12 best frozen pizzas to bake at home
Not too pie-in-the-sky: Picks for the best (and two runners-up) in four categories are widely available
Served piping hot fresh out of the oven or pulled cold from a box of last night’s leftovers in the refrigerator, nothing satisfies like the cheeseand-carb pleasure bomb that is pizza.
Now, we know nothing beats a pie made by the skilled hands of a veteran pizzaiolo at your favorite slice joint. Well, unless you happen to have an 800degree wood-fired Neapolitan-style brick oven in your backyard.
But when those options are off the table, what’s a person to do? Open the freezer, naturally.
This week we crunched and munched our way through more than two dozen frozen pizzas to find the best offerings in four categories: the classic grocery-store staples; the fancy-schmancy pies with luxe ingredients; the supreme, deluxe and other multitopping pies; and because we found so many options that fit this bill, we even have a whole category dedicated to gluten-free pizzas.
We’ve named a winner and two runners-up for a total of 12 pizzas we found worthy of stockpiling in our own freezers. So fire up those ovens, folks; there’s some cooking to do.
CLASSIC BRANDS
1. Freschetta Naturally Rising Crust Pepperoni Pizza:
If crust makes up more than 50 percent of your pizza happy place, Freschetta’s got your back. The collar was as bubbled and risen, with air pockets that fanned out to the tips. Freschetta finished the equation with a good balance up top: a dense spread of glossy, spicy pepperoni, cheese that pulled apart like a mozzarella stick and thick sauce that tasted like tomatoes first and sugar second. ($4.98, H-E-B) 2. DiGiorno Original Rising Crust Pepperoni: Delivery? No. DiGiorno costs about a third to a half what you’d pay for a delivery pizza, and it’s entirely as good as some of them. The difference is the crust, which bounced like memory foam, with a uniform sturdy fluff from collar to tip. Give up already on getting deli-style pepperoni on a frozen pizza. This was the driest and spiciest of the test group, the same color as the tomato sauce that lay in an adhesive schmear anchoring cheese that melted into a stout carapace for pieces like individual calzones. ($5.47, H-E-B) 3. Red Baron Classic Crust Pepperoni Pizza: Red Baron’s the missing link between Totino’s and DiGiorno, with an oldschool shellacked crunch across the bottom and a thin layer of aerated chew in the middle. The pepperoni’s made from pork, chicken and beef like the other two, and some of the concave slices pooled with grease like little salami woks. The cheese melted in a sheet rather than the curdy little clumps of the cheapies. The oven mostly sucked the soul out of the sauce, leaving just a few brushstrokes for color and sweetness. ($3.50, H-E-B)
FANCY-SCHMANCY PIZZAS
If you believe pizza should come with a side of heavenly perfumed kitchen, this pizza is your jam. Austin-based Bolo Pizza starts with a crust that’s remarkably crisp with a tender and tangy crumb. The real fun happens when crumbles of lamb sausage spiced with clove, cinnamon and coriander begin to release their fat and juices over that crust. This is a pizza to remember. ($11.99, Central Market) 1. Bola Pizza Lamb: 2. Pizza Romana Roasted Garlic Pesto:
This contender is all about the funk. The pesto on this pie is made primarily of roasted garlic, olive oil and cheese. The ripe briny stink of generously scattered Gorgonzola chunks ramps that up even further. They say walnuts are involved somewhere, but good luck finding them. This pie has a crust that performs supporting cast duties admirably. It’s thin and crisp with enough rigidity to deliver its dank cargo to eagerly awaiting maws. ($5.99, Central Market) 3. Central Market Amalfi Coast:
The famed lemons of Italy’s Amalfi Coast are the star in this minimalist pie. In lieu of sauce, this pizza sports several layers of Asiago, mozzarella and Grana Padano cheese. A bright burst of lemon juice aggressively slashes through all that fat and salt. Just enough spinach leaves are strewn atop to give the impression you’re eating something light and refreshing. The only real detraction here is a doughy crust that skews to the thick and bready side on the edge and just a little too thin in the center. ($4.98, Central Market)
TONS OF TOPPINGS
1. Home Run Inn Deluxe: Deep dish is the style Chicago is known for, but this take from the Windy City focuses on an ultra-thin crispy crust that held all six toppings with command. The chopped peppers and onions stayed crunchy fresh, and the cheese held firm to the slices without falling off like a greasy waterfall with the sausage and uncured pepperoni. This is a solid go-to pizza that’s light on the wallet. ($4.98, H-E-B) 2. Screamin’ Sicilian Supremus Maximus: These boisterously-named pies have a knack for standing out on the shelf. The Supremus Maximus was loaded with tasty Italian sausage and peperoni, but the kicker was the scattering of pepperoni bites tucked under the thick, pan-pizza styled crust. The pizza comes with its own baking pan, and it looks flimsy, but holds up to the heat for a perfect finish that rivals all forms of carryout. ($6.98, H-E-B)
3. Urban Pie Red Pepperoni & Sliced Chicken Sausage:
Urban Pie swaps out the everyday Italian sausage for some pepped up chicken sausage for a tasty pizza that packs a lot on top of the wafer-thin crust. Light hints of basil and chunky cremini mushrooms complement the meats, as does the use of halved cherry tomatoes, giving the pizza a healthier vibe. ($5.98 at H-E-B) GLUTEN-FREE PIES 1. Against the Grain Nut-Free Pesto:
The tapioca-based crust includes cheese to try to mimic the stretchy, bready structure that gluten would provide. The result was a dense, crackerlike crust that wasn’t exactly crispy and that tasted like Saltines. The cheese was gooey and melty and even puffed up and browned in the oven. The pesto flavor was mild, but tasty. I would make this again and add my own toppings like pepperoni, mushrooms and jalapeños before baking it. ($12.49, Whole Foods) 2. Amy’s Rice Crust Cheese Pizza:
This had an overall soft crust, with spots that were chewy and dense. It browned nicely at the edges, and the mozzarella cheese melted evenly over a sweet tomato sauce that had none of the metallic bitterness that afflicts so many frozen pizzas. It was ooey-gooey deliciousness. But be prepared that it is small and would only serve one. ($4.98, Central Market) 3. Caulipower Three Cheese Pizza:
This cauliflower-based crust was thin and aspired to cracker crispiness. It didn’t quite make it, with a crust a little dense and chewy, but it was not soggy, and it held its coat of melted cheese well. The three cheeses are a mozzarella-white cheese blend and Parmesan. If there was tomato sauce, it was lost under the cheese. Not that that’s a bad thing, because cheese. ($6.49, Sprouts)