Frozen pizza has come a long way from the limp, flavorless discs of the 1970s. The U.S. frozen pizza market was valued at nearly $6.9 billion in 2024, and it’s projected to reach close to $11 billion by 2033. That kind of market doesn’t sustain itself on nostalgia alone. People are eating more frozen pizza, spending more on it, and frankly expecting a lot more from it.
According to Conagra Brands, roughly six in ten consumers now want what they call “elevated experiences” from their frozen food choices. Translation: the days of settling for rubbery cheese and a crust that tastes like the box it came in are numbered. This ranking goes from the bottom of the freezer aisle all the way to pies that genuinely compete with delivery. Here’s where twelve of the most widely available frozen pizzas actually land.
12. Totino’s Party Pizza – The Cheap Classic That Earned Its Reputation
Totino’s Party Pizza is quite possibly the biggest pizza bargain you’ll find in any grocery store, often sitting at under two dollars for a rectangular personal-sized pie. The price is part of its identity. It’s never pretended to be gourmet, and that honesty is its only real saving grace.
The crust on a Totino’s pizza is cracker-thin and does get a nice crunch out of the oven, but the cheese doesn’t taste or feel like real cheese upon consumption. The cube-shaped pepperoni pieces make things genuinely strange, and though the shape concentrates flavor, they end up tasting more like hot dogs than pepperoni. At this price point, expectations should be adjusted accordingly.
11. Jack’s Original Thin Crust – Budget Honest, But Not Much More
Jack’s has been around since 1960, which means it’s clearly doing something right, but at around four dollars at Walmart locations, the pie seems to pride itself on being cheap more than being good. Several blind taste tests have consistently placed it near the bottom of the pack.
Jack’s is one of the cheapest frozen pizzas on the market, and there are noticeable quality gaps between it and even other bargain brands. The main issue is the cheese. The crust is crispy and satisfying, and the topping ratio isn’t totally off, but there’s little here that surprises anyone. It fills the stomach. That’s about where the praise ends.
10. Amy’s Cheese Pizza – Organic Credentials, Disappointing Results
Amy’s built its reputation on clean labels and organic ingredients, and plenty of shoppers reach for it assuming the quality of the sourcing translates directly to the plate. Despite its beautiful packaging, the pizza itself is surprisingly small, and in at least one taste test, it was so hard when frozen that cutting it took considerable effort.
While the pizza is made from organic tomatoes and part-skim mozzarella, tasters have described the flavor in unflattering terms despite the premium ingredient list. The organic story is real. The pizza experience just doesn’t match the idealism on the box. For health-conscious shoppers, there are better options at a similar price.
9. Tombstone Original Five Cheese – Cheese Quantity Over Cheese Quality
Tombstone’s original five cheese pizza sounds impressive on paper, with mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan, asiago, and romano all landing on a buttery crust. Five types of cheese seems like an event. In practice, it tastes more like a reliable weeknight backup.
According to the brand’s website, Tombstone uses roughly a third of a pound of cheese on each pizza. The volume is there, but the depth of flavor falls short of what a five-cheese blend should reasonably promise. It’s a solid, inoffensive mid-shelf option that handles a weeknight dinner just fine without inspiring any real enthusiasm.
8. Red Baron Classic Crust Pepperoni – The Nostalgic Workhorse
Eating a slice of Red Baron pepperoni pizza brings back the greasy, saucy pizzas of teenage years. With 380 calories per serving and four servings per box, the entire pizza is a substantial meal, but Red Baron earns its place because of its incredibly fragrant smell. That aroma alone sells millions of units a year.
In blind taste tests, Red Baron has been called the closest frozen option to New York-style pizza, with ooey-gooey cheese and a moderately thin, expertly seasoned crust. If a bready, thick crust isn’t your thing, Red Baron is hard to beat at its price point. The brand is part of Schwan’s Company, which also owns Freschetta, Tony’s, and Sabatasso’s.
