12 Incredible Ways to Make Frozen Pizza Better

Frozen pizza. It’s a blessing for every cash-strapped college student and a curse for every harried mom trying to put together a quick dinner. Frankly, it’s a curse because frozen pizza isn’t particularly known to be, well, good pizza. The crust is sometimes indistinguishable from the cardboard it’s packaged with—and the fact is, three sad little pieces of pepperoni do not make for robust toppings.

But there’s hope: Try our best, yummy enhancements for an upgraded frozen pizza.

1. Invest in a pizza stone

The simplest way to maintain great crust consistency is to use a pizza stone. There are untold numbers of stones sitting in pantries just collecting dust, so break yours out for a preheated turn in the oven. The idea behind a pizza stone: It replicates the surface of a wood-fired pizza oven, allowing you to get crispier crusts and more evenly cooked toppings.

2. Start with a good brand

While these tips for upgrading your pizza will come in handy, there’s only so much you can do. That’s why it’s important to start off with a top-rated frozen pizza so there’s not too much work needed to be done on your side.

3. Ditch the directions

Defrost the frozen ‘za and set the oven to a high temperature to replicate the blast-furnace feel of a real pizza oven. Then use a cast-iron skillet or griddle to bake the pizza. You’ll get a differently textured crust, more akin to what you’d expect from the corner pizzeria. No skillet? Place the pizza directly on the oven rack.

4. Season the crust

The downfall of most frozen pizzas are their cardboard tasting crusts. You can fix this problem by adding a few seasonings of your own. Coat the crust with melted butter and then sprinkle seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder or even parmesan cheese. Continue to cook the pizza as directed and you’ll soon be welcomed with a pizzeria-flavored crust.

5. Add an egg

Taste of Home

Pull the pizza out of the oven when it’s at the halfway baking mark and crack an egg over it. Then return it to the oven. At time’s end, you’ll get a nice fried egg on top—and yolky goodness on every slice.

6. Make a themed pizza

• Hawaiian: Before popping the pizza into the oven, place canned pineapple slices and shredded ham on top. Voilà! You’ve got Hawaiian pizza in almost no extra time.
• Western: Kick up the flavor of a frozen pizza by adding cooked chorizo and jalapeno slices for a decidedly western flair. If you want something a bit bolder, sprinkle on a tiny—and we do mean tiny—dash of Ghost Pepper Sea Salt.
• BBQ Chicken: Take a frozen cheese pizza and upgrade it with just two ingredients. Before placing it in the oven, add some shredded chicken on top. Then, when the pizza is done cooking, top it off with a drizzle of barbecue sauce for a sweet and tangy flavor.

7. Use fresh basil

Taste of Home

Nothing brightens up a drab frozen pizza like a sprinkling of fresh basil and olive oil on top. Better yet, loosely shred the basil leaves (called a chiffonade) for a more intense flavor.

8. Upgrade the cheese

It’s universally known that frozen pizza skimps on the cheese. So, augment that reality with a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan, or whole slices of fresh mozzarella and a few small dollops of ricotta. Maybe go bold and layer some slices of pepper jack on a standard frozen cheese pizza, or go exotic and try Edam or Gruyere. And some people swear Gouda makes a pizza extra gouda…er, good.

Or you can follow the scientific route. Researchers at the University of Auckland looked at different cheeses and gauged their elasticity, oil content, moisture levels and texture, as well as something called “transition temperature,” to determine the perfect taste as well as best bubbly visual appeal. The result: Mozzarella and cheddar struck the perfect balance. So get to a cheese shoppe and load up on some “betta chedda.”

9. Add veggies

Amp up the health quotient by adding zucchini, broccoli florets and sliced cauliflower to the proceedings. Want it crunchy? Add the veggies raw as the pizza goes into the oven. Otherwise, saute the vegetables first. Other flavorful options: spinach, green peppers, mushrooms and olives. There’s no denying veggie pizza is a sneaky way to get kids to eat their veggies.

10. Make it spicy

Add a little kick of heat to your frozen pizza for a change of pace. Once it’s done cooking, sprinkle a few chili flakes on top or drizzle a bit of chili crisp. Go the saucy route and dress the pizza in sriracha or hot honey. Or, if you want some added crunch, place a few slices of jalapeno on the pizza before popping it in the oven for some nice heat.

11. Add some protein

Taste of Home

If you’re looking to add a couple grams of protein to your frozen pizza, try incorporating some leftover meats. Before putting the pizza in the oven, shred leftover chicken, crumble up a few slices of bacon or slice some sausage to go on top of your frozen dish.

For a pescatarian alternative, add fresh ingredients like cooked lobster, shrimp or crabmeat in the last three or four minutes of the pizza’s baking time for seafood that’ll be warm but not overcooked.

12. Finish it off with fresh ingredients

Add the last finishing touches to your frozen pizza with fresh toppings. Once it’s done baking, top your warmed pizza with dollops of burrata cheese, slices of prosciutto, a drizzle of hot honey and a few bunches of dressed arugula for a restaurant worthy pizza.

Of course, you can always make pizzas from scratch—with a little help from premade pizza crust. Try quick and easy offerings like Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza, Chicken Cordon Bleu Pizza or Asparagus, Bacon and Herbed Cheese Pizza. Each takes just 30 minutes or less to make.