What are the best brands of frozen pizza?

April 1, 2015 2:59 PM

I fed my kids a Totino's frozen pizza last week and it was bad. They complained. I'm about to get real busy at work for a few months and I may end up feeding them more frozen pizza. What brands do you recommend? Are there any low-priced brands that are still tasty? (I'm located in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States of America. Please don't scold me for not cooking for them. I'm usually better than this and even frequently make homemade pizza on my baking steel.)
posted by Area Man to Food & Drink (74 answers total)

The Paul Newman ones are pretty good
posted by Clustercuss at 3:01 PM on April 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

No scolding here, some days you have home-made scratch whatever and some days it's about getting food into children. My kids like DiGiorno's pizza when we are in that position; they're regularly 2 for $10 in my neck of the woods.
posted by KathrynT at 3:01 PM on April 1, 2015 [6 favorites]

The Costco house brand ones are decent, at least here in Ohio.
posted by Poldo at 3:05 PM on April 1, 2015 [10 favorites]

Of the localish Minneapolis kinds I like Heggies the best. The Lotsa Mozza and Green Mill ones are good too.
posted by sanka at 3:07 PM on April 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Your kids are wrong. Totino's pizzas are awesome.

Tombstone is good. I prefer Red Baron, but either or will do. Sprinkle some black and red peppers to give it a little kick.

All other brands cost too much for too little improvement over the basic form.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 3:07 PM on April 1, 2015 [9 favorites]

Tombstone has a garlic bread crust variety that I find pretty delicious.
posted by Muttoneer at 3:09 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I like most of the ones that they sell at Trader Joe's. They're about half the price of equally fancy ones from the supermarket and also come in plain varieties and fancier varieties. I also love Annie's frozen pizzas, but they can be pricier, so I stock up when they're on special.
posted by quince at 3:09 PM on April 1, 2015 [10 favorites]

Kashi pizzas are very tasty.
posted by mmf at 3:11 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Another vote for the Newman's ones, that's what we used to get. That said, I think of frozen pizza as a totally different food than actual pizza and I think it's better that way.
posted by selfnoise at 3:12 PM on April 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Archer Farms at Target, seriously.
posted by Flannery Culp at 3:12 PM on April 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

I like the Kashi ones, Annie's, and DiGiorno (some flavors).
posted by primethyme at 3:14 PM on April 1, 2015

Trader Joe's sells one that is from Italy. It's a little more than a slice, pinched in the middle. It is dreamy good. It is better than the pizza that I make myself.

Paul Newman's is also good.
posted by myselfasme at 3:17 PM on April 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

We just get the whole foods 4 cheese pizza, add toppings the kids like and bake it for a few minutes longer (you may need to coat a sheet with some oil so it does not stick to the bottom). Fairly inexpensive, extensively customizable and quite tasty.
posted by ding-dong at 3:18 PM on April 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm a big fan of the Home Run Inn ones I can get here in Chicago, not sure if they carry them by you.

They're my go-to shame pizza for after my wife goes to sleep.
posted by Oktober at 3:19 PM on April 1, 2015 [10 favorites]

Shirk's have kind of a Heggie's thing going on that I dig. (Heggie's are kind of expensive for what you get IMO.)

The big problem with Totino's is that they use something called "mozzarella cheese substitute" in place of actual cheese; definitely worth reading the labels to filter out any other brands that try to pull that on you.
posted by substars at 3:19 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Culinary Circle is pretty good , 2nding Archer Farms.
posted by Fig at 3:25 PM on April 1, 2015

I liked Bagel Bites a lot when I was a kid. My kids liked those too when they were kids.

I think Hot Pockets also went over well for a time. Me and my kids are both fond of things you don't have to cut up and can just pick up and eat.

