So can you find a frozen pizza that’s actually good? For a reasonable price?
To answer that, I recently embarked on a frozen pizza odyssey — a multi-week binge that likely expanded my waistline and did my arteries no favors.
The purpose of this mozzarella-driven marathon was to sample and rate as many frozen pizzas as I could get my hands on — keeping each one under $10. I tested every store brand I could find (Aldi, Publix, Trader Joe’s, etc.) along with larger names like DiGiorno and Red Baron.
The Rules of the Frozen Pizza Game
These are the ground rules for my mission to discover the best frozen pizzas.
- I’m only reviewing cheese pizzas. If a brand can nail a solid cheese pizza (the foundation for all other pies), I can trust it with additional toppings. Including too many varieties introduces extra variables, and toppings can hide the quality of the basics. Also, for folks like me, a loaded meat pizza will often trump plain cheese 99 times out of 100.
- I’m following the instructions. A brand should show me exactly how long to bake their pie. That said, if something comes out seriously underdone or borderline burnt, I’ll tweak the cooking time.
- This will be a blind tasting. I know what I bought, but I won’t know which pizza I’m tasting. My lovely assistant — my wife — will prepare each pizza and hide the box while I wait in suspense. I don’t want brand recognition or price points influencing my palate. If a $3 store-label pizza beats a $9 national brand, so be it.
- My two boys will be involved. My sons, 12 and 9, adore pizza and would eat it nightly if allowed. They’re pizza connoisseurs in their own right, and their preferences may differ from their 47-year-old dad who’ll try anything once. We’ll score the pies independently.
- I’ll be rating pizzas based on sauce, cheese and crust. Each category is weighted equally, although I’m slightly biased toward crust — a terrible crust can sink an otherwise decent pizza. I thought about including appearance (guilty of watching too many cooking contests), but opted out. Frankly, these pizzas ranged from uninspiring to downright sad. It’s frozen pizza, not Beef Wellington.
15 Frozen Cheese Pizzas Under $10, Ranked
Alright, let’s kick off this taste trial. We’ll work our way up from the bottom based on my evaluations. I’ve included the kids’ scores for fun. So what’s the best frozen pizza? Here’s what isn’t …
15. Palermo’s Primo Thin, Five Cheese Pizza
Cost: $7.99
Rating: 0.7/5 (That’s POINT 7, not 7) • Kids 1
I’m honestly at a loss for words.
Calling this Palermo’s pie bad doesn’t do justice to how dire it was. This was nearly inedible. I’ve had plenty of poor frozen pizzas, but this one was something else. And at nearly $8, that’s highway robbery.
It looked uninviting and tasted even worse. The crust was like thin cardboard. The cheeses — mozzarella, white cheddar, provolone, Parmesan and Romano — lacked any real flavor. The only thing keeping this from a total zero was the “zesty marinara sauce,” which maybe provided a hint of salt to cut through the tasteless base.
“It tastes like cardboard and cheese. No flavor at all.”— my kids
14. Mama Cozzi’s Pizza Kitchen
Cost: $3.49
Rating: 1.0/5 • Kids 2.8
Mama Cozzi’s is Aldi’s brand, and, honestly, this was rough. Aldi usually delivers solid value, but this pizza didn’t.
It was bland, flat and lifeless, practically like it had been steamrolled. The small amount of cheese was fine, but the scant sauce was weak and flavorless. The crust was awful — reminiscent of stale bread chips from a dusty church potluck.
The box touts “made with real cheese” and a “new recipe!” If that’s the new recipe, I’d dread the old one.
“Nope.”— my kids
13. Publix Four Cheese, Rising Crust Pizza
Cost: $5
Rating: 2.0/5 • Kids 3.3
This one stung. I’m a Publix loyalist for grocery shopping, and I’ve enjoyed many of their private-label items.
The rising crust was somewhat fluffier than thin crusts but ultimately bland and doughy. I even baked it to the max of 23 minutes at 400°F. The cheese-to-sauce balance was decent, but that was about it.
The box lists “mozzarella, Asiago, Parmesan and Romano cheeses with classic seasonings on a rising crust.” Whatever those “classic seasonings” are, this pizza needs more of them.
