The best frozen pepperoni pizza

Grab a slice [We taste-tested 12 frozen pepperoni pizzas]( [Several boxes of frozen pepperoni pizza, some standing and some lying flat, along with a few warmed pepperoni pizzas resting on platters.]( Connie Park Mace Dent Johnson here, staff writer on Wirecutter’s kitchen team and author of [our new guide to the best frozen pepperoni pizzas](. When I buy frozen pizza, I think of it as a gift to a future me who’s down in the dumps and needs a pizza party, pronto. But not every pizza is worth the freezer space. We set out to find only the best frozen pepperoni pizzas that are worth their weight in cheese. Here’s a glimpse at our findings. We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. [Learn more ›]( [How we picked and tested]( [A shot of our process for frozen pizza testing.]( Michael Murtaugh We cooked up 12 widely available, mainstream frozen pepperoni pizzas in a two-day brand-concealed taste test with six members of the Wirecutter kitchen team. Choosing pepperoni gave us an extra data point to compare across pizzas, as we noted the quality, flavor, quantity, and distribution of each pie’s pepp. But if you don’t eat pepperoni, our reviews of each pizza’s crust, cheese, sauce, and overall cohesion might still provide insight into which pizza brand or crust style to pick. We baked each pizza according to package instructions, and we examined each one frozen (out of the package) and fresh out of the oven. We took note of which pizzas were more or less appealing visually, especially focusing on cheese melt, grease level, and crust integrity and color. Testers rated and reflected on each pizza’s crust, sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and overall taste. After all of that, here’s what we found: [The winners]( [A side-by-side of cooked Digiorno's pizza and the box.]( Connie Park [The best thick-crust pizza: DiGiorno Rising Crust Pepperoni Pizza]( It’s not delivery. [DiGiorno Rising Crust Pepperoni Pizza]( was one of the overall favorites in our taste test. It was among the only (so-called) rising-crust pizzas we tested that actually rose, and it came out well browned, with a voluminous, puffy crust that was crispy on the bottom and fully cooked throughout. Where other crusts were overly salty or sickeningly sweet, this crust was well seasoned. The pepperoni slices were thin and plentiful, and they crisped up nicely. The sauce was garlicky, without any overpowering dried-herb flavor (an off-putting commonality among many of the pizzas we tasted). The cheese was plentiful and decent. [A side-by-side of the Screamin' Sicilian frozen pizza an the box.]( Connie Park [For toppings lovers: Screamin’ Sicilian Holy Pepperoni]( With tons of sauce, cheese, and almost two full layers of pepperoni, [the Screamin’ Sicilian Holy Pepperoni frozen pizza]( is a pepperoni-loving maximalist’s dream. All of these elements make it satisfying—if messy and oily—to eat. Panelists remarked that the cheese actually tasted like cheese, with satisfying salt and tang levels and a delightfully gooey texture. The crust leaves a bit to be desired, but it’s well seasoned, and the extra crunch offers a balance to the oodles of toppings. Connie Park For a thin-crust upgrade: Trader Joe’s Wood Fired Naples Style Uncured Pepperoni Pizza The Trader Joe’s Wood Fired Naples Style Uncured Pepperoni Pizza finds a middle ground between fancier wood-fired or coal-oven frozen pizzas and more-classic nostalgic frozen pies. The sauce was tart—a decently well-balanced marinara. Though the crust doesn’t live up to the “Naples style” designation, it was still among our favorites, with large air bubbles throughout, even into the center of the pizza. This pie was best right out of the oven—we wouldn’t want to snack on it cold. And it could use more cheese. Note: Trader Joe’s doesn’t sell its products online (and we don’t want you to get ripped off by third-party sellers), so it’s best to make a trip to [your local store](. [A side-by-side shot of Tombstone pizza and the box.]( Connie Park [For nostalgia, served hot: Tombstone Original Thin Crust Pepperoni Pizza]( The [Tombstone Original Thin Crust Pepperoni Pizza]( screams sleepover pizza—delightful, if not wholesome—and it does what it does well. The crust was crunchy but still maintained a slightly open, airy crumb—not dense, tough, or overly cracker-like. The ratio of sauce to cheese to pepperoni was spot-on, and the toppings covered the pie nicely, with well-browned cheese. Perhaps most distinctively, this pizza delivered on pepperoni flavor. Our tasters noticed that the smoky, meaty flavor seemed to permeate the entire slice. Upon closer inspection, we realized why: This pizza has little cubes of pepperoni in the sauce, in addition to good coverage of salty, smoky pepp on top of the cheese. Connie Park [For frozen-pizza snobs: Table 87 Coal Oven Pepperoni Pizza]( Tasters favored the [Table 87 Coal Oven Pepperoni Pizza pie]( for its simple flavors and recognizable ingredients, like the undeniably tomatoey sauce and milky mozzarella. But the quality ingredients didn’t exactly add up to a seamless whole. Though this pie did not blow us away, tasters who were not exactly frozen-pizza people said this is the one they would be most likely to buy and be happiest to eat again, thanks to the quality of the individual ingredients. This is only a cheesy sampling of some of our test results. We narrowed down even more winners and are ready to reveal which pizzas we think you should avoid. (Sorry, Ellio’s.) [Let’s dish→]( [If you prefer something homemade]( [An overhead shot of several sliced pizzas.]( [Our favorite pizza stone and baking steel]( Here is [the best tool for baking crispy pies]( that will rival those made by your favorite restaurant. [A cooked pizza coming out of a pizza oven.]( [The best pizza oven]( If you’ve ever tried cooking a pizza in your home oven, the resulting pies probably lacked that perfect balance of crispy, chewy yet still-tender crust. Enter: [a pizza oven](. [An overhead shot of a pizza on a peel.]( [How to cook a pizza]( Time to put your new tools to the test. Our friends at NYT Cooking show you [how to make drool-worthy pizza]( at home. We hope you enjoy a pizza taste-testing of your own. Forward this newsletter to anyone you want to give a subtle hint to that it’s pizza night! 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