Though I tended to prefer the build-your-own variety of insta-pizza instead of frozen. I used to microwave (or even bake) good quality bread with pizza quick sauce and fresh toppings. It's not hard to keep good cheese, pepperoni and whatever other toppings they are into in the house. Even fairly small kids can handle doing this.
posted by Michele in California at 3:27 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm going to go slightly off piste here and suggest that you make extra pizza dough (when you do make pizza) and freeze it. My SO does this and it has saved my bacon on many an occasion! The kids don't notice any change in quality, plus we still get to have pizza from scratch which tastes a lot better generally.
posted by mukade at 3:30 PM on April 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

There is (predictably) a guy on YouTube who made nearly 700 reviews of frozen food products - not sure I would reccomend it but if you want an overly detailed and sincere review of any frozen pizza you can check his frozen pizza category where he has like 100 frozen pizza reviews
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 3:33 PM on April 1, 2015 [11 favorites]

there is a new DiGiorno's, the "pizzeria" line, that is for some reason a serious improvement on their standard version.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:33 PM on April 1, 2015

Partly depends on what type of pizza & toppings your kids like.

This one is best in my book for taste & value...
Trader Joes/ 'Trader Giotto’s Pizza Parlanno'. Pretty good for less than 5 bucks.
posted by artdrectr at 3:36 PM on April 1, 2015

The only remotely acceptable frozen pizza I've ever had is Gino's East. It's widely available but not all that common - it's really a whole different thing than most frozen pizza, and surprisingly close to actual Chicago deep dish.
posted by eschatfische at 3:37 PM on April 1, 2015

... another vote for Newman's Own.
posted by goml at 3:39 PM on April 1, 2015

Can you get Home Run Inn in Minneapolis? It's a Chicago area brand, but if you find them, LOAD UP. It's fantastically good and cheap.
posted by deathpanels at 3:42 PM on April 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

Have you got enough time for a Boboli pizza crust + sauce + toppings? Can your kids help with some of the prep / making of a pizza?

Boboli pizza nights were always delicious in my memory. I remember these being quick and easy (and fun) to make as a kid, and it's possible to buy pre-chopped vegetables in your grocery store.

For more ideas, check out these links:

Good Housekeeping frozen pizza reviews

Rachael Ray best frozen pizza taste test list

I hope your schedule lightens up soon.
posted by simulacra at 3:44 PM on April 1, 2015

Amy's organic frozen pizza is actually really good. Kids always seem to love it, and it's also not horribly unhealthy.
posted by third rail at 3:44 PM on April 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

Have you considered swapping them for kids who can appreciate the beauty and perfection of the Party Pizza?

I do not like thick crust pizza, and the Costco pizzas irritate me because they're too big for my side-by-side fridge (though I like one directly after a Costco run). For straight grocery store brand, I like the California Pizza Kitchen. They are a decent diameter and the dough isn't that poofed gummy stuff.

Also, my grocery deli has really good take-and-bake pizzas, if that's an option for you. They're not frozen, and the large is Costco-big. I like to doctor them with some more toppings, but I do that to Totinos as well.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:45 PM on April 1, 2015 [10 favorites]

My daughters who are vegetarians (teenage) like Aldi pizzas. They have a mixed veggie one that is good and a spinach/mushroom rising one that's also good. Aldi has the same parent company as Trader Joe's and the quality is very good. Also they are $4 each.
posted by readery at 3:46 PM on April 1, 2015 [4 favorites]

You're in Minneapolis? Go to Seward Co-op (or probably the Wedge or Linden Hills). They have some in-house locally made frozen pizzas - the name escapes me but they are packaged in clear plastic. I also like Amy's although it's a bready crust.

The Home Run Inn frozen pizzas are really fatty but they sure do taste a lot like pizza from actual Home Run Inn. My parents jazz them up with mushrooms and so on.
posted by Frowner at 3:48 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

As an alternative to frozen, we sometimes get a take and bake pizza from Papa Murphy's.
posted by rakaidan at 3:49 PM on April 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

I like Jack's pizza. Trader Joes makes good ones, too, as does Neumans.
posted by awesomelyglorious at 3:50 PM on April 1, 2015

> suggest that you make extra pizza dough (when you do make pizza) and freeze it

Go further -- make the whole pizza, freeze that. Mass production and bulk freezing of homemade pizza is easy when you have kids working the assembly line.

