So Your in the mood to doctor up a frozen pizza with a few extra ingredients. Because why not? The hard part is already done all you have to do is add additional toppings.
You are basically starting with a blank pizza canvas and its up to your cravings and creativity to make a boring frozen pizza into a delicious work of art.
The easiest way to elevate a frozen pizza from little flavor to a savory meal is by adding either new or more toppings or both. Add in extra cheese before baking to make a more filling pizza. Introduce new toppings like onions or green peppers to change the flavor.
You can improve a frozen pizza much better with some easy add on’s. It is a great way to make use of vegetables in your fridge.
Here are simple things you can do to a frozen pizza to elevate the taste. Make it healthier or like you put some effort into it. It feels good to add your own touch.
Buying A Frozen Pizza
First of all if you don’t have a frozen pizza already, start with a clean slate. Buy a simple frozen cheese pizza. Especially if you are going to be adding a lot of toppings.
Although any frozen pizza can be doctored up. All these tricks will work for most style of pizzas. Use your own judgment and let personal taste dictate the rest.
Read more: How To Make Pizza Less Greasy: 5 Simple Solutions
Grilling A Frozen Pizza
Skip the instructions and oven baking. A good way to change up the flavor is to grill your frozen pizza. This can be a quicker way to cook them, because preheating is faster on a grill.
Also works well in the middle of summer. When starting the oven seems like a bad idea. Grilling a frozen pizza is really easy and will keep your kitchen cooler.
Simply get the grill up to 400 degrees. Clean the grate really well first. Because you are going to cook the pizza right on it. Once its hot, put the pizza on for about 10 minutes.
Keep an eye on the crust as it will cook the fastest. Then when the cheese has melted it should be ready. A charred crust is something that is hard to get when baking a frozen pizza in the oven. It will also be extra crispy instead of soggy near the center.
Adding Extra Cheese To A Frozen Pizza
Any type of cheese can be added to a frozen pizza. Add the cheese before or part way through baking. Shredded cheese works best, like mozzarella. Mozzarella is the most common cheese used on frozen pizza’s. So if you put some extra it will blend very well.
Read more: How To Cut Fresh Mozzarella: Best Slicers To Use
Cheddar cheese works well on pizza, but it doesn’t take very much. Unless it is a BBQ chicken or cheeseburger style pizza.
When To Add Extra Cheese To A Frozen Pizza
When you should add your extra cheese is dependent on the type of cheese you are adding. But also depending on how much you add on. You can add in cheese from the very beginning or part way through baking the pizza. Here is what works best.
Mozzarella cheese is more than likely going to be already present on the pizza. So you can sprinkle on extra as soon as you open up the pizza and before you start to cook it.
Mozzarella melts slowly and can be baked for longer periods of time compared to other cheeses.
Cheddar cheese on the other hand will probably be okay if added on before cooking your frozen pizza. So you can sprinkle cheddar cheese onto the still frozen pizza. But you may find the cheddar cooks faster and dries out sooner than the mozzarella.
One tip is to put the cheddar cheese underneath mozzarella to keep it cooking slower. As opposed to being directly exposed to heat on the top.
Parmesan cheese should always be added after the pizza has been cooked. So if you have a extra packet of Parmesan from a pizza restaurant, be sure to sprinkle some on at the end. I’ve never seen a frozen pizza come with Parmesan cheese.
When it comes to upgrading a frozen pizza. Adding more or new toppings is going to make the most difference. The great part is there are literally hundreds of toppings to choose from.
Adding Veggies To Frozen Pizza
You may have some vegetables in your fridge that need to be used up. Like peppers, any kind will do. Popular ones are bell peppers. Sweet peppers like banana are excellent choices.
White onion either diced or just sliced is an easy topping to use. You can even caramelize them first by simmering in a pan before putting it on the pizza.
Here are some of the top veggies you can add to a frozen pizza:
- Bell Peppers
- Sweet Peppers
- Spicy Peppers
- Chilies
- Onions
- Pickles
- Spinach Leaf
- Olives
- Tomato Slices
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Mushrooms
- Anchovies
Adding Meat To Frozen Pizza
If you bought a frozen cheese pizza, but are in the mood for bacon. You can cook some up first then cut up the slices. Sprinkle on top before cooking or halfway through.
Frozen meatballs, thaw them first, then cut up first if they are too big. Any additional meat works, like extra pepperoni or beef. Canadian bacon slices go good with almost any style of pizza.
