Pizza has been my favorite food since childhood, and freezer pizza is no exception. As I’ve gotten older, though, my tastes have gotten more refined and freezer pizza just doesn’t do it for me like it used to.
Or at least it didn’t, until I figured out how to properly doctor it up!
By adding oil, garlic, and herbs to the crust and some of my favorite fresh toppings, freezer pizza comes remarkably close to some decent pizza shops I’ve visited, without the extra cost, hassle, and people-interaction of actually going out into public.
First (since all freezer pizza’s *aren’t* created equal), here are a few of my favorite brands:
- Freschetta
- California Pizza Kitchen
- Jack’s
(Since I often tend to stick with what I know, I don’t have a big list to recommend, but this recent article from Thrillist should give you some more inspiration!)
As I mentioned above, there are 2 main tactics I use to drastically improve a freezer pizza: I oil and season the crust, and I add fresh toppings.
- Crust:
First, cover your baking sheet with a strip of foil, bright side up. (Since we live in an RV, we don’t actually have a baking sheet big enough for a pizza, so I just lay the foil out on the counter.)
Using a spoon, spread oil across the area where your pizza will sit. My favorite for pizza is sesame oil because of it’s nutty, savory flavor, but you can also use olive oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil, etc. – just be aware that each oil has a different smoke point which will affect how quickly the crust browns.
On top of the oil, I like to add a little ‘juice’ from the jar of minced garlic we keep in the fridge, but if you don’t have minced garlic, you can use a sprinkle of garlic powder, instead. I also sprinkle oregano and crushed red pepper. You can use whatever herbs you want, but go easy on them – too much will just make the crust ‘dusty’ and the whole experience a big mess!
Use the spoon again to blend the oil and seasonings, then take the pizza out of the freezer, unwrap it, and place it on top of the oil/seasoning blend.
Let that sit while you prep your toppings.
- Toppings:
The toppings I add always depend on the pizza we’re using as a base (and what I have on hand in the kitchen). Typically, we try to stick with non-meat toppings to stay as healthy as we can, knowing that frozen pizza is inherently unhealthy to begin with.
Some of our favorites are the Freschetta Spinach and Mushroom pizza and the California Pizza Kitchen Margherita Recipe.
I like to dice my pizza toppings, because that’s the best way to get all the flavors into each bite. If I had it my way, all pizza toppings everywhere always would be diced.
Favorite toppings of ours include:
- Red Onion
- Jalapeno
- Habanero
- Mushrooms
- Fresh Garlic
- Brussels sprouts (shaved)
- Asparagus tips
- Final Steps:
Once all the toppings have been added, I like to finish it off by drizzling more garlic on he crust edges, sprinkling oregano over the top, and spraying the whole things with a bit of olive oil spray. This helps the toppings and crust crisp up as much as possible.
Cooking time and temp will vary by oven and altitude, but I recommend at least 400°-425° so the crust crisps up.
I usually cook for the first 10-12 minutes with the pizza still sitting on the oiled & seasoned foil, to allow it all to soak into the crust. Then I remove it from the oven and place it back in without the foil, to allow the crust to crisp up. However, if your oven cooks fast from below and/or you’re using the rack closest to the bottom, you may want to keep the foil there for the entire cooking time.