The back of the box suggests adding your own toppings to boost flavor. That’s an admission of defeat, Publix.
“I like Publix’s penne pasta better than this.”— my kids
12. 365 by Whole Foods Thin Crust Pizza
Cost: $5.39
Rating: 2.3/5 • Kids 3.7
Even upscale store brands can miss the mark. I expected more from Whole Foods’ 365 line, which has many hits, but this cheese pizza is a miss.
This four-cheese pie (mozzarella, fontina, provolone and Parmesan) should have popped. I’m not sure how four cheeses can produce something so bland.
They may as well call it cheese bread. The sauce was nearly absent. The crust felt heavy and deflated, burdened by the flavorless components.
My kids actually liked this one — probably because it’s basically cheesy comfort.
“You’re being too harsh, Dad.”— my kids
11. Tombstone Five Cheese Pizza
Cost: $4.40
Rating: 2.7/5 • Kids 3.1
Another five-cheese pie that largely lacks distinct flavor and ranks among the greasier options.
Tombstone lists mozzarella, cheddar, Asiago, Romano and Parmesan and claims a “bold and zesty” sauce with “full on flavor.” That’s marketing-speak, my friends.
It’s more middling than dreadful — the kind of pizza you might grab at a bowling alley with a cheap beer.
“There’s way too much red sauce, and the crust is OK.”— my kids
10. Trader Joe’s Organic Three Cheese Pizza
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 3.0/5 • Kids 3.1
I’m realizing I care a lot about the cheese-to-sauce balance, though I’m not sure of the perfect ratio. This one misses the mark.
Trader Joe’s pie is heavy on sauce and light on cheese. It’s almost as if they slathered the crust in sauce, tossed on a sprinkling of cheese and called it done.
That said, the crust is excellent — you can really taste a brick-oven character. One of the better crusts in the lineup.
“Lots of sauce.”— my kids
9. Amy’s Organic Cheese Pizza
Cost: $9.47
Rating: 3.3/5 • Kids 3.6
Higher price raises expectations. At $9.47, Amy’s was the second priciest (after I applied a $1.52 Publix discount).
Does it taste like a $10 frozen pizza? Not really. The crust had decent flavor and some lift despite being very thin — vaguely like Pizza Hut or Jet’s. (Detroit-style rules, in my book.)
Beyond that, the pizza felt sparse and minimalist. The box suggests adding toppings to the cheese pizza — which only uses mozzarella.
What if I just want plain cheese, Amy’s? Maybe I don’t want arugula or sliced red onion on my frozen pie. It’s fine, but overpriced for what you get.
“Whatever.”— my kids
8. Sprouts Four Cheese Pizza
Cost: $8.99
Rating: 3.5/5 • Kids 3
I wanted to dislike this one because it looked particularly sad — even more so than the usual sad frozen pies.
It appeared small and forgettable, but tasted better than it looked. The thin crust was crisp with a hint of wood-fired flavor. The sauce tipped slightly heavier than the four cheeses and had a gentle sweetness with a touch of garlic.
It’s tough to jazz up a frozen cheese pizza, but Sprouts proved that looks aren’t everything. (My wife once said that about me before she married me.)
This is also the first pizza I scored higher than my kids did.
“I don’t really like this sauce.”— my kids
7. Red Baron Classic Crust Four Cheese Pizza
Cost: $4.99
Rating: 3.7/5 • Kids 4.3
Red Baron’s classic boasts a four-cheese mix of mozzarella, cheddar, provolone and Parmesan. The sauce-to-cheese balance is solid.
What really stands out is the thick crust. It has the best texture for crunch so far, with a satisfying thickness-to-crispness ratio.
The back of the box proclaims it’s “Not too thick. Not too thin. With just the right amount of crunch.” That’s fair advertising.
“This crust is insane.”— my kids
6. DiGiorno Four Cheese Thin Crust Pizza
Cost: $7.34
Rating: 3.9/5 • Kids 4
The suggested 15-minute bake time left it a touch underdone, so I added three minutes and that fixed it.
This DiGiorno offered a pleasing balance of cheese and sauce. The mozzarella, Parmesan, Asiago and Romano were tasty, though the sauce lacked some of the nuance of higher-ranked pies.