7. DiGiorno Stuffed Crust – Indulgent, Filling, and Exactly What It Claims
The cheese blend across the pizza includes mozzarella, cheddar, asiago, romano, and parmesan, and then there’s the crust itself, where cheese-stuffed edges are the real main event. It’s unapologetically over the top, which is kind of the point.
According to the box, roughly two and a half feet of cheese is stuffed into the crust, which sounds excessive but still leaves room to want more. DiGiorno is a Nestlé brand and one of the dominant names in the U.S. frozen pizza market. The stuffed crust variety sits comfortably in the middle of the pack because it delivers on its specific promise, even if the sauce and toppings beyond the crust are relatively ordinary.
6. DiGiorno Rising Crust Pepperoni – The Reliable Crowd-Pleaser
Frozen pizza often gets a bad reputation for being flat in appearance and flavor, but that’s not the case with DiGiorno Rising Crust Pepperoni Pizza. DiGiorno’s pepperoni pizza has a lofty, pan-style crust. It’s one of those freezer aisle staples that shows up at watch parties, college dorms, and late weeknight meals without anyone complaining.
In blind kitchen tests, tasters noted the crust has great color and a crisp bottom with a soft, chewy interior that ranks nicer than most frozen pizzas. The crispy pepperoni is what makes this pie really stand out. Tasters described it as smoky, hearty, and fun. It may not surprise a food critic, but it consistently earns repeat purchases.
5. Freschetta Naturally Rising Crust – Underrated and Criminally Overlooked
Freschetta frozen pizza is known for its crust, which puffs up in the oven and genuinely tastes fresh-baked. That’s a harder trick to pull off than it sounds, and Freschetta does it consistently across its lineup. It’s a brand that tends to finish higher in blind tests than shoppers expect going in.
It’s better than average, with a crust that was fantastic in tests, being soft and chewy without turning too doughy, and with a hint of garlic that added nicely to the flavor. The cheese, a blend of mozzarella and provolone, is mellower in flavor than some prefer, but it melts into a lovely pool over the pie with a decent stretch in every bite. The sauce could be bolder, but the crust alone justifies the purchase.
6. Screamin’ Sicilian Bessie’s Revenge – Bold Branding, Bolder Cheese
At first glance, Screamin’ Sicilian’s Bessie’s Revenge looks like it has all the makings of a legitimately great frozen pizza. The box boasts ridiculous amounts of cheese, including Wisconsin whole milk fresh mozzarella, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, romano, and white cheddar. The packaging alone is worth mentioning. It’s loud, fun, and unashamedly itself.
In one household taste test, Bessie’s Revenge was an instant hit. None of the tasters could complain about a lack of cheese, as the pizza truly delivered on its “ridiculous amount of cheese” promise. For a true nostalgic pepperoni pizza experience, Screamin’ Sicilian stands out as one of the more traditionally satisfying options on the market. Where the sauce and herb profile sometimes underwhelm, the cheese more than compensates.
4. California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust – Restaurant Pedigree in Frozen Form
Whether CPK’s frozen pizza has always been this polished or whether it improved as part of the brand’s broader revival, it’s a well-made frozen pizza. From the crust to the pepperoni, it’s foundationally great. The sprinkle of dried basil and the addition of fontina and hickory-smoked gouda in the cheese portfolio really set it apart.
The popular restaurant chain’s frozen pizza gives California Pizza Kitchen a gourmet edge over most competitors. The premise holds up: if pizza tastes better at a restaurant, then a restaurant-style frozen pizza can get closer to that experience at home. It’s not perfect, and it’s priced in the premium tier, but the quality justifies most of that gap.
3. Trader Joe’s Margherita Pizza – The Affordable Party Trick
Trader Joe’s Margherita Pizza earned praise in The Kitchn’s 2025 blind taste test, with testers saying they would happily serve it at a party. It also happened to be the cheapest of the winners in that test, at around $4.79. That combination of price and performance is nearly impossible to beat.