+1 Costco -- fine plain, & I've thrown some toppings (usually stuff from giant jars from Costco, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, etc) and extra cheese on them and had great results with that too.
posted by kmennie at 3:57 PM on April 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

I *love* Totinos pizza, but ever since I discovered this recipe for bar-style pizzas on a tortilla, I make them. They are *faster* to cook than a Totinos and way more delicious. Give it a shot:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/10/extra-crispy-bar-style-tortilla-pizza-recipe.html
posted by AaRdVarK at 4:00 PM on April 1, 2015 [4 favorites]

7th Street pizza, for sale at Byerlies. Really good. Tastes like the pizza at Cossetta's (get it? 7th street?) although with a bland frozen crust. But the sauce and toppings are superb.
posted by Malla at 4:06 PM on April 1, 2015

Tombstone is great for cheap pizza. Amy's is pricier, but delicious.. great for the occasional treat.
posted by alligatorman at 4:07 PM on April 1, 2015

Also, 7th Street pizza is pricey, but Byerlies does BOGO them on the regular. Lucky 7 is my favorite flavor.
posted by Malla at 4:09 PM on April 1, 2015

Stouffer's French Bread Pizzas are really good, and have the advantage that you can prepare exactly as many as you need per meal.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:18 PM on April 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'm going to go slightly off piste here and suggest that you make extra pizza dough (when you do make pizza) and freeze it.

Nah, just buy naan at the grocery store and have sauce in a tupper and chopped veggies. They can make their own tiny pizzas in the same amount of time it would take to make a frozen one.

My favorite (kids might not like it?) is ricotta, cumin, green pepper and onion with a little garlic and sliced roma tomatoes.
posted by winna at 4:18 PM on April 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

Heggies is local, but I have been unimpressed with them. The sauce tastes kind of sweet to me and the crust is kind of cardboard like. The cheese doesn't melt that well. It's a bar pizza...pretty good for a bar pizza, but a bar pizza nonetheless.
posted by Elly Vortex at 4:22 PM on April 1, 2015

Seconding Stouffers French Bread Pizzas. Oh, and whatever you get, sprinkle some dry oregano and basil on it before sticking it in the oven. Makes every frozen pizza better.

Also when you do have time for cooking: seconding the flat bread idea. Buy a bunch of flatbreads. Spread on some pasta sauce and toppings of choice and *THIS IS THE KEY PART* Don't just make one or two. Make 4 or 6. Wrap the extras in saran wrap (unbaked) and stick them in the freezer. Now you have frozen pizza for next time with exactly the toppings your family likes.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:32 PM on April 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

Hey, I raised three kids all by myself and worked fulltime and went to graduate school.

You feed them frozen pizza as much as you want to.

For whatever reason, my kids never liked frozen pizza either but they LOVED those 3-in-a-row rectangular not-at-all-pizza-but-kinda-pizza Ellio's, it's made by McCain food.

Totally not pizza but still pleasing to kids because it's kinda pizza.

Also Stouffer's French Bread pizza. Again, not really pizza but still sort of is.
posted by kinetic at 4:34 PM on April 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

I recommend Amy's pesto pizza. Or teaching your kids to make pizza for you...if 9-year-olds can cook on Masterchef Junior, why not your kids?
posted by three_red_balloons at 4:34 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

DiGiorno's works for my family, also the lower cost Red Baron.
posted by corb at 4:42 PM on April 1, 2015

Thirding the Kirkland brand frozen ones from Costco. Throw some extra toppings on if your kids don't want plain cheese. They are really remarkable for what you pay- on the small end but about $2.50 each.
posted by charmedimsure at 4:44 PM on April 1, 2015

My daughter is a big fan of the Newman's Garlic and Chicken pizza, and when it's cooking, it smells AMAAAAAZING.

