5 Grocery Store Frozen Pizzas You Should Leave In The Freezer Aisle (And What To Get Instead)

Frozen pizza is an absolute lifesaver on those nights where you don't want to cook, but you don't want to go out, either. You may even have one or two stashed in your freezer, just in case. But is your go-to frozen pizza brand really the best option? Or should you have left it in the freezer aisle and brought home something better?

Thankfully, you don't have to go through a lot of trial and error to figure out the answer to that question. I was given the opportunity to try 11 frozen pepperoni pizzas from various brands to see how they stacked up. Pepperoni pizzas were chosen due to personal preference and pepperoni being America's favorite pizza topping. Each pizza was judged based on its quality, distribution of ingredients, and taste. To make my judgments, I relied on my food industry experience, but you can find a full explanation of my methodology at the end of this article.

Now, ready to find out which frozen pizzas you should leave in the freezer aisle and which ones you should get instead? Let's jump into it.

The Celeste Pepperoni Pizza was the worst on this list, hands down. But, the adage, "You get what you pay for," ends up being true here since each of these pizzas costs little more than a dollar at my local Shoprite in Vineland, New Jersey.

My first problem with this pizza became obvious even before I took my first bite — the cheese and pepperoni weren't evenly distributed. In fact, there was almost no cheese anywhere on this pizza, and since I prefer cheesier options, this was a big downside. The pepperoni was clumped together primarily on one side of the pizza and instead of flat, circular pieces, these were little squares more resembling sausage.

The aesthetics were foreshadowing the taste experience I would have. From my first bite, the crust was overly starchy without any other discerning flavor profile — not even any salty or buttery notes came through, as I would normally expect from pizza. In fact, there was no real seasoning on this dish at all. Plus, all the ingredients tasted low-quality and highly artificial. Leave this at the grocery store because it's not worth saving a few bucks just to get something inedible.

If you're looking for a better budget option, Ellio's is a much better choice than Celeste. For a few dollars more, you get enough to feed three to nine people instead of one. Plus, the quality here was vastly better — and I like the unique rectangle shape of the slices.

When cooked according to the oven instructions on the box, Ellio's pizza slices came out crispy on the bottom with a softer crust on the toppings side. The crust was thicker, with a mild starchy profile accented by salty notes. The sauce was pleasant and mildly sweet, while the cheese tasted real rather than artificial — it had a nice creaminess and mild saltiness that elevated the whole flavor profile. Plus, the pepperoni was evenly dispersed throughout the slices, with two per slice (or six per rectangle). The meat, too, appeared to be of a high quality and offered a kick of spice in every bite.

While I wouldn't say Ellio's Pepperoni Pizza is the best I've ever had, I would definitely say it's the best budget option I've encountered. It's also easy to make a single serving, which is perfect for snacks or lunches. Definitely throw this on your shopping list for quick pizza fixes at a reasonable price.

The box on this option claims it's "America's #1 Cauliflower Crust," but I'll be honest and say that I don't believe it. As someone who has eaten an extensive amount of gluten free foods, I have to report that this is nowhere near the top of any gluten free food lists, and the brand's plain store-bought pizza crust didn't rank much better in a previous article.

The crust had a slightly weird taste that I can only describe as a definitively gluten free starch — it's like the strong starchy tastes never completely cook out of the dough, making it challenging to stomach. Plus, the sauce had a taste that's a little too earthy, and the entire dish felt gritty and tasted unseasoned. The cheese and pepperoni were unevenly distributed, but I will give some credit here for the meat because it was delicious and appeared to be high quality.

Leave this option in the freezer aisle, trust me. If you need a gluten free pizza for dietary reasons or personal preferences, opt for the next product on our list, which turned out to be pretty good.