Trader Joe’s offers some genuinely impressive frozen pizza options, with crispy bottoms and chewy interiors that nail that wood-fired vibe, and most cook in under twelve minutes. The Margherita is simple, restrained, and focused, which is exactly what this style of pizza should be. One tester simply described it as tasting “fresh, not frozen.”
2. Newman’s Own Thin and Crispy Four Cheese – A Surprisingly Gourmet Mid-Range Pick
Newman’s Own Thin and Crispy Four Cheese Pizza earns a strong second place in multiple rankings. Though it’s a thin-crust pizza, it executes that style nearly perfectly. It’s not too dense, and it’s not so thin that the toppings overwhelm the base. The crust is flavorful and develops great color when baked.
The pizza is built with mozzarella, cheddar, asiago, and parmesan cheese, all working together to create a layered, genuinely interesting flavor. The asiago stands out and helps push the overall profile toward gourmet. The sauce brings garlic, herbs, and bold tomato flavor without being overpowering. At around $8.50, it lands in the mid-range price tier, and the brand donates 100% of its profits to charity.
1. Rao’s Brick Oven Crust Five Cheese Pizza – The Best Frozen Pizza You Can Buy
The absolute best frozen pizza in this ranking is Rao’s Brick Oven Crust Five Cheese Pizza. At around ten to thirteen dollars per pie, it’s among the most expensive frozen options available, but it’s more than worth the elevated price. It’s not quite as good as a truly fresh pizza, but it comes closer than anything else in the freezer aisle.
Rao’s Five Cheese Pizza features whole milk mozzarella, provolone, fontina, romano, and parmesan cheese layered over the brand’s signature pizza sauce. The crust is puffy and thick on the outside but thin in the middle, delivering the best of both crust worlds for anyone torn between styles. The Kitchn’s blind taste test named it the highest-scoring frozen pizza, with tasters raving over its tomato sauce and perfectly cheesy topping, with one panelist saying it tasted “fresh, not frozen.”
What Separates a Good Frozen Pizza from a Great One
Across all of these pizzas, the same three factors keep deciding the rankings: crust texture, sauce balance, and cheese quality. Consumer Reports, which has evaluated frozen pizzas across multiple years, consistently flags those three elements as the primary drivers of taste satisfaction. A flavorless crust undermines everything above it, no matter how generous the toppings are.
Product innovation across the category has elevated the options considerably, with brands introducing gluten-free, keto-friendly, and plant-based varieties that cater to health-conscious and diverse taste preferences. Premium offerings that mimic restaurant-quality experiences further appeal to consumers seeking indulgence at home. The gap between the bottom of this list and the top is genuinely wide.
The Growing Premium Tier Is Changing the Category
In 2025, conventional frozen pizzas still dominate the market with a substantial majority of total share, but free-from variants spanning gluten-free, organic, clean-label, and allergen-free options are on an upward trajectory. This surge is largely attributed to consumers becoming more discerning about ingredient transparency.
The U.S. market has seen growing interest in premium and gourmet frozen pizzas that now genuinely compete with restaurant offerings in quality and variety. Consumers increasingly look for bold flavors, cleaner labels, and unique toppings, contributing to the rise of upscale options in the frozen aisle. That shift is real, and the distance between a two-dollar Totino’s and a thirteen-dollar Rao’s reflects exactly where this category is heading.
One Practical Note Before You Buy
The USDA recommends cooking frozen pizza to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) to ensure food safety. This matters more than most people realize, particularly with thicker, stuffed-crust varieties where the center can remain undercooked while the edges look done.
Innovations in crust types, toppings, and healthier options are attracting diverse demographics to the category. Air fryers have also changed the game. Many brands now include air fryer instructions on their packaging, and for thin-crust varieties especially, the results are noticeably crispier and faster than a conventional oven can deliver. It’s worth experimenting.
The frozen pizza aisle in 2026 is a fundamentally different place than it was a decade ago. Some brands still taste exactly like the cardboard they’re packaged in. Others have quietly closed the gap with actual pizzerias. Knowing which is which is the only thing standing between you and a genuinely good dinner on a Wednesday night.
