Food & Recipes

Frozen Pizzas: Which Taste Best?

That's amore: Americans spend a staggering $39.8 billion on fresh and frozen pizza each year. How does a store-bought frozen pie, popped in the oven or microwaved at home, stack up in terms of taste and texture? To find out, the culinary experts at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute conducted a taste test of 14 national brands of frozen vegetable and pepperoni pizzas — six veggie and eight pepperoni varieties. Check out our reviews of the good and not so good before taking a bite. They're available at grocery stores nationwide, unless noted.

Vegetable Pizzas

365 Mediterranean Pizza ($5, 13.5 oz. serves 3; Whole Foods)
Our winner, this pizza "loaded" with feta cheese, spinach, and kalamata olives earned raves from tasters about the "perfect balance of sauce and toppings" and "great veggie combo."
Per serving: 300 calories; 12g, fat; 12g, 5g saturated fat

American Flatbread Sundried Tomato and Mushroom Pizza ($12, 16.2 oz. serves 3)
With a light, crunchy crust and a good blend of spices, this pizza was a close call for second place.
Per serving: 340 calories; 12g fat; 6g saturated fat

Amy's Spinach Pizza ($7, 14 oz. serves 3)
This pizza has fresh, garden flavor from the spinach and basil but lacked enough cheese to please our tasters.
Per serving: 310 calories; 12g fat; 4g saturated fat

DiGiorno Crispy Flatbread Pizza Mushroom Medley ($6.89, 13 oz. serves 3)
A cracker-thin crust with great, fresh mushroom taste — this one was a winner to mushroom lovers.
Per serving: 320 calories; 19g fat; 7g saturated fat

Kashi Mediterranean Pizza ($6.29, 12.7 oz. serves 3)
Tasters loved the generous topping of peppers, onions, and spinach but found the crust bland. But for those watching what they eat, this one has less fat than the other veggies selections.
Per serving: 290 calories; 9g fat; 3.5g saturated fat

Frontera Roasted Vegetable Monterey Jack and Poblano Pizza ($7, 12.5 oz. serves 3)
This one is spicy and has a crisp crust, but not having enough veggies caused it to rank last in our tests.
Per serving: 240 calories; 9g fat; 3.5g saturated fat

Pepperoni Pizzas

Freschetta Brick Oven Pepperoni Pizza ($6.80, 21.75 oz. serves 4)
Testers "could really taste the different cheeses" — mozzarella and Fontina — in this delicious pizza. "Rich tomatoey flavor" in the sauce enhanced the "pizzeria taste" of this pie, which tied for first place with our next entry.
Per serving: 410 calories; 20g fat; 8g saturated fat

Red Baron Fire Baked Pepperoni Pizza ($5.60, 19.86 oz. serves 4)
This "spicy," "smoky," and "peppery" pie wowed our panel. With its "puffy crust," a "crisp bottom," and "plenty of cheese," what's not to love?
Per serving: 370 calories; 17g fat; 7g saturated fat