If you need a gluten free pizza for any reason, Milton's Uncured Pepperoni Cauliflower Crust is an excellent option. The crust, in particular, was fantastic — it's so good that I double-checked the box to make sure it was actually gluten-free. It's appropriately starchy, with a very light buttery taste that you'd almost miss if you weren't looking for it. A bit of salt also appeared to grace the pizza crust, creating the perfect flavor profile for this type of product.

My singular complaint is that the sauce was a little too sweet for my personal preferences. However, the cheese and pepperoni appeared to be high quality, lending their umami profiles and unique textures to my overall enjoyment of this pizza. Everything was also (mostly) evenly distributed, and I felt there was a generous amount of pepperoni included.

Definitely get this instead of your normal go-to gluten free pizza. In fact, I recommend trying it even if you don't have to or you don't prefer to eat gluten free — it's really that good.

I know a lot of people like DiGiorno pizzas, but I don't understand the hype — especially when it comes to this DiGiorno Ultimate Pepperoni Rising Crust. Everything about this specific pizza felt unbalanced and low quality, making it one of the worst I've ever had the displeasure of tasting.

My complaints begin with the crust, which was much too thick for the amount of toppings they put on. And, I think it's important to mention that I love a thick crust pizza, but firmly believe there's such a thing as too much of a good thing. At the very least, they should have added a little extra sauce and another layer of cheese based on the thickness. I'm also not a fan of the taste or texture here. Both were reminiscent of cheap grocery store bread, which is far from what I look for in my pizzas.

There's so little sauce I barely tasted it, and the cheese was mediocre. The pepperoni had a slight bologna taste to it and when I looked at the box, I saw it's because it's made with pork, chicken, and beef combined rather than with straight pork (or even just pork and beef). Leave this in the freezer aisle and save yourself the disappointment.

Instead of DiGiorno, opt for Tony's Pepperoni Pizza, which is similarly priced and offers a much better quality of food. Before I touch on the best points of this pizza, I will say my singular complaint is that the pepperoni here was also lower quality — it's made with mixed pork, chicken, and beef, too. However, the rest of the pizza was vastly better than other low priced options.

For starters, the crust was fantastic. It's somehow both crunchy and fluffy, with a nice starchiness accented by a mild charred flavor, which is tasty. You can catch the faintest notes of salt and butter, and that's exactly what I look for in a pizza crust. Plus, the sauce was really good — it had a mild sweetness that's not too overpowering, and was lightly seasoned to elevate the taste. The cheese was real and you can taste that. There's a layer of cheese that became super melty and delicious when cooked.

Throw this on your grocery list for your next family pizza night. And, if low quality pepperoni is a big no-go for you, just opt for the Tony's Cheese Pizza instead.

Bowl and Basket is Shoprite's store brand and it's always hit or miss. For example, their fruit flavored popsicles ranked among the best in a recent review, but their dill pickles ranked low — as did their barbecue potato chips, which were ranked dead last. And this pizza? Unfortunately, it's a serious miss.

The issues became apparent when I cooked the pizza. It smelled bad, like grease and chemicals. When I cut it apart (or tried to pick it up to eat it), each slice just fell apart because of the crumbly crust. All of this set me up for a bad experience, but once I actually tasted the pizza, I realized it's worse than I assumed.

For starters, there's almost no tomato sauce on this pizza, and the cheese tasted highly artificial. The pepperoni was okay, but it carried a faint chemical artificial taste itself, which only further compounded those notes from the cheese. The crust had a doughy mouthfeel and an almost uncooked taste, despite being cooked according to the instructions on the box. Trust me, leave this pizza at the store and get something else — the cost savings aren't worth it.

As a full disclosure, I'll admit I'm a fan of other Red Baron pizzas, but I've never tried their plain pepperoni option. Since there's at least one Red Baron option I'm not a fan of (which also makes this list), I wasn't sure what to expect going into the taste test. However, I'm happy to report the Red Baron Brick Oven Crust Pepperoni Pizza didn't disappoint.

