Best Frozen Pizza, as determined by the New York Times

Almost every selection has pepperoni.

For those who don’t eat meat, in the words of Valerie Bertinelli, not fucking helpful.

R1 the world SHOULD revolve around you.

Lots of people don’t eat pepperoni.

The Motor City pizza booster will be happy.

Sicily, 1912. Picture this -- two young girls, best friends, who shared three things: a pizza recipe, some dough, and a dream.

Everything is going great until one day a fast-talking pepperoni salesman gallops into town.

Of course, both girls are impressed.

He dates one one night, the other the next night.

Pretty soon, he drives a wedge between them.

Before you know it, the pizza suffers, the business suffers, the friendship suffers.

The girls part company and head for America, never to see one another again.

One of those girls was me.

The other one you probably know as Mama Celeste.

Abbondanza!

The idiot at R1 didnt even bother to look over the article.

"We now recommend cheese and pepperoni picks after testing 14 cheese pizzas."

Frozen pizza is always a contest to see which brand sucks less.

It's all pretty awful.

I used to like Unos' frozen deep dish pies. They were available at restaurant locations and were in stores at one time. Haven't seen them in ages.

Also, good old Ellios' was a decent throwback to Sacred Heart cafeteria pizza but they were sold and now its' awful.

I'm going to give the top 2 a try but I'm not getting my hopes up.

R5 that was so fuck’n good 😊

OP - Consumer Reports would know about frozen pizza 🍕 and many other consumer products they’ve been testing since 1936 not the NYT.

DiGiorno's self rising Supreme - I always keep one in the freezer.

On another thread I and someone else mentioned how surprisingly good Motor City Pizza is for a frozen pizza.

Ellios Pizza was good up until the mid 1980’s because after that the company was sold and the pizza was reformulated to the inferior product it is today.

My mom used to buy Tony's pepperoni pizza for us kids and back then it was pretty good because it had cupped pepperoni. I noticed in the freezer section they just have regular pepperoni on it, not the cupped kind.

Choice of Best Frozen Pizza signals trouble for Biden in November.

I'm actually annoyed NYT is reviewing crap like Digiorno's now. Is that what has become of our culture? Bedonce and Tombstone pizza reviews?

Anyway, the best frozen pizza I've had is Home Run Inn for the usual American style (you know, the type that is almost NY Style, but not exactly). Actually, that's the best of the ones that are available in a decent number of stores. I've had some that were done by local pizzerias then frozen. And those were obviously the best. But those aren't available most places. Anyway, those are a bit more expensive than usual at about 12 bucks.

Giordano's for Chicago style. You can buy it off their website. 80 bucks for a two-pack

And the best vegan is Amy's Roasted Vegetable Pizza. Cheapest of what I've listed here at around ten bucks, but smaller. Available basically everywhere.

Obviously prices will vary by location.

Its cheaper to make your own.

I don't like the rising crust type, too bready.

I quit buying frozen pizza when I discovered the "fresh" pizzas in the produce section at Aldi's. I buy them when I need a quick meal now.

I know, I'm a classy bitch.

Anyways, I accidentally got a cauliflower crust one a few months ago, and now it's all I get. There's something about the texture of it that I really like.

Of course, I always wind up doctoring it up with some leftover meat from the week (a little chicken or whatever) and some extra cheese.

Again, I'm a classy bitch.

R17- I never refer to those pizzas as FRESH. I call them refrigerated pizzas as opposed to frozen.

Hence the "Fresh" in quotation marks, dear.

[quote]I'm actually annoyed NYT is reviewing crap like Digiorno's now. Is that what has become of our culture?

R14, it's everywhere online. Every food YouTuber resorts to it to keep up their content flow. Binging with Babish has completely gone over to thi, reviewing mac and cheese, frozen pizzas, etc. It's end-stage food punditry.

[quote]I'm actually annoyed NYT is reviewing crap like Digiorno's now. Is that what has become of our culture? Bedonce and Tombstone pizza reviews?