I miss being able to eat frozen pizza now (dairy intolerance), but I always liked Red Baron and Tombstone.

(Going to have to see if the "mozzarella substitute" on Totino's is fake enough to fool my digestive system)
posted by briank at 4:44 PM on April 1, 2015

I'll eat crap pizza, even though I have the skills to make good pizza, so almost anything's good (Mama Celeste, you are not as I remember you from childhood).

I've gotta second (fourth?) the Costco (Kirkland) frozen pizza. It's what my parents got me eating-- it pushes all their buttons for frugality, quality, convenience, and it's tasty. I'd definitely recommend that. I don't have a Costco Membership (because I don't have a car) and so it's Tombstone for me. Tombstone is exactly on par, as far as I'm concerned. Could be better, could be worse.

Trader Joe's will give you an opportunity to broaden their horizons a little; I know that kids aren't big on that, but TJ's has pizzas that are outside the neapolitan model, such as margherita or white pizza or pesto pizza. (Not sure exactly what TJ's carries, but that's the sort of thing they carry.) But it's a potentially pricy way ot experiment, and hungry kids make cranky test subjects; don't ask me how I know.
posted by Sunburnt at 4:56 PM on April 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

These days we usually keep a Costco pizza in the freezer for those nights when we don't want to cook something more complicated.

BUT, what I really came in to say is that when I was a kid my mom used to make mini "pizza" using English muffins and jarred pizza sauce, adding some cheese, sliced pepperoni, what-have-you, and then baking for 10 minutes or so. Heaven for a little kid!
posted by vignettist at 4:58 PM on April 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

There is literally no iteration of what I call "cardboard pizza" that isn't awesome, and I second that you might try adding extra toppings or swapping out your kids altogether for a new set that appreciate the genre.
posted by jbenben at 5:27 PM on April 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

This is a pretty individual thing. I dislike most of the major brands, but have a thing for Palermo's - it's crispy, thin-crust, very tasty. Otherwise, yeah, making your own is not at all hard. You can buy hunks of dough in the grocery store. You can also buy premade pizza shells, Boboli or a couple of other brands.
posted by Miko at 5:31 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

We also do Red Baron pizza around here when dinner gets crazy. We usually just do the pepperoni and I might throw some extra veggies on my half. They regularly go on sale 4/$10 around these parts so when they do I buy four.
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 5:37 PM on April 1, 2015

red baron is our not-crazy expensive go-to for frozen pizza. we usually go with the cheaper thin crust but sometimes splurge on the thicker one when it's on sale.
posted by noloveforned at 6:01 PM on April 1, 2015

Since you're already a cook, it is super easy (and MUCH less expensive) to make your own and keep a stash in the freezer. The Kitchn has step by step (double wrapping is key) instructions here:

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-frozen-pizza-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-186527

Good luck and NO GUILT!
posted by cyndigo at 6:03 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I hope this counts as an answer but I'm honestly not totally sure. We over-order when we go out for pizza, then wrap pieces tightly (very tightly) and freeze them at home. Then we can have real half-way decent pizza with a salad and some wine (for you, I guess, not the kids) and it's non-sucky and also easy, except for the part where you're tediously aluminum-foil-wrapping your chosen serving size selections the day after dinner out.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:04 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Well okay in the great spirit of questionable AskMe non-answers, I'll also suggest that 'par-baking' is an actual thing. You can make crusts, par-bake (five minutes) and freeze. You can make pizza sauce and freeze it in adorable four ounce mason jars, and you can slice cheese and freeze it. I have done lots of both of these and also the repurposing of restaurant food. Both are just awesome. I totally relate to the exhaustion factor of 'for the love of God in between the time where I put down my laptop bag and put on my indoor pants and unpack the freaky leftovers of my kid's lunch please somehow let there be a rainbow of dinner miraculously appearing without my grinding through sixty separate steps to make it reality'.

