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Key Takeaways
- Even the best frozen pizzas can fall flat if they aren’t cooked properly, so we asked chefs to share their pro tips for cooking frozen pizza at home.
- They all agreed on one tried-and-true method, even though it strays from package instructions.
Even though we’re testing and perfecting new recipes regularly, and writing about the latest food trends on a daily basis, we’re not too proud to admit that our freezers—both at work and at home—are consistently stocked with frozen pizza.
Turns out, we’re in good company. We chatted with chefs from across the country, and found out they swear by Genio Della, Talia di Napoli, DiGiorno, and Jack’s Pizza. (Psst…our editors adore Screamin’ Sicilian and Red Baron, too.)
No matter which brand you buy, even the best frozen pizzas can fall flat if they aren’t cooked properly. As much as we adore the convenience of a frozen pizza, a pie with a soggy crust or uncooked cheese is a major disappointment. (We’d rather eat a delivery slice cold, honestly!) So we asked a fresh batch of chefs to share their pro tips for cooking frozen pizza.
Our Panel of Pizza-Loving Chefs
- Jeanette Donnarumma, recipe developer and Emmy award-winning producer
- George Formaro, chef-partner of Orchestrate Hospitality restaurants in Des Moines, Iowa
- Mary Payne Moran, chef and owner of The Silver Lake Kitchen cooking school in Los Angeles
- Dax Schaefer, corporate chef of Palermo’s Pizza in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Biggest Pizza Frozen Pizza Cooking Mistakes to Avoid
Before we reveal the best way to cook frozen pizza, we couldn’t resist asking the chefs to spill about the most common missteps so we can all steer clear.
Here are some ‘don’ts’ when it comes to frozen pizza:
- Trust that the toppings are distributed evenly. Toppings like pepperoni slices, sausage crumbles, mushrooms, and even shreds of cheese often shift as frozen pizzas are packaged, shipped, and stored in your freezer. “Take a brief moment to redistribute the toppings before baking; aiming for an even spread. Large clumps of meat, vegetables, or cheese can result in uneven cooking,” suggests Dax Schaefer.
- Forget to preheat. You want your cooking appliance to be hot when you add your pie. According to Mary Payne Moran, too low of a temperature is the enemy of an awesome pie. “Putting the pizza in before your cooking tool is up to temp will create a soggy pizza,” adds Jeanette Donnarumma.
- Quit too early. When the aroma of the pizza begins wafting throughout your kitchen, it can be tempting to hurry the process along. But patience is a virtue. “Many people don’t fully cook their pizzas,” Schaefer warns. Here’s how to know when to pull your pie: The crust should be crispy and “the cheese should be fully melted and starting to brown around the edges. Allowing the cheese to caramelize develops a deeper flavor,” Schaefer adds. If you’re able to take its internal temp, it should be at least 165 degrees F.
The Best Way to Cook Frozen Pizza, According to Chefs
The most fail-safe method when preparing any frozen pizza is to follow the package instructions, which have been vigorously tested, Schaefer confirms. That being said, every oven is different. It’s vital to check the pizza often; watching for that golden-brown cheese and an undercarriage (aka the underside of the crust) that has some color and crunch.
Still, it’s okay to bend the rules a little bit to level-up your slices. All four chefs we spoke to approve of the following frozen pizza cooking method:
More Chef-Approved Tips for Cooking Frozen Pizza
In the oven—either directly on the rack or on a preheated pizza steel if you have one—is the unanimous best way to cook frozen pizza, per our pro panel. But if you’d like to take things outside, “I also really enjoy the quality of a frozen thin crust pizza cooked on a gas grill using indirect heat. A grill can produce a higher heat than you can obtain in a home oven,” Schaefer says.
A gas grill is easier to create the dual-zone cooking surface we’re after here. You’re not stuck if you have a charcoal grill—just follow these instructions for how to build a grill for indirect heat.
Here’s the best way to cook frozen pizza on a gas grill:
- Turn all burners to high. Allow the grill to reach its maximum temperature. (For Shaefer, this is typically around 625 to 650 degrees F.) Once the entire surface is hot, turn off the middle burner.
- Note: this technique works best for a thin-crust pizza. For a rising crust or thicker crust of any kind, turn the burners to medium-low instead. In either case, you want to preheat the middle burner, then turn it off before adding your pie to the grill.
- Place the pizza directly on the grates over the burner you turned off (indirect heat) and close the lid.
- After 5 minutes, rotate the pizza 180 degrees and close the lid again. This will prevent burning on the portions of the pizza closest to the direct heat burners.
- Check again after 3 more minutes, rotating a quarter turn (90 degrees) every few minutes until cheese is fully melted, the toppings are cooked to your liking, and the pizza temperature is at least 165 degrees F. Remove the pizza from the grill and let sit before slicing (again, 2 minutes for a thin crust and 5 minutes for a thicker crust).
Frozen pizza prepared using either of these strategies should leave you with a stellar parlor-style pie that’s delicious as-is.
Just like with the cooking instructions on the package, though, Schaefer urges home cooks, “Don’t be afraid to experiment a little. I really enjoy taking a cheese pizza and making it my own,” he tells us. “One of my favorite things to do is add cooked, crumbled bacon before cooking. Then after it comes out of the oven or off the grill, I add sliced ripe tomatoes, mayonnaise, and shredded lettuce.” Voila, you’ve turned a simple cheese pizza into a crowd-pleasing BLT pie in a matter of 60 seconds. For other totally-doable upgrades, don’t miss our guide to 7 tricks to zhuzh up your frozen pizza.
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