economie

I tried and ranked store-brand frozen pizzas from Costco, Whole Foods, and Wegmans. My favorite reminded me of the version I make at home.

October 31, 20240
I was worried about the Kirkland Signature thin-crust pepperoni pizza taking up too much freezer space.

Ted Berg

Costco is known for selling items in bulk, so it’s no surprise the Kirkland Signature thin-crust pepperoni pizza came in a pack of four.

At about $14, though, this was the least expensive of the three brands when considering the price per pizza. But committing to a four-pack also meant clearing out a lot of valuable freezer space.

When I got home, I noticed a lot of the pepperoni shifted in transit, but that was easy to fix. It took about 12 minutes to bake in the oven at 425 degrees.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy Costco’s pepperoni pizza again.
The Wegmans thin-crust pizza looked like it came with the most pepperoni.

Ted Berg

Wegmans had a fairly extensive variety of frozen pizza choices, but I chose the thin-crust pizza with uncured pepperoni because it most closely matched the Kirkland option.

I paid about $5 for the pizza, which was the most expensive of the three I tried — though not by much.

When I opened the box, the crust appeared to be pre-cooked and already browned around the edges.

After 10 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees, it was ready to go. Of the three pizzas I tried, the Wegmans option looked like it had the most pepperoni, with circular slices on top and chunks of meat mixed into the cheese.

I liked the final product enough to want to check out Wegmans’ other pizza options.
The 365 by Whole Foods Market thin-crust pizza with uncured pepperoni took the longest to cook.

Ted Berg

The 365 by Whole Foods Market thin-crust pizza with uncured pepperoni cost $4.50 at my store. It was similar in size to the Wegmans pizza, but the layer of cheese was noticeably thicker than it was on the other two.

Out of the package, the dough was the softest of the three. It also took the longest to cook — 16 minutes at 400 degrees.

Whole Foods’ take on frozen pepperoni pizza ended up being my favorite.
Next time I’m craving frozen pizza, I’ll go to Whole Foods.

Ted Berg

Whole Foods’ pepperoni pizza was fairly light on flavor. The pepperoni was salty but not at all spicy, and the sauce was thinly spread and very mild.

However, the cheese tasted way better than the pizzas from Costco and Wegmans. It had a milky quality that just wasn’t there on the other two.

I also liked the crust best because it was a touch doughier than the others and not quite as crispy at the edges. It also had a hint of yeastiness that the others lacked.

The Whole Foods option was most similar to the pizza I make at home with fresh mozzarella. It wasn’t especially exciting, but I’ll likely buy it again.