As a rule of thumb, I typically keep away from frozen pizza. The plastic-looking cheese, questionable toppings, and cardboard-like crust don’t look appetizing to me. However as with most issues in life, you’ll be able to slap a Dealer Joe’s brand on it, and abruptly, I’m on board. My fiancé (an actual frozen pizza stan) likes to tease me about this explicit character trait, however you recognize what? I’ve religion that my good pal Joe would by no means lead me astray. Assured that my love for TJ’s would win over my distaste for frozen pizza, I headed to my native retailer and stocked up on each selection I may discover to place the speculation to the check.
Decided to maintain this experiment truthful, I made a decision to strive the entire pizzas on the similar time. Formidable, I do know, however I figured a direct comparability could be most correct. I additionally enlisted some assist as a result of I wish to eat, however singlehandedly consuming 9 pizzas would probably put me in a coma. It took one customary oven, one toaster oven, and one countertop pizza oven to make it occur, however we bought all of them cooked and able to eat.
Facet be aware: I need to specific my appreciation for the Dealer Joe’s staff who rang up and bagged my embarrassing quantity of frozen pizzas with out even the slightest little bit of side-eye. That stage of restraint and composure is one thing you’ll be able to’t discover at any previous grocery retailer. Alright, on to the outcomes. Right here’s my definitive evaluate of Dealer Joe’s frozen pizzas, ranked from worst to finest.
9. Gluten-Free Cheese Pizza
To not hate on the gluten-free crowd, however one thing about cauliflower crust doesn’t sit proper with me. Possibly it’s as a result of cauliflower has a particular style, which I sometimes take pleasure in in its extra conventional makes use of, equivalent to in stir fry or roasted with different veggies. Or maybe it’s as a result of cauliflower’s moisture content material tends to intervene with the crispness of the crust. Sadly, this cauliflower-crust cheese pizza had each of these points, making it an disagreeable mixture of wiggly crust and strange style.
8. Burrata, Prosciutto & Arugula Flatbread
This Dealer Joe’s frozen pizza sounds good in principle, however the execution was a giant let-down. It got here with the arugula already on the pizza and a separate package deal of prosciutto to be added after it was baked. Because it seems, arugula loses most of its distinctive taste after being frozen and reheated within the oven. It ended up having an virtually fishy style—much like seaweed—and with the addition of the prosciutto, the entire pizza was approach too salty. Total, I used to be not a fan.
7. Natural Roasted Vegetable Pizza
The identify of this pizza sounds promising, but it surely’s a bit deceptive. Upon eradicating the pizza from its packaging, it appeared that the veggie toppings have been utterly uncooked and unseasoned. They bought cooked whereas the pizza baked, in fact, however I feel it will be tastier if the greens have been pre-roasted to focus on their flavors higher. Total, it’s a fantastic supply of veggies, but it surely may have used some extra taste.
6. Mushroom & Black Truffle Flatbread
I wished to like this one. The Dealer Joe’s worker restocking the pizza part whereas I shopped led me to consider this was a fan favourite, so I used to be excited to strive it. Though I typically like the flavour of black truffles, I assumed this pizza went a bit of overboard. It was a bit too truffle-y and tasted virtually unnatural. My fellow taste-testers and I made a decision we probably wouldn’t purchase it once more.
5. Gluten-Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza
With a crisp crust and a beneficiant quantity of toppings, this was a good frozen pizza. The veggie toppings cooked up properly, and the pepperoni gave it nice taste. The crust had a slight cauliflower style, but it surely was a lot better total than our different gluten-free choice.
4. Tarte aux Champignons
One of the simplest ways I can describe this pizza is that it tastes very French. By that, I imply it was buttery and mushroomy with a gentle cheesiness and a crisp crust. It was a tasty pizza, but it surely didn’t smack you over the pinnacle with taste. The crust was additionally comparatively skinny, so all of us agreed this is able to fare higher as a elaborate appetizer than a full meal.
3. Vegan Meatless Meat Eater’s Pizza
As somebody who enjoys a giant slice of greasy pepperoni pizza, I had pretty low expectations for this one. Whereas I recognize the dedication it requires to take care of a plant-based food regimen, I’ll at all times want pure meats and cheeses to their vegan alternate options. That being stated, this meatless meat-lovers pizza was surprisingly tasty. The vegan pepperoni, sausage, and chorizo flavors have been spot-on, and the crust was good and crisp. Nevertheless, it did not seem very scrumptious when it got here out of the oven. It appeared like we had taken it out of the freezer, left it within the solar for a couple of minutes, and referred to as it completed. However as soon as we bought previous the looks, it was a really satisfying slice of pizza.
2. Roasted Garlic & Pesto Pizza
Topped with plentiful roasted garlic and swimming pools of yummy pesto, this pizza was destined to be a winner. However the actual game-changer right here was the deep-fried crust. I do not know how TJ’s did it, however the crust was completely crispy and had that scrumptious fried taste that’s laborious to withstand. Our solely critique was that it’s fairly salty, however pair it with a tall glass of ice water, and also you’re in for a tasty meal.
1. Wooden Fired Naples Model Uncured Pepperoni Pizza
The indeniable winner of the night was this wood-fired pepperoni pizza. So far as frozen pizzas go, it was spectacular. The crust had nice taste and a pleasant rise, whereas the sauce and toppings have been plentiful and engaging. It appeared like one thing you’d order for supply and tasted simply pretty much as good. 10/10 would eat once more.
Supply: The Every Girl
