We taste-tested 26 frozen pizzas—here's what earned a space in our freezer

We baked, sliced, and tasted—these frozen pizzas rose to the top.

We taste-tested 26 frozen pizzas from major brands found at typical grocery stores, cooking each according to package directions and sampling them without knowing which was which. After comparing notes and scores, two rose to the top: Wegmans Italian Classics Wood-Fired Crust Margherita Pizza and Table 87 Coal-Fired Margherita Pizza.

We may cook and write about food for a living, but there are many evenings when we're simply too exhausted to prepare a meal from scratch. Sometimes dinner is a snacking affair of vegetables and dip or cheese and crackers, and sometimes dinner is…a frozen cheese pizza stashed away in the freezer for a rainy day. It's a convenient and affordable meal, and depending on the pizza you buy, it can be good enough to scratch that pizza itch in a pinch.

With many brands available in the freezer aisle, it can be hard to know which are worth stocking in your freezer. Given the even more dizzying number of topping options on frozen pies, we limited this test to classic tomato-and-cheese pizzas (or "margherita" pies as they're sometimes marketed), pulling together 26 different frozen pies you’re likely to find in your local supermarket and putting them to the test.

After baking, slicing, and tasting our way through 26 store-bought frozen pizzas, we found two overall winners we'd be happy to pop into the oven once or twice a week, along with two runners-up. 

The Criteria

As with fresh pizzeria pies, the criteria for what makes a great pizza are deeply personal. Some people love a thin crust; others prefer New York–style pies or Neapolitan pizzas. Some want an even coating of cheese, while others are happy with islands of gooey melted mozzarella floating in a thin slick of tomato sauce.

Though our editors all have different opinions on what makes an excellent pizza, we all agree that the crust should not be soggy or limp, nor tough or overly chewy, and that there should be an appropriate ratio of sauce and cheese to the pizza. There's no ideal ratio, but it's clear when some pies lack sauce, cheese, or both. The sauce, meanwhile, should be tomato-forward, well-seasoned, and have a subtle sweetness and tang.

Winners

Best Neapolitan Style: Wegmans Italian Classics Wood Fired Crust Margherita Pizza

This pie surprised our tasters—in a good way. With its bubbled, lightly charred crust and scattered pools of fresh mozzarella, it looked remarkably close to a freshly baked Neapolitan pizza. It earned the highest overall scores of the pizzas we tasted, just edging out our other top pick (the margin was small enough we felt comfortable crowning both winner). "This is quite good for frozen pizza," our editorial director, Daniel, said.

The crust was the standout here: Unlike some of the thicker, breadier pies in our lineup, this one had a puffy rim and thin center that closely mimicked a Neapolitan-style base. Several tasters praised its texture. Our senior editor, Genevieve, noted that it was"nicely chewy," while Daniel acknowledged that though it wasn't as lofty or deeply charred as a true wood-fired pie, it was “more than good enough" for the frozen aisle.

Best Coal-Oven Style: Table 87 Coal Fired Margarita Pizza

With its deeply spotted underside and exceptionally thin crust, this pizza closely resembled a classic coal-oven pie. The crust was the defining feature: crisp along the bottom with a pronounced toastiness. Jessie appreciated its well-developed, toasty flavor, while associate editorial director Megan noted that the dough felt the most like homemade, with a "nice chewy crust."

If there was a consistent critique, it was the restraint in the toppings. Several tasters wished for more sauce and cheese. That said, the sauce itself was well-liked for its subtle sweetness and clean flavor. While this pie wasn't everyone's top choice—Daniel described it as "kind of OK, but not tops"—it stood out for its faithful coal-fired character and would satisfy anyone who prefers a crisp, slender slice over a bready one.

Runners-Up

 Kirkland Signature Cheese Pizza

This pizza looked and tasted like the frozen pizzas many of us grew up eating. You know the type: slightly squat, a little thick, with a generous layer of sweet tomato sauce and salty, stretchy cheese. It's not fancy—and it's not trying to be.

I noted that while it lacked refinement, it was undeniably enjoyable. The crust was doughy and thicker than some of our other top picks, which not everyone loved, but it wasn't unpleasant. Daniel described it as "acceptable," and Megan said it would "do in a pinch."

For me, this is the kind of pizza you eat standing over the kitchen counter after a late night—not analyzing it too closely, just appreciating the nostalgia factor and the fact that dinner is ready in under 20 minutes.

365 by Whole Foods Four Cheese Thin Crust Pizza

This pizza proved divisive, and our tasting notes read almost like a nursery rhyme. One taster wished the dough were chewier; another found it too dry. 

The sauce sparked a similar debate. Genevieve thought it was too sweet, and I found it slightly too herbal, though Jessie appreciated the amount of sauce. Both Jessie and Genevieve enjoyed the cheese's flavor and quantity, which helped balance the pie overall.

In the end, it landed squarely in the "perfectly acceptable" category. As Daniel put it: "This is not bad, but not great. Would kids eat it? Yeah, sure. Although… I do detect a tinge of heat here, so maybe not all kids." It seems this pizza is still waiting for its Goldilocks moment.

Honorable Mention

The Best Pizza for Cheese Lovers: Newman’s Own Thin & Crispy Four Cheese Pizza

“Very cheesy,” “quite cheesy,” and “so much cheese” are just some of the reviews Newman’s Own Thin & Crispy Four Cheese Pizza received from our editors. While there was plenty of good cheese coverage here, some tasters thought it was a touch too salty, and Daniel thought the cheese tasted a little aged…which doesn’t have to be a bad thing, if you want a little funk in your pizza.

