Great frozen pizza?

Is there any such thing as a really great frozen pizza? I would love to have some on hand for a quick dinner some nights but have never found a really good frozen pizza. Does anyone know of one?

"Great" and "frozen pizza" are not two phrases to be used in the same sentence by this New Yorker. There are a few that I would describe as edible. DiGiorno is not bad, for the premium product, but there are times when I just like a Totino's thin crust. I also have recently tried the Tombstone Brick Oven stylem, which was OK. However, much like Olive Garden is not "going out for Italian food", I wouldn't call this the equivalent to pizza.

Steve

I'll put in a good word for DiGiorno and Freshcetta (spelling?):
The only drawback sometimes is when we have to get one with Italian
sausage: I don't like those little anise seeds with the bite as those
remind me too much of the stuff they called "pizza" back in school;
And the Freshcetta Brick Oven is good: the only thing you need
on hand is a good, square pan.
When we used to have a Winn-Dixie here, I would always get a
Dano's cheese pizza: 100% real cheese, not the "cheese substitute"
they would have on some of their other varieties [|)]

There was a similar thread awhile back: http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1131

Dr. Oetker of gelatin and dessert fame has a line available here in Ontario. Small, thin crust that cooks up crispy with real ingredients.

The only one I've found that doesn't taste entirely like frozen pizza is Wolfgang Puck's pesto pizza. My fave is Mr. P's brand though. the 59 cent, personal sized, eat em by the dozen type pizza.. throw it in the mic for a quick snack.

American Flatbread Pizza out of Vermont. Whole foods store brand is also rather good.

quote:

Originally posted by stevekoe

"Great" and "frozen pizza" are not two phrases to be used in the same sentence by this New Yorker. There are a few that I would describe as edible. DiGiorno is not bad, for the premium product, but there are times when I just like a Totino's thin crust. I also have recently tried the Tombstone Brick Oven stylem, which was OK. However, much like Olive Garden is not "going out for Italian food", I wouldn't call this the equivalent to pizza.

Steve

"Great" and "frozen pizza" may be used in the same sentence, so long as other words like "not," "never," or "the world will become a burnt out cinder before this comes true" are found somewhere between them.

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie

Is there any such thing as a really great frozen pizza? I would love to have some on hand for a quick dinner some nights but have never found a really good frozen pizza. Does anyone know of one?

Short answer: NO.

That said, I've found myself eating them in lieu of going to a chain pizza place. In my little community in AZ there is only Pizza Hut and Domino's. No independent. So there I will eat frozen pizza. Usually I buy Red Baron because they don't make me gag too badly and Safeway often puts them on sale. I prefer "plain" pizza--just sauce and cheese--and find the "basic" versions of the cheaper brands can actually taste better to me than the pricier brands. But I wouldn't actually call it good, just a fairly quick and painless way to fill your stomach when you don't feel like cooking.

I've sworn off frozen pizza several times. There is however one good one I would actually eat it before a Pizza Hut or Dominoes. There is a company in Faribault, MN called Randy's Meats that makes their own. I don't think they even sell to grocery stores, not sure how they distribute them. My brother has used them for hockey fund raisers so on occasion so I get them through my nephews. If I get a craving for them they will stop at my work place and drop them off by the case, think it's like two dozen. They have one that's all meat that you actually don't have to add any extra meat to believe it or not. What I do like to add is fresh slices of tomatoes.

On a side note I was speaking with a fellow that grew up near the house that I now own. He was telling me that he used to come to my home and help package frozen pizzas that were made in my basement, this would have been back around 1960. They were called Roso's pizzas after the families last name. Just thought that was kind of interesting.

I'm in the Chicago area and the best frozen pizza I've found is Home Run Inn. I really love paper thin crust, this is a little thicker but still considered thin, has a nice sauce, good cheese, and some decent toppings. The crust has a really nice buttery flavor. The stuff is so good it's not that far off what one of theirs taste's like if you go to a Home Run Inn resteraunt.

However I think this is a Chicago area only brand.

In the same way that a TV dinner doesn't compare to a take-out or sit-down meal, frozen pizza doesn't compare to great, REAL pizza. That being said, sometimes when my wife leaves me alone for an afternoon I have been known to drive to the nearest grocery store and pick me up a Red Baron - pepperoni/sausage combo. Yes, I KNOW that in the same amount of time I can order and pick up a freshly-baked pizza. Yes, I know that it's all preservatives and sodium and cheese of questionable origin. It's not cuisine, it's a primal need to eat something bad for me. But I don't do it very often, because life's too short to eat frozen pizza...