SHIRLEY: What's the point in reviewing frozen pizza?

LEONARD: You're talking about it.

Delorio’s was a favorite, but after the pandemic it just wasn’t the same.

Whatever they did, they ruined it.

Red Baron's "Brick Oven" pizzas are okay.

But frozen pizzas are loaded with preservatives and triple-bleached bullshit. Gotta be careful eating that stuff.

The best frozen cheese pizza is the Freshetta four cheese pizza. Thick but not too thick crust, sweet tomato sauce, non greasy cheese.

A hot, fresh pie is only twenty minutes, or less, away from 90% of the U.S. population—how lazy are you fucks on the DL?!

I had a Motor City Pizza (Three Meat version; heh) in my freezer since March and finally baked it last night. It wasn’t bad, but I think I just don’t like frozen pizza anymore. Take and bakes taste better if you aren’t ordering in.

My favorite frozen pizza is California Pizza Kitchen. Target carries them.

Table 87 is decent. You can order from Goldbelly, Fresh Direct, etc.

I like Red Baron's individual deep dish pizzas. Cheese or pepperoni, I'll take either.

R27 what does "Take and bakes" mean?

They're all terrible but I need to dip something in blue cheese dressing.

When we were kids and mom and dad went to the Elks on Saturday night, the babysitter mad us Ellio's.

The Private Selection Calabrese Salami and Pepper pizza at Kroger is my favorite frozen pizza by a wide margin. It's always on sale, or has a coupon. Cook it right on the oven rack with a sheet of aluminum foil on the oven bottom to catch any oil. It's oily like a good pizza should be. I always cook it for longer than the instructions state so it gets nice and caramelized. Most people underbake pizzas and miss all of that good caramelization and crispness.

We eldergays remember Kraft pizza mix.

Seriously, not a single frozen pizza is even remotely as good as Dominos, and frankly, for only a dollar or two more, you get a hot fresh Dominos pizza in about the same time it takes to pre-heat your oven and cook a frozen one.

I have no idea why frozen pizzas even exist anymore, let alone take up two whole frozen food aisles at my grocery store. SO MANY OPTIONS and they all SUCK.

I like Dominos, but they add in so many fees if you have it delivered, it's no longer a deal. Then you have to tip on top of all that. Eh, I'm not always in the mood to pick up a pizza. By the time I'm ready to eat dinner, I've already had a glass or three of wine.

The arrival of Marcos Pizza in my hometown severely curtailed the amount of frozen pizza I buy. Private Selection Italian buffalo mozzarella & arugala thin crust is my fallback if I want to have one on hand without needing to order out.

I remember with nostalgia the Chef Boyardee frozen mini cheese pizzas that my mom would buy in 4-packs when I was little. The crust had the texture of a potholder, but the pizza sauce and cheese tasted great to me and I've never run across anything else quite like them.

[quote]We eldergays remember Kraft pizza mix.

My mother still has an APPIAN WAY pizza pan that has to be 50 years old. It looks like they were giving them out when they were introducing Americans to "pizza pie."

I love the crust on Totino's Frozen Pizza, the ones you get 5 for $3.

R17 Are you the one who's been buying up all my cauliflower pizzas at Aldi? I'll get you!

all full size frozen pizzas are fucking trash. the only kind of pizza that works frozen is a french bread or personal size.

The NYTimes ruined The Wirecutter after purchasing it.

I used to love the Wirecutter and I don't trust their judgements AT ALL anymore.

[quote] "We eldergays remember Kraft pizza mix."

Not an eldergay, but I grew up with Chef Boyardee Pizza Kits. My mother cooked almost everything from scratch, but never bought frozen pizzas. This was a "treat" that could be dropped in the back of the cabinet for an emergency. At the bare minimum, it could (and often was) eaten with just the woody shaker cheese included in the box.

