I Tried and Ranked 5 Popular Grocery Store Frozen Pizzas to Find the Absolute Best One (All $6 or Less)

There are days when you have the momentum to knock out a double-digit step recipe, and then there are the ones where you can barely muster the strength to microwave … something. For the latter, I look to frozen cheese pizzas.

I look to frozen cheese pizzas quite often, actually. Friend coming over with little-to-no notice? Frozen cheese pizza. Bad day? Frozen cheese pizza. Good day? Frozen cheese pizza.

Over the years I’ve consumed probably hundreds of frozen cheese pizzas, but I’ve never stopped to think about what actually makes one great and worth the rebuy. I typically shop for whatever is on sale or easiest to grab in a flash, but I want better for myself, and you. So I did the tough work of putting five popular and reasonably priced store-brand pizzas — Aldi, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Whole Foods — head-to-head (or pie-to-pie) in the ultimate grocery store pizza-off.

How I Tested the Frozen Pizzas

A few of my friends live in my apartment building so to keep the test as fair as possible, I had divided the pizzas between apartments so they cooked at the same time and would be heated to the same temperature during the taste test. One of my friends opted out of the test and arranged the pizzas so we didn’t know which was which before we began ranking them.

In the end, there was one, clear winner that we unanimously (yes, unanimously!) agreed was the best store-brand pizza.

5. Trader Joe’s Margherita Frozen Pizza

Coming in last place (and second most expensive despite being the smallest in ounces!) is the Trader Joe’s Margherita Pizza. And yes, we know that this is a cheese pizza taste test, but the store didn’t have a plain cheese pizza option at the time I visited, and its margherita pizza fit the bill closest. It wasn’t the cheese or sauce itself that sat funny with our tasters; it was the frail crust, which was thin but not crunchy. It wasn’t bad because you know, cheese pizza is cheese pizza, but didn’t wow any of us either. 

Find it in stores: Trader Joe’s Margherita Frozen Pizza, $4.79 for 14 ounces

4. Good & Gather Self-Rising Crust Four Cheese Pizza

At the time of purchase, Target’s Good & Gather Self-Rising Crust Four Cheese Pizza was $5.99, which was by far the most expensive frozen pizza out of the bunch (online prices may be slightly higher). This isn’t a test for the absolute cheapest pizza, it’s a test for the best pizza. Although it tasted like a fine cheese pizza — testers noted its tasty cheese and savory marinara — no one was particularly excited about it. The pizza advertises itself as on the thicker side (self-rising), but we didn’t feel that it fit that bill entirely, and instead was more of a standard pizza-size.  

Buy: Good & Gather Self-Rising Crust Four Cheese Pizza, $5.99 for 28 ounces at Target

3. Walmart Great Value Frozen Four Cheese Pizza

This is when the competition began to get a bit more, well, competitive. We generally enjoyed Walmart’s Great Value Frozen Four Cheese Pizza but found it to be so thick (in a good way) that it felt more like doughy breadsticks with cheese on them rather than a cheese pizza. This isn’t a bad thing, at all. We still devoured it. We just felt like it was lacking the amount of marinara needed to make it really feel like a cheese pizza (far too much bread and cheese). 

Buy: Great Value Frozen Four Cheese Pizza, $4.97 for 28 ounces at Walmart

2. Aldi Mama Cozzi’s Frozen Four Cheese Pizza $4.39 for 28 ounces

Not only is Aldi’s cheese pizza the most affordable out of each of the five options at $4.38 for 28 ounces (though it’s slightly more online), the Mama Cozzi pizza line has a devoted fan base behind it. It was the first time that I’ve tried an Aldi’s frozen pizza, and all I can say is that I completely get the hype. This pizza had it all: superb cheese-to-bread-to-marinara ratio (enough cheese that you could see a thick cheese layer, bread that gave a bit of a bite still, and enough sauce to really taste it). Even though this one snagged runner-up status, I’ll still happily keep buying it whenever I have the chance. You’d think this one would be our winner because it was just that good, but that just goes to show how much we loved number one. 

Buy: Aldi Mama Cozzi’s Frozen Four Cheese Pizza, $4.95 for 28 ounces at Instacart

1. Whole Foods Frozen Four Cheese Rising Crust Pizza

Whole Foods Frozen Four Cheese Rising Crust Pizza came out on top! I know, we’re shocked, too. The underdog of the test, my friends and I agreed that we never really look to Whole Foods for frozen pizzas (and groceries in general) because it feels like there’s a price barrier, but to our surprise this pizza was not only the most delicious; it was also the second cheapest at just 10 cents more than Aldi! Although it’s 8 ounces less than Aldi, this pizza is made with a self-rising flour that nearly doubles the size (in height) of the frozen pizza. 

Here’s what we loved about it (besides the great price tag): Thick, doughy crust that was crispy on the edges, great quality cheese that made for a satisfying cheese pull, and herbaceous pizza sauce that I want jarred on its own! It’s so good that I’m adding Whole Foods as a weekly grocery spot to snag a pie or two that tastes totally gourmet. 

Buy: Whole Foods Frozen Four Cheese Rising Crust Pizza, $4.49 for 20 ounces at Amazon

What’s your favorite store-bought frozen cheese pizza? Tell us about it in the comments below.

This post originally ran on The Kitchn. See it there: I Tried and Ranked 5 Popular Grocery Store Frozen Pizzas to Find the Absolute Best One (All $6 or Less)

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