Can You Put Cardboard In The Oven?

Last Updated on August 8, 2023 By Emma W. Thomas

No, you should not put cardboard in the oven. It can ignite at temperatures as low as 450°F (232°C) and release toxic fumes. Cooking with oven-safe materials is essential to prevent fire hazards and ensure safety.

Is It Safe To Put Cardboard In The Oven?

We all know that cardboard is a combustible product. It will catch flame from heat. Though, the cardboard will take more time to be ignited from indirect heating of the oven than direct contact with flame. One should always keep in mind that all the people claiming to put cardboard in the oven safely have a history of kitchen smoke or even a huge fire caused by this action. Some pizza companies also use anti-grease chemicals on the cardboard, and it can get mixed with your pizza from heating. So, it is not recommended to put cardboard in the oven.

Why Is Cardboard Used As A Base?

Cardboard is the most convenient base for pizza and other baked products. The reasons to use cardboard as a base for baking and pizza are the following –

• pizza and other baking products are very soft and risk being jostled around if it is not stable on a rigid base. The cardboard gives support to the pizza and helps to maintain its shape.

• It gives support to the food item when it is being shipped. It gives ease to hold the item and also prevents the crust from coming in contact with hands.

• The cardboard is also useful as a base for the pizza cutter.

• It is a biodegradable product.

The Following Table Will Be Useful To Choose Your Options As The Base For Your Food.

Name	Usefulness	Convenience	Price Range
Pizza pan	Very good for baking or heating pizza. Comes in many shapes. Makes the crust crispy.	Safe to use. Avoid handling with bare hand while heated up. Needs to be cleaned up.	Cheap to moderate price.
Cookie sheet	Gives a flat base to the food.	Easy to handle. Need to be cleaned up.	Cheap
Pizza stone	Porous nature makes the bottom of your food very crispy. Best option.	It needs to be cleaned up.	Cheap to moderate
Aluminum foil	Good for solid food items.	Very easy to use. Multipurpose use as base, cover and also for eating. Does not need to be cleaned up. One time usage.	Very cheap
On the rack	Gets heat from every angle so the food is heated up quickly.	Does not go with soft food items.	Nil

Reasons Not To Put Cardboard In The Oven

The reasons not to put cardboard in the oven are very simple.

1. Cause Longer Cooking Time

Keeping the cardboard and putting it directly in the oven is not the right process to save time. Instead, you are doing the opposite. Placing the food item along with the cardboard in the oven is slowing down the cooking time as the bottom layer of the pizza or baked food does not get the proper heat and takes longer to get heated up.

2. The Danger Of Catching Fire

The specific heat for cardboard to catch fire is 427 degrees, and a pizza bakes at a temperature of 425 degrees. As we can see, the temperatures are very close, and if we overbake the pizza for a few minutes, the cardboard will spontaneously catch fire.

3. Chance Of Getting Chemicals Mixed With Food

The chemicals used on the top of cardboard have a high chance of getting mixed up with the food when heated. This can seriously affect your health.

4. Cardboard Fumes

The heat from the oven causes the cardboard to smoke and give off fumes. These fumes get infused into the food item, making it taste bad and smell weird.

What To Use For Heating Or Baking In Place Of Cardboard?

The above-mentioned reasons gave you a clear idea of not using cardboard to heat up or bake your food. Now, we are wondering about what to use as a base for the pizzas and other foods. Well, here are the better options for the base of your food item.

1. On A Pizza Pan

One of the best options for baking or heating a pizza or any other food item is the pizza pan. A perforated pizza pan is always considered better. It makes your food a crispier base as it allows the heat to be in direct contact with the bottom layer. It also helps the food not to be dripping out.

2. On A Cookie Sheet

The cheaper option for the base of your food is the cookie sheet. It gives a flat base to your food and gives an excellent result. 

3. Pizza Stone

A pizza stone is a base surface made of ceramic or stone. The pizza stone’s porous nature gives adequate moisture from the bottom, and the pizza crust becomes crispy and crunchy.

4. On Aluminum Foil

One of the most convenient bases for pizza is aluminum foil. It is handy and easy to use. The advantage of aluminum foil is that it can be thrown away after use. It is cheap, and we can even eat our food in it.

5. Directly On The Rack

While making a pizza, we can directly put that on the rack after taking out the cardboard. An oven-safe container is also useful. The user can set it directly on the rack. Do not opt for this if the food is greasy or very soft as it can drip off from the rack after heating. 

As a final thought, we can say that it is safer to use heating bases instead of heating food directly in cardboard. We never know when the highly combustible cardboard will catch fire, and we will be in a massive fire break out. It is safer if we give a little effort to take out the food from the cardboard and place it on any convenient option for heating. In this way, you will be out of possible danger and the food will taste better too.

How to Cook or Reheat Frozen Pizza Without Cardboard

Cooking or reheating frozen pizzas can sometimes be a chore, especially when the pizza sticks onto the cardboard. Here are steps to guide you on how to cook or reheat frozen pizza without cardboard.

1. Preheat Your Oven
Before you begin cooking or reheating your pizza, make sure to preheat your oven. This technique helps to ensure that your pizza is cooked or reheated evenly. Conventionally, you should preheat your oven to about 450-475 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Remove The Cardboard
Once the oven is preheated, remove the cardboard from your frozen pizza. Leaving cardboard under the pizza while it cooks can create a fire hazard and uneven cooking.

3. Use a Pizza Stone or Baking Sheet
Instead of the cardboard, use a pizza stone or a baking sheet to place your pizza on. This not only ensures even heating but also gives your crispy base.

	Advantages
Pizza Stone	It evenly distributes heat and absorbs excess moisture for a crispy crust
Baking Sheet	It’s easily accessible, non-stick, and allows for easy pizza handling

4. Cook the Pizza
Place the pizza in the preheated oven. Typically, this should take about 10-15 minutes, but it depends on the thickness of the crust and the topping on your pizza.

5. Check Your Pizza
Remember to keep checking your pizza so that it does not burn in the process. Ideally, the pizza is done when the cheese is bubbly and the crust is a nice golden brown.

6. Reheat Leftover Pizza
For reheating leftover pizza, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. After removing it from any sort of packaging, place it on a baking sheet or a pizza stone and slide it into the oven. It should take between 10-12 minutes.

7. Allow it to Cool
Once the pizza is cooked or reheated properly, take it out of the oven and allow it to cool for about 2-3 minutes. This step helps the cheese to set and prevents it from sliding off when you cut or bite into your pizza.

References:

https://www.keepingthepeas.com/can-you-put-cardboard-in-the-oven/
https://cookthink.com/can-you-put-cardboard-in-the-oven/