Now, I just make extra dough and keep it on hand. I don't keep a tray of pizza toppings at all times, like infomercial maven Cathy Mitchell, but I typically have a few cans of black olives and a crisper drawer full of vegetables at any given time. And I go back and forth between using bottled sauce, and making my own quick version with tinned San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, and herbs. Just depends on the day.

They are really junk food, but the Stouffers french bread pepperoni pizzas can really hit the spot at times. Crispy outside, soft bread inside, light cheese and sauce with salty pepperoni bits.

Thank you r44. That's the box I remember.

Loved it. The whole idea seemed exotic compared to tuna (or all the other) casseroles.

But looking at that image, the pizza doesn't even resemble real food.

Like the canned ravioli, it's probably best as a memory.

DiGiorno is the only one that doesn't taste like frozen pizza. It must have some heavy duty chemicals in it.

I like the Freschetta Mushroom and Spinach - nice thin crust and not too salty. I add some shredded Parm since one can't have enough cheese on their pizza.

California Kitchen BBQ Chicken is another favorite w/thin crust and the BBQ adds some kick - I sometimes add crushed pineapple and, of course, extra cheese!

[Quote] A hot, fresh pie is only twenty minutes, or less, away from 90% of the U.S. population—how lazy are you fucks on the DL?!

not after 10pm in most places unless you want something from one of those awful chains like Domino's

I like the Stouffers and Red Baron french bread pizzas and the Red Barron personal pizzas.

I buy frozen pizza dough which I thaw in the fridge starting about 24 hours before I make it. Take it out of the fridge about two hours before making it, make my own sauce and top as I like. 450°oven for 16 minutes. Better than any frozen pizza and no preservatives.

I can't remember if my mother used the Kraft or Chef Bogardee kit, but that pizza dough that came in the kit was like crack. It almost had a focaccia texture to it. The tomato sauce was so rich and flavorful, too. I can still taste that pizza like it was yesterday. Why did food taste so much better back then?

[quote]They are really junk food

No it's not, pizza has all the major food groups. Pizza, eaten in moderation, is fine.

Sugar added to the sauce is a dealbreaker for me. Really any tomato sauce with sugar, although I know some people add a pinch to offset the acidity of the tomatoes. I use a pinch of baking soda in a red sauce, but only a tiny pinch or it can taste like soap.

Be careful with the Red Baron individual pizzas. I became violently ill after eating one a few years ago. I microwaved it and I don't think I killed off whatever vile bacteria was hiding in the pepperoni cubes.

Another vote for the Red Baron pepperoni "deep dish" individual pizzas. I feel embarrassed buying them. (Why?) They're a tad salty, but that's probably what makes it good.

I cook mine in the oven (not microwave). You can get a pretty good crunch on the crust.

Lots of Tabasco sauce.

There isn't a single frozen pizza that's better than Dominos.

And you can get a real deal if you go pick up the pizza rather than having it delivered.

A large 3-topping pizza for $9.99 is only like a buck more, maybe two, than most frozen pizzas.

Domino's is so greasy. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have some good frozen/refrigerated pizzas.

I like the original Red Baron. The sauce has a nice spice to it. If you cook it on the rack or a pizza screen it comes out nice and crunchy and not tough. I like to jazz it up with fresh basil, oregano, and parm reggiano. The fluffier type crusts don't seem to fare as well with freezing. They're often cardboardy on the outside and then gummy and doughy underneath the sauce. It seems like crunchy is the only way to go with frozen pizza. I bought one that looked like a Neapolitan pizza on the box and it ended up being crunchy instead of soft. Freschetta is nasty with their cornmeal on the bottom, Digiorno's standard version just tastes of grease and salt. Their "hand-tossed" pizza actually tastes pretty good.

The best frozen pizza is the cheapest one. I always add stuff anyway.

It's quite sad to me that so many people regularly eat frozen pizza.

Where I come from, all pizza is considered a gift from the universe.

