Taking the Chill off Frozen Pizza

A while back we posted about time-saving meals, and frozen pizza was one of the items we suggested, along with a couple of brands we liked, but we felt it was time to get a little more in-depth with this particular food item.  No, it’s not the healthiest thing in the world, but it’s better than regular pizza.  Frozen pizza has come a long way in the last 10 years or so; there are still some brands out there that make basically cardboard crust topped with a slightly cheese-like substance, but many brands now make frozen pizza that is quite edible.  We tried 5 different ones that should be available nationwide, and here are the results, with an overall rating of 1 to 5, which incorporates taste and price value.

California Pizza Kitchen: available in many creative varieties like BBQ Chicken, Cheeseburger, and White Garlic.  Unfortunately the taste comes nowhere close to the pizza you find in CPK restaurants; the toppings are ok, but the crust is quite disappointing – dry and doughy.  Rating: 2

Newman’s Own:  all natural ingredients, and the proceeds are donated to charity.  It’s not bad – the toppings and crust taste relatively fresh for a frozen product.  The real downside to Newman’s is the size – one pizza is nowhere near enough to feed a family of four, so you’d wither need two or a lot of side dishes.  Rating: 3

Freschetta:  we tried their regular “rising crust” and their “Brick Oven” varieties.  The toppings on both were decent enough, but the crust on the “Brick Oven” kind was head and shoulders above just about all the other pizza’s crusts.  It tasted surprisingly fresh – light and flaky with the right amount of chewy-ness (if that’s a word).  Rating: 3 (regular style), 4 (Brick Oven)

DiGiorno:  those commercials are (predictably) inaccurate.  You could never confuse DiGiorno with a delivered pizza.  But as far as frozen pizzas go, DiGiorno isn’t too bad.  The toppings are good, and the crust holds up pretty well.  Rating: 3

Uno’s:  if any brand comes close to the real thing, it’s this one.  The toppings and the deep-dish style crust hold up incredibly well in a frozen state.  Obviously it’s not as good as their freshly-made pizzas, but if you can find this at your store, buy it.  Easily the best frozen pizza on the market.  Rating: 5

Let us know if you have a favorite we didn’t try.  Enjoy!