to Use for Baking Instead of Cardboard

Finally, we know that baking food with a cardboard box is not a good idea. Here we can put some alternative baking goods instead of cardboard

1. Baking Pan

can you put cardboard in the oven
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A baking pan could be the best choice for baking instead of cardboard. Especially if you want to bake pizza there different types of pizza pans available in the market.

Each baking pan has individual benefits as well as some pitfalls. So you must get round shape pizza pan because they are specially made for pizza.  

Take an appropriate baking pan for your food and you could put it directly into the oven.  

2. Cookie Sheet

can you put cardboard pizza box in the microwave
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The cookie sheet is another second method for baking food. This is cheaper than a pizza pan so if you don’t spend much money get this baking sheet. Cookie sheet also provides similar results of baking like baking pan or pizza pan.  

Keep your pizza or food on the cookie sheet then put it into the oven without having tense. The baking sheet will not spoil food and don’t worry about fire.  

3. Put directly on the oven rack

can cardboard go in the oven
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This is another alternative baking method of food directly on the oven rack. This method is very effective for certain types of food like pizza because if you put your pizza directly on the oven rack, it will get enough heat from all sides as well as from the bottom sides. Finally, you will get crispier crust pizza.  

4. Aluminum Foil 

Really, can you put aluminum foil in the oven? Of course, This is one of the most common practice wrapping food with aluminum foil for the oven.

If you want to stay safe side aluminum foil is for you because there are no fire issues with aluminum foil.

Aluminum foil is good for baking food in the oven but you should avoid using aluminum foil or tin foil when cooking at high temperatures. It is not safe for acidic foods.  

Aluminum foil has lots of good factors, it heats food quickly and easier cleanup. Even you don’t necessary to clean your oven after use.

So try some traditional and common ways of baking food in the oven.

5. Pizza Block

can you put cardboard pizza box in the microwave
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A pizza block is one kind of ceramic sheets. Finally, you could put it directly into the oven for baking food.  

Especially this is good for baking frozen food because it could provide heats from the bottom. The pizza block helps to make food crispy crust.  

How to Reheat Pizza Without Using the Cardboard

There are some basic steps to reheat pizza without using the cardboard are given below. Except these, you will find more different ways to reheat pizza but these are the most used practice.

1. In the Toaster Oven

can you put pizza in the toaster oven
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Reheat your pizza in the toaster oven is the same process as heating in the regular oven. But here you can heat only one slice at a time because its a toaster and it doesn’t have enough space to put whole pizza at a time.  

Before start heating pizza you must preheat the toaster oven otherwise you will not get a better result then wrap food or pizza with aluminum foil.

If you want to make it dry you can make some holes around the aluminum foil paper.  

2. Use the Grill

A grill is another appropriate way to reheat pizza with a cardboard pizza box. Just preheat a grill for a while at a medium temperature then put the pizza on the grill leave it for 7-8 minutes.

So you don’t need to worry about pizza it will not spoil on the grill you will get a nice texture after the process.

3. Reheat in Microwave

can you put cardboard pizza box in the microwave oven
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The microwave oven has huge convenience for baking food like pizza. But can you put cardboard in the microwave oven? Don’t think about that again.

As I told you before cardboard is not an appropriate choice for baking pizza but you have a couple of options to put pizza into the microwave like aluminum foil, cookie sheet, pizza block.  

Just slice your pizza keep it on the microwave glass plate and heat pizza in medium temperature. You can give a paper towel between pizza and microwave glass.

A Paper towel will absorb additional water from the pizza and give you tasty and crispier crust pizza.  

4. On the stove

reheat pizza on stove
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A stove is a good household item for heating convection food. Easily you can reheat pizza by using a stove.

Before starting the reheating process you must heat that skillet first and cover it with a pan to absorb heats into the stove. Keep cooking until you get a nice smell from the pizza.

5. Use the Frying Pan

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Reheat pizza on the frying pan is so easy method anyone can do this. Here you need stainless steel or non-stick frying pan and a stove to complete the reheating process.

Put your pizza on the frying pan then leave it for 3 minutes on the gas stove and cover it with a pan. When you get crispy and soggy smell put it down.  

Final Notes

Still thinking! Can you put cardboard in the oven? My final answer is yes you can but you must follow certain precautions before doing this.

You can put cardboard into the oven for a specific time frame. Because cardboard is designed to warm up for some time.

Remember it all cardboard paper is not safe for the oven. Before cardboard goes into the oven read the labeling on it.

There are plenty of options to heat pizza or other foods with cardboard get other options which I described above.

If you do not have any other options except oven my personal preference is pizza block or cookie sheet. Take one of them and start heating pizza or other foods without cardboard.

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