So you never eat anything cheap and bad for you, r61? No soda, chocolate, chips, fast food, beer etc?

r63 I just make my own pizza. I do eat at McDonald's occasionally.

You actually put McDonald's into your body? Does that even count as food? How fucking SAD.

To the 100% pure trash cunt shilling for Domino's pizza: Snap out of it, girl!

Vicolo pizza is very good. I think it’s from a restaurant in San Francisco area. We get them down here in Southern California. Delicious!

Dominos thin crust pizza is good - but the regular crust pizza always smells like the cardboard box it came in. It's weird. It doesn't smell that way if you order it with extra cheese for some reason. And their regular crust pizza is only edible with extra cheese.

I prefer Red Baron deep dish individual pizza to Dominos regular or pan pizza. I always bake it in the oven.

Di Giorno used to be the best, but now they have a weird sickly sweet taste to them.

[quote]Domino's is so greasy.

This has not been my experience at all.

[quote]I prefer Red Baron deep dish individual pizza

I've never been able to find this in my area. There are several styles that people say are good that have never popped up anywhere at any time at any grocery store in my area.

We loved Red Baron as kids. We'd add extra mozzarella because they were chintzy with it.

r26 sometimes on the weekend I don't want to be bothered with anyone (even a delivery person0 so that's when a frozen pizza can come in handy. I buy the personal (small) size DiGiorno's supreme pizza and it's just the right amount for 1 person and pretty good for frozen.

They took the grated cheese (I call it saw dust) out of the Chef Boyardee boxes, whose brilliant idea was that? I still will make a Chef Boyardee once in awhile and add pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.

Any self respecting fat whore bachelor is not limited to one favorite variety of frozen pizza.

R31 a take and bake is an uncooked, non-frozen, pre-assembled pizza that the customer takes home and bakes.

Go get a real pizza made by a real Italian.

I keep an excellent product, Talia di Napoli, in my freezer. These are simple, thin crust, with nice ingredients. It may be my oven, but I need to heat them nearly twice as long as the directions indicate form them to heat through. Also, turn the pizza in the oven once while it heats.

Digiorno's croissant crust pizza is good but hard to find.

Motor City is still better. Yes, I'm the Motor City cheerleader.

R75 so true! 🤣

The crust on frozen pizza is what makes it disgusting. And all companies seem to use the same dough. Hence why it's all terrible.

R61- When my craving for CRAP hits me I need to satisfy that craving as soon as possible. I eat my food in reverse. When I'm binging I eat the ice cream, cookies , cake first than heat up a frozen pizza I keep in the freezer. I don't have the patience to order one on the phone and have to drive somewhere to get it even though in all likely hood that REAL pizza will be far tastier than the frozen one.

Have you whores tried Rao's or Paul Newman's frozen pizza?

Totino's Party Pizza has great crust, but the cheese is like plastic (it doesn't melt).

R79- You might be the same person who said that on another thread.

Either way I agree. Motor City pizza is particularly good for a frozen pizza. Significantly better than the in house offerings at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's lately.

I think the main problem with frozen pizzas is that most people have a normal oven and it doesn't work the way it should. Most of the instructions tell you to put it directly on the oven rack, who's gonna do that?

I’ve tried a lot of frozen pizza and never had frozen pizza that rose to the quality of that you can get in a restaurant or pizza joint.

Although I have had pizza in a restaurant once or twice that was so bad I thought it might be frozen.

(So I guess that contradicts my first statement? I think you see my point.)

I always loved this SNL sketch from years ago. I think it sums things up:

R83 I did a few weeks ago. Paul Newman Quatro Formaggi pizza imported from Italy. It is very good. Distinctively so. Food from Europe is just better tasting, fewer additives.

Rippted from NYT headlines: How frozen pizza spells doom for Biden and the Democrats.

R77 I’ll pop in a Red Baron.

I thought frozen pizzas here in Norway were expensive. Turns out they cost about the same!

I like the Amy's spinach pizza.

