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The Papa John's thread modcut contained comments about several types of frozen pizza that are actually GOOD. (Dirt Grinder mentioned neoplitan pizza but did not include the brand.) If such a thing exists, I'd be happy to enjoy the convenience and cost savings over delivery.
I'm not expecting restaurant quality, but I'd love to find a frozen pizza that's anywhere close to the standard crap delivered by Papa John's. I'm perfectly willing to add my choice of toppings (sausage and onions, maybe mushrooms).
In my experience, local popular chains often branch out and sell frozen offerings in local markets. For example, there are about 30 locations of a pizza place called Green Mill, mostly in a Minnesota (with a handful in neighboring states). And they have frozen pizzas in the local supermarket chains. There are other examples as well. And as far as frozen pizza goes, it's right near the top.
Note that these tend to be a bit more expensive than offerings such as Red Baron. I would wager that most areas have something similar going on.
I consider frozen pizzas strictly utilitarian. I live in a college town and along with the usual chains we have several independent pizzerias making excellent (mostly Greek) pizza. For the experience - as opposed to cost and convenience - that's always the way to go
Honestly, when it comes to store bought pizza, there is a special place in my stomach for the Walmart deli pizzas. Marketside I believe is the brand. They are up near the deli, not frozen. To me they are much better than what you can get from Pizza Hut or Dominos.
We always have a couple of frozen pizzas in the house, mainly for convenience because our favorite pizza spot doesn't deliver during the week.
The go-to choice is DiGiorno, specifically the pizzeria offerings. The crust is very good. I buy the four cheese variety and add
my own vegetables. As a back-up we'll use the DiGiorno thin crust cheese. I rarely see veggie pizzas, and I don't know why that should be. Margherita is easy to find, but not too exciting when it's from the frozen case.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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I don't know if you can get these in the States, but these are the only frozen pizzas that I'll eat here in Canada:
1. Delissio RUSTICO. Any other of the Delissio pizzas (such as "Rising Crust blah blah blah") are as awful as frozen pizza usually is, but the RUSTICO one is actually terrific. I'm partial to the four-cheese one, since it has bleu cheese as one of the four. This pizza even chars a bit like neapolitan. If you google "Delissio RUSTICO" don't get turned off from the picture of the pizza on the box. Y'know how usually things look *better* in the ad or picture? This is one of the only times when the reverse is true. It looks hideous on the box. It looks so much better "in person" and it's yummy.
2. A distant runner-up is the Dr. Oetker brand. They're called Virtuoso. I like the mushroom one and will eat it if the Delissio RUSTICO isn't available.
Honestly, when it comes to store bought pizza, there is a special place in my stomach for the Walmart deli pizzas. Marketside I believe is the brand. They are up near the deli, not frozen. To me they are much better than what you can get from Pizza Hut or Dominos.
I have had those - they're are refrigerated instead of frozen. One thing that I didn't like about them (I guess it's personal preference) is how the crust is more like a focaccia and doesn't get too crispy. I tried cooking them a few ways with similar results. But, there is no such thing as bad pizza and I'll get them once in a while.
Honestly, when it comes to store bought pizza, there is a special place in my stomach for the Walmart deli pizzas. Marketside I believe is the brand. They are up near the deli, not frozen. To me they are much better than what you can get from Pizza Hut or Dominos.
I second that. We buy the 12" Take n Bake from Walmart and they are frequently on sale for $5.98. Very good. Sometimes I doctor up the toppings a bit, but you don't have to. They specifically tell you not to freeze them, so OP is still looking for a good frozen pizza.
Amy's Organics makes the best frozen pizza I have found to date. They are available at whole foods, cub and Hy-vee. The Margarita and the Spinach one's are in my freezer every week.
DiGiorno used to be okay but seems like they changed it and the crust was overly hardened while the cheese was cool in the center.
Try Amy's or Whole Foods house brand which is called 365. Saves a ton of money on delivery which is now up to $25 for a small one topping plus a pop.
Amy's Organics makes the best frozen pizza I have found to date. They are available at whole foods, cub and Hy-vee. The Margarita and the Spinach one's are in my freezer every week.
DiGiorno used to be okay but seems like they changed it and the crust was overly hardened while the cheese was cool in the center.
Try Amy's or Whole Foods house brand which is called 365. Saves a ton of money on delivery which is now up to $25 for a small one topping plus a pop.
I'm trying that. I love Amy's enchiladas, so I'd probably like the pizza.
What people like in pizzas, fresh or frozen, is probably very personal. Some like high rising crusts, some like thin, some like crispy, some like softer. Some like lots of cheese or not so much sauce, vice versa or more or less of each. I do not like pepperoni or sausage or pineapple or ham. I like shrimp and feta or thai flavours or chicken with some kind of piquant sauce. Others would abhor what I like - probably many others or I would be able to find what I want in a pizza and I rarely can. At any rate, you name it - the variations are out there for all of us (well, perhaps except me) so it is rather hard to say .. what is the best frozen (or non-frozen) pizza (for everyone). We all have such different standards and we all vary too in what we are used to.
I have found that if I want a quick pizza I usually have to make it myself from scratch (which, contrary to popular opinion really doesn't take that long, especially if you want a crispy, thin crust) or buy a frozen crust (or haul one out o the freezer) and throw what I want on top.
Sometimes I am in the mood for that filling feeling of 'more carbs' and want a more doughy crust and sometimes I crave crunch. The crust is essentially the same - just don't let it rise a lot if you want thin, crisp. And about 10 seconds in a food processor is all it takes to get a crust that is delicious and doesn't contain any preservatives (just flour, water, salt, yeast and sometimes a bit of olive oil). Within 20 minutes at most I can have a pizza in the oven (and much of that is waiting for the oven to heat sufficiently) - which often is less time than it takes to run to the store and buy a frozen one or call for delivery (which is not even available where I spent a lot of my time).
That said, I do succumb on rare occasion and pick up a store bought frozen pizza. Probably still my favorite frozen pizzas are the California Kitchen ones though (wish they still had their Thai one but I must have been the only person in the universe who bought them so they disappeared quite a while ago now). I have also tried Dr. Oekter and Delissio up north (and the latter are very like, in my opinion, DiGiorno down south) and none of them are 'bad' (but I don't choose the meat/grease laden ones either so I can't comment on them - I usually pick spinach, or mushroom, or margarita and doll them up).
I've tried a few others down south too in the past year but there are so many brands now that I cannot even tell you what they were - but most seemed to be labelled as 'thin crust, preservative free' and none were really so wonderful or I would recall who made them I am sure. Haven't tried Amy's .. maybe I should but I have found many of Amy's frozen foods to be rather bland so I always walk by them. I would love to hear why they are so great - those of you who say you like them.
In my experience, local popular chains often branch out and sell frozen offerings in local markets. For example, there are about 30 locations of a pizza place called Green Mill, mostly in a Minnesota (with a handful in neighboring states). And they have frozen pizzas in the local supermarket chains. There are other examples as well. And as far as frozen pizza goes, it's right near the top.
Note that these tend to be a bit more expensive than offerings such as Red Baron. I would wager that most areas have something similar going on.
I consider frozen pizzas strictly utilitarian. I live in a college town and along with the usual chains we have several independent pizzerias making excellent (mostly Greek) pizza. For the experience - as opposed to cost and convenience - that's always the way to go
I saw Davanni's (my favorite chain delivery) frozen pizza at Byerly's, but price point of $9 isn't worth it when I can order one for not a whole lot more. I'll have to try a Green Mill frozen. Heggies at bar with the little plug in pizza oven is the best, but maybe that's with alcohol interfering
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