I try to avoid the "Low End" Frozen Pizza but I buy the others when on sale, "2 Fers", Coupon etc. I keep cans of anchovies on hand too. Open the can, dump the anchovies on. Then slide it into the oven. Wait about 20 minutes, a little parmesan cheese, a squirt or two of Tabasco! Nice cold frosted glass of beer then, Hello Easy Chair... Good Bye Pizza. Yes, I can eat a whole one by myself. Only because no one else in my family of 6 likes anchovies and I am usually alone when I eat it any way. LOL The Frozen Combination Pizza is less than half as much as a delivered Pizza even with the added cost of a can of anchovies. No Tip to the driver saves a few bucks too. LOL

I'll second the person who recommended Home Run Inn. But it is just a Chicago brand, I believe.

A former local food critic once said he would rather have a Red Baron pizza for Thanksgiving dinner than turkey.....I tried the Red Baron and it isn't too bad when you doctor it up appreciably, which I always do. We don't often have pizza but this is an easy way to have it on hand at home.

Also, the Boboli (sp?) that is available in groceries makes a good base for home baked pizzas, by adding any and all toppings one would desire. Not too bad with just cheese added also.

Nothing beats made from scratch pizza but when in a hurry for a snack, or don't want to spend the mega bucks for a delivered pizza, these two options are not all that bad.

Donna

I found the organic frozen pizzas from Italy at Trader Joe's to be good. They are thin crust, and run about $4 each. They have a cheese one, one with veggies, and I think a couple others.

On the nights that I don't get off work till 8:30 pm and have to be up again at 5:30am, I will throw a frozen Kroger's brand rising crust pizza into the oven. I buy the the plain cheese and put veggie pepperoni on it with fresh mushrooms and loads of mozeralla. I'll add garlic and Italian seasonings also. It's quick and I don't feel like cooking for my husband on my late night. After I doctor it up, its better than Dominos!

In a pinch, we enjoy a California Pizza Kitchen frozen BBQ chicken or Thai chicken pizza. But local delivery takes about the same time as heating the oven for frozen!

We have a local Italian store in DC called Litteri's that makes great frozen pizza shells, and they sell the sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese to boot. Baked without a pan, with the shell still frozen. Makes a great pie every time.

There's no such thing as a great frozen pizza.

That being said,...I bought a "self-rising" frozen pizza a few years ago and neglected to put it in the freezer the night I got it home. I left it on the kitchen counter overnight.

When I came home the next night, the plastic wrap was ballooned because it had risen overnight.

I figured that since it smelled fresh, (like fresh bread dough),was going to be baked at a high temperature, (I adjusted the recommended time & temperature to 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes) it should be okay.

It was pretty tasty. Not quite as good as real pizza but still far & away better than Pizza Hut or any of the other chains.

I repeated the experiment a couple of times and it came out pretty good. It beats running out in the evening when I'm too tired to leave the house.

Hope this helps.

My family has gravitated to the Freschetta Brick Oven Pizza -- one of the very thin, "cracker crust" varieties. We just get the basic cheese variety and doctor it a bit, but this type of crust doesn't handle lots of toppings anyway. If you like this style, the Freschetta is actually quite good...

Our favorite frozen pizza is Tombstone Pizza. We think its the best.

My problem with the so-called gourmet frozen pizzas is that their price approaches and sometimes exceeds prices you pay at local pizzerias for a freshly made and baked pie - and generally these are open at any reasonable hour you might find yourself wanting one.

I'd make exceptions if my wife were pregnant - you never know when you're gonna need a pizza at 3 am or so in such a case - but otherwise I will always prefer to order a pizzeria pie instea dof stowing an expensive frozen one in the freezer.

Once again, I say Homerun Inn frozen pizza is about as good as I have found to date.

Dennis in Cary

Home Run Inn pizzas come in several varieties, frozen and take & bake(good for 7 days). Their wonderful products are distributed in 14 states. For the closest distributor near you, visit www.homeruninn.com

Mystic Pizza is pretty good. (It is the pizza from the actual Mystic Pizza in CT). The only place I've seen it is at Costco in Virginia. A three pack of the plain cheese is about $10.

I recommend Totino's--cheap good pizza.

Since our favorite thin crust pizza place has been demolished to be replaced with MORE condos and BS alike, we do not like Pizza Hut OR Domino's(only other 2 places around here that make what they'd like to call thin and crispy), we have occasionally bout a DiGiorno's thin and crispy. Right out of the oven it's edible.

Home Run Inn pizza is my favorite but my local pizza place has such great pizza that don't eat frozen too often. We also like Trader Joe's Olympia (Greek) pizza for something different. There is a chain here called Nick-N-Willys Take-N-Bake where they make to order or have prepared pizzas but you take them home and bake them yourself. Haven't tried but it intrigues me, cost is 4.95 for a large cheese.

ok, laugh if you want, but I hate all frozen pizza except for one.
The Totino's..they go on sale avery other month for a buck a piece.
I buy about ten. Sprinkle with garlic salt and douse heavily with Franks Red Hot or Tabasco Chipotle. Do it crispy. Not realy pizza, but whatever it is, it's good and cheap. I love em. (a slightly embarrassed Captain)