There are no good brands of frozen pizza, IMO. I like me some Totinos, some Tony's -- but those are things I eat in a PMS fugue state followed immediately afterwards by full body swelling from the sodium. Not saying I won't eat it, just saying there should probably be a discussion of what 'best/good' is.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 6:10 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

The take-and-bake pizzas at Whole Foods are REALLY freaking good. Better than any frozen pizza I've ever tried. I don't know what it is but it's like there's cocaine in the sauce and the cheese is the stretchiest ever. Also, enormous pepperoni slices!

They aren't frozen, but I have been told you can freeze them (I'm assuming instructions for thawing and heating are on the label). Also, I think Whole Foods does a buy-one-get-one-free thing on them on Tuesdays.
posted by joan_holloway at 6:47 PM on April 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

The Archer Farms pizzas from Target mentioned above are good. If you have a Sam's Club in your area, their ready-bake pizzas are really good as well, but they are gigantic and may not fit on your pizza stone to bake.
posted by Dr. Zira at 6:49 PM on April 1, 2015

Speaking about things that I know you can get in Minneapolis: we usually keep a few Annies or Green Mill pizzas in the freezer for emergencies.

We also usually have a couple pre-made crusts (I like the super thin ones, the kids like thicker Boboli style ones) on hand and a squirt bottle of Contadina brand sauce in the fridge and mozzarella cheese and pepperoni last forever in the fridge.

I think Kowalski's pizzas, the non-frozen ones from the deli section, are pretty great. The local co-ops have good ones too (I'm a Wedge girl, ymmv). But that's when you have enough time to stop somewhere.

I fucking hate Heggies but my husband disagrees strongly on this. We may not last. Pizza is serious business. I tend to second the above suggestion to trade your kids in for some who like the same pizza you like ;)
posted by padraigin at 7:08 PM on April 1, 2015

A staple in my childhood home was a frozen stash of "tortilla pizzas" individually wrapped in aluminum foil. Each was a tortilla with pizza sauce, mozz cheese and whatever topping (plain cheese for me or pepperoni for my sister). You put it on a cookie sheet for 10ish minutes in the oven and voila!

I also agree with the votes (taste-wise) for Newman's and Amy's, but they can be pricey. Try the tortilla pizzas . . . let the kids help build them. I remember it as a super fun thing I did with my mom and never knew I was eating them because we were poor and she was too busy to cook some nights.
posted by ainsley at 7:50 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I am a big fan of the Newman's Own pizzas, like everyone else. Bonus: I often see them on sale with store cards, which is a good way to stock up.

I've had some good luck with store brands -- I don't know what stores you have near you, but I find the store brands that are "select" or whatever (like the one step above the absolute generic -- the "fancy" store brand) are often pretty good and a few bucks cheaper than "name" brands.

Amy's is good, but they're a bit small, but great if you can find them on sale. If you have Trader Joe's nearby, I think a few of their pizzas (the spinach and the pesto) are made by Amy's and are quite a bit cheaper. Others of TJ's pizzas are pretty decent (I also like their bagel-bite-like pizzas they have, but those aren't real food).
posted by darksong at 7:55 PM on April 1, 2015

I think the California Pizza Kitchen ones are best. Easy to spot in the yellow box.
posted by amaire at 10:43 PM on April 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

I want to second Home Run Inn, they really make a good product with a delicious flaky crust. I also like Aldi's refrigerated pizzas, especially the Five Cheese one, they're good and gigantic and like $5. I've never tried the frozen ones, but I imagine they'd be pretty good. Of national brands, I'd recommend the DiGiorno Pizzeria line, they have a much better crust than the original.
posted by Small Dollar at 11:00 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Home Run Inn for sure (but no sausage please).
posted by Standard Orange at 11:04 PM on April 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Is there a duane reade near you? They have a store brand pizza that's very similar to digiorno's (self-rising crust) but IMO better/less oily...it's a BIG pizza and bonus: usually very cheap/on sale...like 2 for $6. They've got a whole new freezer section that you might check out as well with similar deals.
posted by sexyrobot at 12:01 AM on April 2, 2015

After 64 answers, I think I can summarize: Every pizza.