The Best Pizza for Sauce Aficionados: Screamin’ Sicilian Thin & Crispy Cheese Pizza

This pizza reminded our executive editorial director Tess Koman of Chuck-E Cheese pizza in the best way possible: It was saucy and had enough cheese to make her go “heck yeah” in the comments (the rest of us aren't sure we've ever said "heck yeah" about something that reminds us of Chuck-E Cheese pizza, but we get what she meant). Our social media editor Kelli Solomon thought the sauce was “plentiful,” and Sabrina thought this had a great sauce to cheese ratio. While this pizza didn’t skimp on the sauce, it was a little lacking in the dough department, and some of our editors complained that the dough was “barely present” and slightly chalky in texture.

The Best Pizza for Dough Enthusiasts: DiGiorno’s Four Cheese Pizza

DiGiorno, it looks like you have fans: Our editors all thought this pizza had adequate sauce and cheese, and Tess thought this was “FAR AND AWAY the most substantive and satisfying” crust. Based on our editors' reviews, this pizza tasted the way we thought a frozen pizza should: “This is what I expect from a frozen pizza conceptually,” Amanda wrote, and Sabrina raved that it had an “iconic frozen pizza flavor” and “delicious” crust.

The Best Margherita Pizza: Roberta’s Margherita

“This cheese is the real deal!” Kelli exclaimed. “Not homogeneously distributed, but that gives it a Neapolitan-style vibe.” Multiple people complimented the pizza on its pleasant chewiness and subtle tang, and our associate editorial director Megan O. Steintrager liked that the sauce was “tomato forward” with a “nice tart edge.”

The Best Pizza If You Want Lots and Lots of Herbs: Dr. Oetker Four Cheese Pizza

Our editors enjoyed the flavor of this pizza, though everyone thought Dr. Oetker was a little heavy handed with the herbs. Tess thought it tasted “more herb than anything else,” while Daniel found it “oregano-y.” While this wasn’t the right pie for all of our editors, it might be for you—especially if you appreciate an herbaceous kick.

The Contenders

• 365 by Whole Foods Four Cheese Thin Crust Pizza
• Amy's Cheese Pizza
• Amy's Kitchen Margherita Pizza
• California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust Four Cheese
• Di Fara Classic Pizza
• DiGiorno Rising Crust Four Cheese Pizza
• DiGiorno Traditional Crust Four Cheese Pizza
• Dr. Oetker Four Cheese Pizza
• Ellio's Cheese Pizza
• Freschetta Brick Oven Crust Five Cheese Pizza
• Good & Gather Wood-Fired Crust Pizza Margherita
• Kirkland Signature Cheese Pizza
• La Rossi Margherita Pizza
• Lean Cuisine Protein Kick Four Cheese Pizza
• Newman's Own Thin & Crispy Four Cheese Pizza
• Porta Hand Stretched Margarita Pizza
• Porta Margherita Pizza
• Rao's Brick Oven Crust Five Cheese Pizza
• Red Baron Classic Crust Four Cheese Pizza
• Roberta's Margherita Wood-Fired Pizza
• Screamin' Sicilian Thin & Crispy Cheese Pizza
• Table 87 Coal-Fired Margarita Pizza
• Target's Good & Gather Signature Wood-Fired Margherita Pizza
• Tombstone 5 Cheese Pizza
• Trader Joe's Organic Three Cheese Pizza
• Urban Pie Pizza Co. Frozen Eight Cheeses Thin Artisan Crust Pizza
• Wegmans Italian Classics Wood-Fired Crust Four Cheese Pizza
• Wegmans Italian Classics Wood-Fired Crust Margherita Pizza

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

As noted above, as we combed through the results, one thing was clear: Pizza preferences are deeply personal. Some tasters gravitated toward pronounced herbs in the sauce, while others recoiled at anything too oregano-forward. Some loved a nostalgic slice that tasted like the pizza bagels of their youth; others dismissed anything that veered "middle school cafeteria" and instead favored leaner, Neapolitan-style pies with airy crusts and restrained toppings.

Despite those differences, a few patterns emerged. Our editors consistently preferred pizzas with balanced, tomato-forward sauces that weren't overly sweet, and with enough cheese to feel generous without overwhelming the crust. Pies that paired mozzarella with a sharper, saltier cheese like Parmesan or Romano tended to earn higher marks, as did crusts that avoided extremes—neither limp nor cracker-dry, neither tough nor overly bready.

Price is, of course, part of frozen pizza's appeal, and most of the pies we tried were relatively affordable. Our overall winner, the Wegmans Italian Classics Wood Fired Crust Margherita Pizza, costs $6—a price that feels especially reasonable given how convincingly it mimicks a much pricier Neapolitan pie. The coal-fired pie from Table 87, at $15.88, was one of the most expensive pizzas we tested. Meanwhile, our runners-up skew budget-friendly: a four-pack of Kirkland Signature Cheese Pizza costs $12.97 (about $3.24 per pie), and the 365 by Whole Foods Four Cheese Thin Crust Pizza costs $4.99.

Ultimately, all of our top picks are pizzas we'd happily keep on hand for a quick, low-effort dinner. But if we had $20 to spend and limited freezer space, we’d stock up on a few Wegmans margherita pies before opting for a single coal-fired splurge.

Our Testing Methodology

All taste tests are conducted with brands completely hidden and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample 1 first, while taster B will taste sample 6 first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving any one sample an advantage. Tasters are asked to fill out tasting sheets ranking the samples for various criteria. All data is tabulated and results are calculated with no editorial input in order to give us the most impartial representation of actual results possible.

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.