Learn how to freeze Pizza Dough. It’s smart to make a double or triple batch so you can freeze half of the dough for the next time you’re craving pizza.
Here are two methods for freezing homemade pizza dough whether you want to use freezer-safe zip containers or Tupperware.
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Pizza dough can be frozen in any quantity, whether it’s a full-size pizza or smaller single pizzas. You can store the dough in the freezer for 3-4 months and just thaw overnight before using it.
Important: The dough needs to be done with the rising/fermentation process or at the point when the dough is ready to use. With our pizza dough, we let it go through the cold fermentation process overnight first to let the yeast work in the dough. Once it’s done with the cold fermentation process (before bringing it to room temperature for an hour), it can be frozen. Read more about Cold Fermentation below.
2 Ways to Freeze Pizza Dough:
Ziplock or Freezer Bag Method: Arrange the dough in a deep, oiled baking pan with some room to expand, cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight for cold fermentation, then place the entire pan into the freezer for 24 hours. Once the pizza dough is frozen, transfer each piece of dough into its own freezer zip bag or food saver bag.
Tupperware Containers: Lightly oil the bottom and sides of your Tupperware containers. Place pizza dough into the containers, cover and refrigerate for the overnight cold fermentation (so there’s no need to transfer it later), then transfer containers to the freezer.
To Thaw Pizza Dough:
- If using Zip Bags: Remove dough balls from the freezer and transfer them onto a baking pan lined with flour or semolina flour. Dust the tops with flour so plastic wrap doesn’t stick to the dough then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (8-12 hours).
- If using Tupperware containers: Place containers in the refrigerator overnight to defrost. Cold defrosting is the BEST method to thaw pizza dough.
To Use the Defrosted Dough:
Keep dough at room temperature for 1 hour before baking for it to soften and relax. Shape the dough according to our pizza dough recipe instructions. Don’t miss our favorite recipes for red pizza sauce and white pizza sauce.
Pro Tip: If working with multiple dough pieces, keep the remaining pieces covered so they don’t dry out.
Common Questions:
Fermentation is critical to great pizza dough and cannot be skipped. Letting the pizza dough rest in the refrigerator overnight allows the yeast time to weaken gluten-forming proteins. This makes the dough easier to stretch and shape and creates an aromatic and soft crust with air pockets that bubble in the oven.
Store pizza dough in the freezer for up to 3 months. If it is vacuum-sealed, it will keep up to 4 months.
Once pizza dough has been frozen and thawed, you should not freeze it again.
Red pizza sauce freezes well. We usually use half of our pizza sauce and freeze the other half for later.
It’s so easy to freeze pizza dough and we love having a having the option to enjoy homemade pizza or Calzones when the craving comes.
More Freezer-Friendly Recipes:
- Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches
- Homemade Corndogs
- Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos
- Fluffy Homemade Waffles
- Lemon Bars
How to Freeze Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 Pizza Dough Recipe, divided into 4 portions
- 2 tsp olive oil, to grease the pan or tupperware
Instructions
Ziplock or Freezer Bag Method:
- Arrange the dough in a deep, oiled baking pan with some room to expand, cover pan with plastic wrap and let it do the overnight cold fermentation in the refrigerator.
- Transfer the pan with dough into the freezer overnight. Once frozen, remove each piece of dough from the baking pan and transfer into its own freezer zip bag or foodsaver bag and store in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Freezing Dough in Tupperware:
- Lightly oil the bottom and sides of your Tupperware containers.
- Place pizza dough into the containers, cover and refrigerate for the overnight cold fermentation (so there’s no need to transfer it later). You can also place dough into tupperware after the cold fermenation is done. Cover tightly with lids and freeze up to 3 months.
To Thaw Pizza Dough:
- If using Zip Bags: Remove dough balls from the freezer and place them onto a baking pan lined with flour or semolina. Dust the tops with flour so plastic wrap doesn’t stick to the dough then cover and thaw in the refrigerator overnight (8-12 hours).
- If using Tupperware containers: Place containers in the refrigerator overnight to defrost.
To Use Pizza Dough:
- Keep dough at room temperature for 1 hour before baking so it softens and relaxes and is easier to stretch. Shape the dough according to our pizza dough recipe instructions.
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
First, LOVE THIS RECIPE! We froze half of the dough for the first time. I took the dough out of the freezer and put it in the fridge. Do I HAVE to use it the next day or how long is it good for?
Hi Stephanie! Before freezing, we have kept this dough in the refrigerator for up to 1 wk. I think it would be fine to use it several days later once it’s thawed. Just test it because it can also start to develop a very sour taste if it’s going bad.
Hi Natasha, so we knead the dough after defrosting is that correct? I have done this recipe twice and my kids love it!!! but will like to make some to freeze, want to get it right though..lol
Hi Yolanda, I talk about this a bit more in the recipe post under “To Use the Defrosted Dough:”. We didn’t kneed it more. Simply keep dough at room temperature for 1 hour before baking for it to soften and relax and then shape the dough according to our pizza dough recipe instructions. I hope this helps.
What size containers do you have in the picture? your link is for mixed sizes. and how many grams of dough do you have in the container? Thank you!!
Hi Austin, it depends on how much dough I make, but I usually use the 16 oz or the 32 oz containers.
After taking it out of the freezer to transfer to ziplock bags, my pizza dough is frozen to the container. I did use oil. I am not sure what happened.