(Including the kind you said you hated.)
posted by paper chromatographologist at 4:30 AM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Is this a case of you throwing a pizza in the oven as soon as you get home?

Is there a Papa Murphy's anywhere convenient-ish on your way home? I would grab one of their take-n-bake pizzas on your way home and pop that in the oven. The baking time is pretty similar to a frozen pie, and the results are much better.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:42 AM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Do you have safeway in Minnesota? Because they have best pizza in their prepared food section and is only $6.99 for the equivalent of a large domino's.
posted by echo0720 at 5:47 AM on April 2, 2015

My local Middle Eastern market sells bags of 12"-14" pitas for $2.00, six to a bag, so 33.3̅¢ each. I buy them, layer plastic wrap or plastic shopping bags between them to prevent sticking, and put the whole stack in the freezer. They're far better than any pre-made store-bought pizza crust and obviously far less expensive, and I enjoy the pizzas I make with them more than any frozen pizza I've had.
posted by XMLicious at 6:45 AM on April 2, 2015

I'm SO SORRY I forgot to mention!!

If you are still reading, what you need is a $4 to $10 Pizza Screen to cook your pie on - that's your current problem right there!!

Pizza Stones are expensive and take forever to heat up. An inexpensive Pizza Screen is cheaper w/better results. Also great for any type of bread, nan, pita, toast, etc. etc.
posted by jbenben at 6:54 AM on April 2, 2015

Amy's pizzas as so good!
posted by radioamy at 6:58 AM on April 2, 2015

I agree that Trader Joe's and Amy's are both tasty, but do tend to run smaller than some other frozen pizza brands.

Not sure what grocery stores you have there, but in my opinion the store brand pizzas (Safeway and Giant for me) can be pretty good.

If you have time to stop on the way home, the $5 ready-made pizzas from Little Caesar's could be another option.

Enhancing frozen pizza with basil/oregano, crushed red pepper, parmesan, garlic powder can definitely kick it up from decent to yummy.
posted by treachery, faith, and the great river at 7:30 AM on April 2, 2015

In my opinion Red Baron is the best value for the money. You can usually find them for about $10/3. Walgreen's delish also an acceptable low end. Tombstone takes being cheap a bit too far me and tastes very cardboardy. Digiorno's is almost twice the price but can be a decent choice when you want more dough and a good crust on the edge. On sale you can get them for around $10/2. Deep dish is don't even think about it frozen. Go to the restaurant or don't buy it all.

Mostly it comes down to what style of pizza you like. The low end is mostly thinner crusts with no edge crust and light on the toppings.
posted by srboisvert at 9:47 AM on April 2, 2015

Amy's Pizza Margherita is very good and the only frozen pizza I eat.
posted by Nickel at 12:11 PM on April 2, 2015

I loved Totino's Party Pizza as a kid. Had one two weeks ago and I think through the decades, the quality has severely declined.

The other types of frozen pizza I liked right out of the box was the rectangular kind: Celeste, Elio's, if they still make them. These days when I have a frozen pizza hankering, I buy Amy's. DiGiorno's is good, and I like the crust, but it feels less like frozen pizza and more like a stale version of fresh pizza to me.

You don't say how old your kids are, but I did enjoy the grown up responsibility of making my own pizza using Thomas's English Muffins, bottled pizza sauce, and shredded cheese. I put these into the toaster oven and felt very grown up!

Another good kid option is to forgo pizza and go straight to Annie's Mac and Cheese.

Also, try Pizza Rolls. Every kid needs to experience burning the roof of their mouths with hot molten cheese lava.
posted by vivzan at 12:38 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

Second Sams Club take and bake pizzas. Very good, and cheap on a per serving basis. I usually get cheese or pepperoni and add whatever vegetable toppings I have on hand.
posted by aerotive at 6:15 AM on April 3, 2015