Pizza Left Out Overnight — Is It Still Safe?
The short answer
No. Throw it away.
Pizza left out overnight was left out far past the safe time limit. The USDA rule says to throw away perishable food left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Do not use how it looks or how it smells to decide. The rule is the time it was out.
Reheating does not make pizza that was left out overnight safe. It does not undo the time the pizza spent at room temperature.
Why overnight is too long
Bacteria grow rapidly in the Danger Zone. The Danger Zone is 40°F to 140°F.
Room temperature is inside that zone. So the clock starts as soon as the pizza sits out.
40°F to 140°F
That range is the Danger Zone, from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The 2-hour rule
Within 2 hours of cooking food, or after it is removed from an appliance keeping it warm, leftovers must be refrigerated.
Throw away all perishable foods left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
If the temperature is over 90°F, the limit is only 1 hour.
Overnight is far past both limits.
How long was it out?
Tap one answer. This helper stays on this page. Nothing you tap is sent anywhere.
First: was the room over 90°F?
Next: how long was the pizza out?
What to do next time
- Put pizza in the refrigerator within 2 hours. If the room is over 90°F, do it within 1 hour.
- Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below.
- Divide leftovers into shallow containers. That helps them cool rapidly and evenly.
- Cover leftovers, wrap them in airtight packaging, or seal them in storage containers.
- Leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. Pizza is also listed as 3 to 4 days on the FoodSafety.gov cold food storage chart.
- Eat refrigerated pizza within those 3 to 4 days.
Sources
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), “Leftovers and Food Safety,” fsis.usda.gov.
FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart.
Checked November 2026.