Here is a list of meats you can use for a frozen pizza:
- Pepperoni
- Beef
- Sausage
- Spicy Sausage
- Canadian Bacon
- Bacon
- Meatballs
- Chicken
- Breaded Chicken
Adding Herbs and Spices To Frozen Pizza
These are great spices to add to a pizza right at the end of cooking. But can be cooked as well. Fresh herbs are not as strong tasting as dried, so you can add lot.
Fresh Herbs
- Basil (Fresh)
- Garlic (Fresh)
- Parsley (fresh)
- Cilantro (fresh)
- Spinach (fresh)
Fresh herbs will cook much faster than the other toppings on the pizza. Fresh Basil for example should be added to a pizza after it has been baked, or near the end.
Cilantro is actually really good on pizza, especially BBQ chicken pizza. So if your frozen pizza is BBQ and chicken but lacks cilantro consider adding a few fresh leaves after baking.
Most fresh herbs go better with white sauce pizzas such as Alfredo or pesto. So keep that mind before trying them out.
Dried Herbs and Spices
Dried spices are an excellent way to spruce up the pizza. These dried spices are better if they are cooked with the pizza. The heat works to really release the oils and flavor.
So when using dried spices or spices you do not need to use much. Its best to add the spices over top the whole frozen pizza, as opposed to any individual toppings.
If you spice individual toppings separate. Then as they cook and shrink the flavor becomes more concentrated.
- Oregano
- Fennel
- Black Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Italian Seasoning
- Rosemary
- Dried Onion
- Fennel (seed or powder)
- Garlic Powder
Buying a pizza seasoning blend to have on hand is not a bad idea. We typically use Penzey’s brand pizza seasoning, but you can check out the best ones on Amazon here.
When To Add Toppings To Frozen Pizza
Any additional toppings such as extra meat or veggies should be added first thing. Before you even begin to cook a frozen pizza. This way they fully cook into and with the pizza.
Another tip to remember is your fresh ingredients are going to cook slightly faster than the ones already present on the pizza. If they aren’t frozen beforehand.
This not something to worry to about much, and its more work to freeze additional toppings ahead of time anyways.
One work around is to partially bake your pizza. Just enough to thaw it out first. Then take the pizza bake out of the oven and add the toppings.
Cook Frozen Pizza on Bottom Rack
When using a oven to bake the frozen pizza. Which is the traditional way of cooking it. Instructions usually say to place pizza on the middle rack. Ignore this a place it on the bottom rack.
You may have to move your rack to the lowest level first. This works really great for electric ovens where the heating element is on the bottom. The heating element is the rod that glows red.
If you have convection electric oven, then the elements may be on top and bottom. Still place pizza on the bottom rack. The direct heat will crisp the crust up much faster. Without burning the top of the pizza.
Alternatively you could use a pizza stone. A pizza stone will help to get your frozen pizza crust done before the cheese starts to overcook. Since the stone will retain heat.
Hot Sauce on Frozen Pizza
Hot sauce goes good on just about anything. This works great for a simple cheese pizza. Cheese and bread dough are good base for hot sauce.
Any hot sauce will work, this works especially well for leftover pizza. Leftover frozen pizza is not something I recommend. But many people do it and hot sauce is one way to kick it up.
Read more: Does Hot Sauce Get Hotter In The Fridge?
Egg on Frozen Pizza
Surprisingly you can add egg to a frozen pizza. Any pizza for that matter, but each one can be done differently. If you have a frozen pizza, you are going to want to do this after the pizza has been cooking.
Wait until there is about 10 minutes left of baking. This gives the egg enough time to cook but still have the yolk be a little runny. Of course you can cook it however you want.
Crack one egg directly in the middle of the pizza, or do a few spread out. You may have to designate a spot if you can. Try to dig out a little spot for the egg to fill. This is hard with a frozen pizza but its not necessary.
Brush The Dough With Olive Oil
Coating the whole crust, mainly the bottom with olive oil. Can give the crust extra flavor. It also helps to brown it nicely and keep the dough from drying out.
Try putting some olive oil in a bowl, add some garlic powder and Parmesan. Mix well and then brush the dough. You will need a brush or use the bottom of a spoon. Do this before baking the pizza.
Pizza Stone For Frozen Pizza
Using a pizza stone alone can improve a frozen pizza. Especially if you find your frozen pizza to be soggy still on the bottom. A pizza stone will take take of that problem.
Be sure to place your pizza stone on the bottom the oven. Your crust will crisp up fast enough before the toppings begin to dry out and burn.
I love my pizza stone for baking any pizza but frozen pizzas have been noticeably better since I stating using one.
You can check out my personal pizza stone review. Or view the best pizza stones available on Amazon.