Hi Lisa, are you using the thawing instructions listed above: Place containers in the refrigerator overnight to defrost. Cold defrosting is the BEST method to thaw pizza dough. Also, it sounds like you are mixing the two methods (tupperware and ziploc bag). Please see the section titled: “2 Ways to Freeze Pizza Dough:”
After retarding the dough in the fridge do you punch it down or squeeze the air out of it and form a solid ball before you freeze it?
Hi Rick, I don’t do any additional punching down of the dough outside of the instructions in the recipe. The slow cold fermentation ensures that the dough doesn’t rise too much so it should not be an issue.
Hi, thank you again for the great tips. I make 630 gram flour version divided into two pizza balls. Store each in a 7-8 cups container for cold fermentation. 2 questions :
1- Do I need a small hole in the lid for gas to escape, if not, how do I get the gas out?
2- can I put this container with the hole in the lid in the freezer after fermentation is completed or do I need to cover the hole before freezing.
Thank you in advance for input
Farrah
Hi Farrah, I don’t have a hole in my containers, and it works out well each time!
Can I make this pizza dough, form it into shape, put topping and sauce on, then freeze it? That way my kids can just pull it out of the freezer, and pop it in the oven just like store bought frozen pizzas?
Hi Glenn! I have not tested this but it’s worth experimenting with. Let us know how it works out.
Wondering if I can use 00 flour and if so does that change amounts?
Hi Barbara, I haven’t tried those substitutions, so I can’t speak to that. Substitutions may hinder the recipe outcome. I always suggest making a recipe as written the first time around.
Amazing! I make so many of your recipes and the pizza dough and pizza sauce were amazing. I have already placed some in the freezer and can’t wait for another pizza pie.
Hi Natasha. First let me say that your pizza dough recipe is amazing, and my pizzas turn out awesome.
However, my problem stems from freezing it. After the cold fermentation in the fridge for 18 hours (dough is in 1.5-liter glass bowls with covers), I then freeze it. The problem is after it’s thawed, the dough in the bowl is very flat. It does not look the same as when it went into the freezer. And it’s hard to stretch. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Alan, I had this in the post but not in the print-friendly so maybe it was missed. I just went ahead and added it to the print-friendly, but when using refrigerated pizza dough, make sure to let it rest at room temperature for an hour for the dough to relax and become easier to stretch.
Hi I made the pizza twice already and love it. Next I’m going to experiment and make a rectangle pizza in a pan on the stone to get the bottom crispy, also it’s going to be bbq chicken.
That sounds great! I’m glad you enjoy this recipe! It is so versatile and I love how you can be creative with it.
Why do you divide the dough into fours? The recipe linked is just for one pizza dough and not shown to be divided at any time. Thank you for clarification!
Hi Megan, you are welcome to design it into two if you would like.
I’ve been looking for a pizza that doesn’t have oil as one of its ingredients. Oil to help the dough not stick is fine. I am going to make the dough tomorrow. I am very excited. The cold process was a revelation to me and again I am very excited to add that to my pizza process. I think you are a wonder and I am glad I found your pizza video on Pinterest.
Thank you for your good comments. I hope you love this and every recipe that you will try!
Love your pizza dough! It’s the best I’ve tasted. I want to have a pizza party but I’m kind of slow at putting it together so I was thinking can I pre-bake the crust a little and then freeze it and then use it later in the week for the party?
Hi Julie, I have not tried pre-baking this to freeze to advise on the outcome, if you happen to experiment I would love to know how you like that.
Hello! What size Tupperware is best to use? Thank you
Hi Linda, we used these Tupperware Containers HERE. They can also be found in our favorite kitchen tools in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE.
Which size container do you use for freezing the dough? The link has multiple size containers.
Hi Lori, it depends on how much dough I make, but I usually use the 16 oz or the 32 oz containers.
For your restaurant style pizza dough where you cut it in half to make 2 crusts, is the 16 ounce container a sufficient size to let each one cold ferment in the frig and then put in the freezer?
Hi Lori, that should work great! I always use the 16oz or size bigger.
Nice Recipe.Thank you.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve been making your fabulous pizza dough. THE BEST EVER! I’d like to try freezing the dough. You say to let it ferment in the refrigerator before freezing. But do I first let it have the rising time at room temp, then refrigerate, then freeze? Thank you for being so generous with your recipes and kitchen tips.
Hi Sharon, let it go through the entire rising process detailed in our pizza dough recipe. You want the dough to be at the point where it’s ready to use for making pizza (before taking it out of the fridge to let it rise for 1 hour and bake it).
Love your tips!! We love making homemade pizza dough & having it already made & in the freezer, makes life easier!
If we can find a way to make it easier, we will! I’m so glad this is helpful to our readers!
I LOVE this idea! I am going to make a bunch of this homemade pizza dough and freeze it for the summertime! My kids love the taste of this dough and it’s so great to work with!
Yes, that is so smart for summer pizza cravings. It’s remarkable how the defrosted dough tastes just as good as fresh. We just made a batch of pizzas today from our frozen pizza dough.
This is such a great idea for busy weeknights! An awesome idea to plan ahead; definitely giving this a try!
Thanks, Sara! It really is so convenient. We enjoyed our frozen pizza dough for lunch today and it’s always a treat!