The crust tasted authentic with a good crunch. A dependable frozen option.
“This one had the best cheese and sauce mixture yet.”— my kids
5. California Pizza Kitchen Four Cheese Crispy Thin Crust Pizza
Cost: $8.99
Rating: 4/5 • Kids 2.8
My kids weren’t fans, but I thought this was quite good. The pie leans cheese-heavy, but the flavors worked together.
I tasted herbs in the tomato sauce, and the cheeses brought character — two kinds of mozzarella, fontina and hickory-smoked gouda. Not your run-of-the-mill cheese blend. The crust was excellent for a thin style.
I didn’t expect much because CPK dining hasn’t stuck with me, but this supermarket offering is impressive.
“The crust was good. The cheese overwhelmed the sauce.”— my kids
4. Kroger Self-Rising Crust Four Cheese Pizza
Cost: $4.39
Rating: 4.2/5 • Kids 4.4
This was a surprise. If you’d told me Kroger would place No. 4 and Publix No. 13, I’d have laughed. But here we are.
Kroger delivers a very good pizza. The mozzarella, Asiago, Parmesan and Romano are well-balanced and complemented by a flavorful sauce that isn’t overpowering.
The crust wasn’t the most flavorful, but its texture was solid and it held up to the sauce. Kudos to Kroger.
“This sauce is very flavorful.”— my kids
3. Freschetta Brick Oven Crust Five Cheese Pizza
Cost: $6.36
Rating: 4.3/5 • Kids 3.4
I wasn’t familiar with Freschetta before this — I was just grabbing different brands off Publix’s shelves.
The name promises freshness, and the pizza delivered. The sauce has a hint of sweetness and a mild kick, plus visible herbs that made it taste lively.
The five-cheese blend — mozzarella, provolone, fontina, Asiago and Parmesan — was solid, but the sauce was the real star.
The crust was airy despite being thin. Freschetta impressed me as a top-tier frozen cheese pizza.
“It’s good, but not as good as you think, Dad.”— my kids
2. Newman’s Own Thin and Crispy Crust Four Cheese Pizza
Cost: $8.79
Rating: 4.5/5 • Kids 4.1
Simply delightful.
The tomato sauce is flavorful and the four cheeses — whole milk mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan and Asiago — really shine. I could detect herbs and garlic. Nothing overwhelmed; everything was in balance.
It doesn’t look flashy even on the box — thin crust pies often look a bit sad. I expected to dislike the crust, but I was wrong; it had visible herbs and a pleasing texture.
If you married Newman’s cheese and sauce to Amy’s crust, you might have the near-perfect frozen cheese pizza.
Well played, Mr. Newman.
“This one hits different.”— my kids
1. Home Run Inn Cheese Classic Pizza
Cost: $10.59
Rating: 4.8/5 • Kids 4.7
If heaven has a pizzeria, Home Run Inn would be there. This is how a frozen cheese pizza should be executed.
Yes, it’s 59 cents over the $10 cap, but it was so close and I’d heard so much praise that I had to include it.
This Home Run pie feels substantial. The cheese-to-sauce ratio is nearly flawless and the flavor matches the appearance. Unlike many multi-cheese pizzas that taste muted, Home Run delivers flavorful cheese using a single variety: whole milk mozzarella (similar to Newman’s Own).
Maybe it’s the quality of the mozzarella, but it lands on the palate like nothing else. The cheese is even layered atop the sauce rather than just shredded on, which I loved.
The tomato sauce is bold and robust enough to support the cheese. The crust, while not the boldest in flavor, is flaky and crisp.
Of the 15 frozen cheese pizzas we sampled, this one was clearly the standout.
Home Run Inn knocked it out of the park — pun intended. I’m open to marketing royalties if they’re hiring.
“Looked good. Smelled good. Tasted good. 12 out of 5.”— my kids
Robert Bruce is a senior staff writer at Savinly covering earning, saving and managing money. He has written about personal finance for more than a decade.
For tips on saving money on groceries, check out frozen fruits and veggies vs fresh produce for ideas on stretching your food budget.
