The Worst Frozen Pizza Brand Is From A Top Grocery Chain

Frozen pizza has improved drastically over the years, and with all the competition out there, you can get a decent frozen pie for a few bucks that's perfect for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. Sure, you still don't get the value for money that buying an entire Costco pizza (which works out cheaper than buying it by slice) gets you, but it's not so bad. Frozen pizzas are generally good enough for a meal for one, and you can always jazz them up with additional toppings and extra cheese.

However, some frozen pizzas are way off the mark, and Foodie's frozen pizza rankings revealed an unlikely dud. Kroger Rising Crust Pizza has an unfortunate combination of doughy crust and plasticky cheese that we found quite irredeemable. Considering the grocery store chain has been around for over a century and has thousands of stores across the country, one would expect them to source a good frozen pizza. The fact that Kroger's Rising Crust pizzas are available in five flavors (Supreme, White Chicken, Three Meat, Four Cheese, and Pepperoni), doesn't help, either, as each of the pies suffers from a similar wooden texture and flavorless toppings. At $3.99 for six slices, they're quite pocket-friendly, but you'd have to be really hungry to enjoy one.

Ironically, the term used to market the pizza (the crust) is also the aspect that's most at fault. Kroger's Rising Crust Pizza has too much dough, with the sauce and topping too scanty to provide sufficient flavor. The result is a bland pie at best. At worst — when the self-rising dough fails to rise — you are left with a tough, dense base that's unpleasant to chew through. Several reviews on the Kroger website concur, calling the base akin to cardboard.

Kroger's Frozen Pizza had a loyal fan following at one point. However, it appears that the quality has since plummeted, because even those who enjoyed it are now apparently disappointed by the quality. Again, most of the complaints are aimed at the crust being tasteless and the toppings too meager. Even though the Four Cheese version's ingredient list specifies that it contains mozzarella, provolone, fontina, and Romano cheeses, its texture remains tacky and tough, while any cheesiness largely fails to come through. Among reviewers, the pepperoni pizza does slightly better but still doesn't impress.

If you do find yourself facing a Kroger Rising Crust Frozen Pizza, your best bet is to add extra toppings and cheese to bolster the flavor and texture. To truly upgrade your frozen pizza, consider cooking it on the grill. In addition to ensuring a crispy crust, the grill can also infuse it with smoky notes that give Kroger's Frozen Pizza some much-needed flavor.