Again, we have the singular downside of lower quality pepperoni made with mixed meat. However, this tasted a little less low quality than other brands on here, even verging on almost tasting like the higher quality options of straight pork or beef and pork combined. But, the pizza crust was fluffy and crunchy where appropriate, with a classic tomato sauce. The cheese tasted fantastic and was evenly distributed throughout. Plus, despite the small pepperoni issue, I loved that there was plenty of it on this pizza — Red Baron definitely didn't skimp here.

If you're looking for a classic frozen pepperoni pizza, this is your best option. But, make sure you get the brick oven crust instead of alternative options because not all Red baron crusts are made equally.

Despite loving the other Red Baron option on this list (and several others that aren't listed here), I'm not a fan of their Thin and Crispy Crust Pepperoni Pizza. The meat, sauce, and cheese were fine, despite tasting strangely a little lower quality than their other options. My main issue? The crust just wasn't up to par.

The crust was very thin and crispy, like the box says, but it was too thin and crispy — to the point where it was so hard that it was challenging to eat when made according to the instructions on the box. It also didn't have any discernible flavor to it outside of "hard." After trying to eat the crust for several long minutes, I just couldn't get down more than a few bites and ended up eating the toppings off.

Unless you want to break your teeth, leave the Red Baron Thin & Crispy Crust Pepperoni Pizza at the store. It's not worth the hassle it takes to eat it. Grab yourself a box of one of their Brick Oven pizzas instead. 

From the moment I opened this box of Freschetta Kitchen Fresh Pepperoni Pizza, I had high hopes it would be fantastic. It looked well put together, and offered a mild classic pizza smell even when still frozen. It was barely perceptible, but it was there. It was also nicely distributed, and it cooked well according to the instructions on the package.

The crust was doughy, but not in a bad way — thick, with a crispy bottom layer, and a softer top layer that's fully saturated by the tomato sauce. Which, by the way, was fantastic. The sauce was mildly sweet, with a robust tomato flavor generously seasoned with what I believed to be Italian seasoning. Both the cheese and sauce tasted real and high-quality, with no discernible artificial notes. The pepperoni also tasted high quality, offering a mild kick of spice to the predominantly starchy, earthy, and creamy flavor profile.

This pizza is one of the best on this list, so I highly suggest opting for it if it's available in your store. After this experience, I'm looking forward to trying their other pizza flavors as well.

The Tombstone Original Crust Pepperoni Pizza is my second favorite option on this list. It had a pleasant classic pizza smell when cooking that made my mouth water, which only intensified once I pulled it from the oven. The toppings were fairly well distributed across the top, and the pizza cooked well according to the instructions.

The crust was soft and fluffy on the inside with a crisp outer bottom layer and a mildly doughy top layer that's well saturated with tomato sauce. That sauce had a sweet, robust tomato flavor with a generous sprinkling of what I believed to be Italian seasoning. The pepperoni and cheese was quality and my only complaint is that there could be a little more cheese. Otherwise, this was a flavorful, texturally appealing pizza that I'll definitely be eating again.

Get yourself a box from the grocery store during your next shopping trip to see what I mean. Oh, and if you're looking for something other than pepperoni pizza, there are several other Tombstone pizza types you can choose from.

I chose frozen pizzas for inclusion on this list based on their availability to me at my local Shoprite in Vineland, New Jersey. Each pizza was judged based on its quality, distribution of ingredients, and taste. I asked myself the following questions: Were the ingredients of a high quality? Were they evenly distributed throughout the pizza? Did it taste good? Would I eat this again? When the answers to most of those questions was "yes," it was placed into the "get" category. Where the answer to most of those questions was "no," frozen pizzas were placed in the "leave" category.

To make my assessments, I relied primarily on more than 15 years of food industry experience, during which time I cross-trained in bakeries and hot foods. Over three decades of pizza consumership also helped make these judgements. Although personal preference played a role in this article, I aimed to be as unbiased about quality as possible.