Key Takeaways
Italian chefs reveal the frozen pizza brands they trust for quality ingredients, balanced flavors, and crispy crusts.
Discover the key criteria pizza experts use to pick frozen pies that taste like they’re fresh from a pizzeria.
You might be wondering, “Why would a chef who has access to dough, sauce, cheese, and all the toppings they could ever dream about resort to cooking a frozen pizza?”
Because these days, just like with jarred marinara sauce, certain frozen pizza brands don’t taste like a sacrifice or a shortcut. In fact, a growing number of brands give us all access to a restaurant-quality pie that we can enjoy right at our own dining table. Actually, who are we kidding? From a comfy spot on the couch.
Pizzaiolos and Italian chefs have long, tiring days, too. And when they do, they turn to the best frozen pizzas below.
Our Panel of Pizza-Loving Italian Chefs
Dale Rinderman, a former full-time pizza chef and the current executive chef at Savor in Indianola, Iowa
Qualities of the Best Frozen Pizza
Before we share your chef-designed shopping list, we asked our panel of pros to dish about the criteria they look for when shopping for slices on ice. Their benchmarks are:
Affordability. You shouldn’t need to invest a full day’s paycheck on a pie. “Typically when I’m selecting frozen pizza, budget is the name of the game. I’m looking for something easy and tasty I can throw in after working a 12-hour shift,” says Savor executive chef Dale Rinderman.
Quality ingredients. Subpar ingredients can affect both the flavor and the texture, confirms Italian-American chef and cookbook author Dina Deleasa Gonsar. “Low-grade cheese and mass-produced crusts can yield a less desirable texture,” she notes. Some brands utilize sauces that are very high in salt and sugar (in an attempt to mask the flavor of bland tomatoes or a lack of spices and herbs). Others pile on the cheese to try to signal that they’re offering a good value. Avoid all of the above, the chefs warn. “Too much cheese means too much flop, and the crust doesn’t have a chance to crisp,” Rinderman says. “A good crunchy yet airy crust is the foundation. This is what holds it all together. A good sauce-to-topping ratio is also key. It’s all about moisture control when making pizza, and how that moisture gets distributed. These details should be no different coming from a frozen pie.”
Proper packaging. Soggy, greasy, or misshapen pizzas aren’t invited to this party. Frozen pizzas should be easy to thaw and cook, and should maintain their shape and come back to bubbly, golden brown life after a shift in the oven, says Bistango Italian restaurant executive chef Cristian Flores. Slices with freezer burn are also a hard pass for Gonsar. Often, some savvy packaging can help manufacturers overcome all of the challenges above. Each of the pizzas featured in the lineup below comes vacuum-sealed to preserve freshness and quality.
The Best Frozen Pizza Brands, According to Pizza Experts
Stroll right past those boxes of DiGiorno, Red Baron, Tombstone, and Totino’s. Your best bets are these chef-beloved sleeper hits.
Di Fara
Credit: Allrecipes / Di Fara
If you ask Flores, “Di Fara has the very best frozen pizza.” Inspired by the recipes served by a legendary Brooklyn-based slice shop, pizza fans on Reddit deem these pies “top-tier.” Di Fara’s Vodka Sauce Pizza also took home the trophy for the best new frozen pizza in our 2026 Golden Cart Awards. So what makes Di Fara dominate? What’s inside actually matches the picture on the box, Flores verifies. Plus, the formula features high-quality, simple ingredients, “which bring a nice sense of freshness to the pizza,” Flores tells Allrecipes. Extra virgin olive oil, fior di latte mozzarella, cup-and-char pepperoni, and fresh basil deliver a restaurant-reminiscent experience. Plus, “the crust is crispy on the outside while still having some softness inside, and the cheese is flavorful and melts evenly without being too greasy.” Available at Target, Whole Foods Market, Walmart, Kroger, and more in both “Grandma” squares and the original Round Pie, Flores appreciates how this can cure his cravings until he can make another pilgrimage to the since-1965 pizzeria.
Table 87
We’re staying in the same neighborhood for the MVP chosen by Pietro Aletto, executive chef at Patsy’s Pizzeria Flatiron. On his nights off, or after a long shift, Aletto heats and eats a slice—or a 10-inch pie—from this Brooklyn coal oven restaurant. That cooking style lends a lovely smoky quality to the crust, which Aletto says “has a great crispness and char.” On top, you’ll find “sauce that tastes fresh and balanced, and cheese that melts really well. It has a more authentic pizza taste. When the sauce, crust, and cheese are really tasty, you don’t need anything else,” he swears. In the mood for more toppings than a Margherita can offer? Try Table 87’s Pepperoni or Mushroom with White Truffle Oil. Score a serving—or a few—of this Shark Tank-supported product at Whole Foods Market, Kroger, and other select retailers, as well as online.
Ann Kim x Good & Gather
We’re heading to the Midwest for the inspiration behind Rinderman’s recommendation. That’s where you can meet Ann Kim, the Chef’s Table: Pizza star who owns and operates Pizzeria Lola in south Minneapolis and Hello Pizza in Edina, Minnesota. Rinderman first tried her pizzas at Kim’s now-closed pizzeria Young Joni. He was thrilled when he learned that Kim would be collaborating with Target for a line of frozen pizzas available exclusively at that retailer. Tasting remarkably similar to the slices he savored at Kim’s restaurant, these puffy-crusted pizzas start with hand-stretched dough that’s baked in a wood-fired oven. Flavor-packed sauces and premium toppings take things over the top, Rinderman tells us. As do the unique recipes, like the previously released Pickle Pie (with still-crunchy potato chips!) or Four Cheese with Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce. “The Tavern-Style Uncured Pepperoni and Jalapeño has been a go-to, but I’ve been wanting to try the Spicy Sausage and Sweet Pepper style. Honestly, I’m probably going to track that down today!”
Porta
Our world tour of the best frozen pizzas wouldn’t be complete without a stop in the country that is believed to have invented pizza: Italy. Porta’s original line prides itself on being “inspired by Rome. Made for your table.” The brand also offers a selection of Neapolitan-style pies. Founded by restaurateur Cosimo Mammoliti using techniques that tip a cap to his 30 years of experience running restaurants and bakeries inspired by his Calabrian heritage, Gonsar goes wild for Porta Margherita pizzas in particular. She says she can taste the difference in quality of the ingredients that Mammoliti and company source from Italian artisans. (Think: Finely-milled wheat flour from Le Marche, a region prized for its grains, and Italian olive oil made by a family friend in Puglia, to be used exclusively for these recipes.) Available at Whole Foods Market, Target, Sprouts, and more, Porta pies earn extra points from Gonsar for being flash-frozen, vacuum-sealed, and available in a wide array of family-friendly styles. (We have our eyes on the truffle-topped Mushroom and Fontina and the Sausage and Caramelized Onion pies.)
Read the original article on Allrecipes
Dining and Cooking