Pizza. Pie. 'Za. However you refer to it, that rounded goodness is one of our favorite foods to chow down on almost anytime. It's always a fun experience to head out to your local pizza parlor, but sometimes, you're at home and just want to heat up some tomato-and-crust-based goodness. (Or you're lazy.)
There are tons of frozen pizza brands out there to choose from, so it's really hard to figure out which ones are worthy of your Saturday night. But we've got your back! We selected some of the best frozen pizzas out there, with some help from "pizza expert" sites, word of mouth as well as good old-fashioned staff picks.
What's your favorite home-based slice?
Brand: Totino's
Key ingredients: Imitation mozzarella cheese, pepperoni pizza topping, tomato puree
Sometimes, when you have a group of your buddies over - and especially if there's beer involved - you really can't afford to be terribly picky about your choices. Enter Totino's Classic Pepperoni Party Pizza, which, though its mozzarella is "imitation" (whatever that means), still packs quite a flavorful punch.
This is one of those frozen pizza choices that is perfect for grab-and-go, particularly if there's a football game or boxing match on the TV. It may not be as gourmet as other pies you'll encounter on this list, but this entry from Totino's delivers precisely what it promises.
Brand: Classico
Key ingredients: Mozzarella cheese, asiago cheese, parmesan cheese, provolone cheese
This Neapolitan-style pizza is perfect for the cheese-loving crowd, and the Quattro Formaggi will satiate the appetite of one or even two diners. This pie packs a nicely modulated flavor profile and cuts up into pieces rather beautifully.
Oh, and cheese . so much wonderful cheese!
Brand: Freschetta
Key ingredients: Pepperoni made with pork, chicken and beef; enriched flour; yeasts; low-moisture part-skim mozzarella and parmesan cheeses; dried garlic
The good folks at Freschetta take pride in how their yeasts give the pizza dough some serious lift when placed in the oven at 400 degrees for a good 20 to 25 minutes. The garlic-crusted bread helps this natural (and delicious!) process happen, and the added pepperoni and cheeses add up to some serious pizza goodness.
Oh, and, at 330 calories per slice, it won't expand your beltline too much either.
Brand: California Pizza Kitchen
Key ingredients: BBQ-seasoned grilled white-meat chicken, red onions, mozzarella, tangy BBQ sauce
Many of our friends out west rave about California Pizza Kitchen (or CPK, in the local lingo), causing folks on the East Coast to cry foul. However, take it from us that CPK's offerings are indeed legit, including their Thin Crust BBQ Chicken Pizza.
It's a delightful flavor experience with the onions creating a really cool counterpoint to the tangy BBQ sauce that is seasoning the chicken. It all adds up to some great pizza power - to quote those 'za-loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.