I like when my imaginary boyfriend makes me pizza.

R89 I believe that like I believe the olive oil is real, the EU is corrupt. Ignorance is bliss.

Binging with Babish ranks Roberta's Margarita pizza as best in show. Says it's as good as restaurant fare.

R95 I said fewer additives. Food fraud is a problem everywhere.

The EU has stricter guidelines for what can be added to food. This is the system in the U.S.:

The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is supposed to be overseeing the safety of our food supply according to a law passed by the Congress in 1958.

However, since 1997, the FDA does not require food companies to report what additives and the amount they are putting into food products, as long as the company has decided the additive is “generally recognized as safe” or GRAS.

Basically the food companies decide what is in our foods, not the FDA. In their 2014 report, “Generally Recognized as Secret,” Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Senior Scientist Maricel Maffini and Senior Attorney Tom Neltner wrote, “No other developed country that we know of has a similar system in which companies can decide the safety of chemicals put directly into food.”

[quote]Yes, I'm the Motor City cheerleader.

You've convinced me, it's on my list.

I tried Paul Newmans several times but they ended up tasting like cardboard. I don’t think there are any good frozen pizzas.

I guess you don't have Dr. Oetker in the US, or maybe you do under another name. They're quite inexpensive in Canada. Fortify it a bit and it's not bad. but not for microwave.

I also wasn't impressed with the Newman's Own pizza. I think I got the 4 cheese one.

As a good Midwestern 80s boy, I agree with Tombstone for sheer nostalgia factor. The only time I've had it as an adult, though, was over COVID lockdown. Somehow our local store was able to keep resupplying Tombstone when all the others were gone, and based on other people's carts, it wasn't for lack of demand.

I like or liked pepperoni Tombstone. Why? I actually enjoy tomato sauce on pizza and there was a decent amount of sauce on it.

I had this yesterday.

I have been a vegetarian for a decade and went apeshit one day and purchased a Rao's Uncured Pepperoni Pizza. MY GOD THAT THING WAS SO GOOD...

Highly recommended. So much for vegetarianism. I told myself I will allow myself 2 per year.

I've had it several times r104. The last I had was spinach & cheese. I added more cheese and some sliced black olive.

R83- sorry- i saw your post after-- see me at R105-

rao's is excellent with a very good crust too

it's so depressing to eat something and say "never again." I'm looking at you, California Pizza Kitchen.:

FACT: America eats more frozen pizza per year than all of Italy does on a national basis.

I so hate DiGiorno, the bread is really thick and dense and dry.

It looks better than most frozen pizzas but not great flavor. I guess that's why so many of my lay ass friends serve it at their parties.

Another view for the Red Baron deep dish. I was surprised it tasted so good and inexpensive.

I'm not afraid of a Stouffer's Frozen French Bread Pepperoni Pizza.

Frozen pizzas can be good - but there are 2 things that always make it better for me:

1) Pizza Stone to cook it on - total game changer in the texture of the crust.

2) Add extra veggies, particularly chopped tomatoes, to make it taste fresher

But the pizza stone - trust me on that.

I use the rack of my convention oven. The California Pizza Kitchen four cheese came out crispy. It just wasn't very good.

Has Domino's radically improved? It was dreadful when I went there ten years ago. Like McDonalds--not taste apart from the food being warm.

I’ll show you a screamin Sicilian.

A Pizza STEEL is must better than a stone R113. Gets even hotter.

R116 - i'm listening - never heard of one. You got a link?

Not 116 but I know pizza steels are a thing. I also now you don't need one if you place it on the race of a convection oven.

That is rack, not race

R10 those taste like shit too

I love Home Run Inn-- The cheese just tastes REAL- its very different from other brands-

R94- Is your imaginary boyfriend’s name

George Glass?

R121- Consumer Reports once put Home Run Inn Pizza 🍕 at the top of its ratings.

what about prosciutto? any recommendations?

Basically--they are ALL terrible.