Jon Gutierrez
Hebba Gouda
In these trying times, we want comfort. Enter, pizza. In these uncertain times, we want agency. Enter, the best store bought pizza dough or, if you’re really strapped for time, premade pizza crust. Without the need to knead or the constraints of a pizza parlor’s menu or “food safety guidelines,” a premade pizza dough or crust is the key to a delicious meal that’s easy, satisfying, and fun.
But what’s the best store bought pizza dough? What is the best premade pizza crust to buy? Over the course of two separate taste tests, we found out.
What we looked for in the best store bought pizza dough
We tried many different forms of premade pizza dough, including frozen, fresh, and tubes. We baked them according to their instructions and judged each one in three main categories: how easy it was to knead/prepare, final crust and, of course, taste.
What we looked for in the best premade pizza crust
We baked each crust according to package instructions, testing them by themselves, as well as topped simply with mozzarella and pizza sauce (shout-out Rao’s, one of our favorites). We looked for crisp outer crust, pleasantly chewy base crust, and balanced flavor.
Life is hard, but at least there are a lot of good pizza crusts out there. Here are our picks for the best premade pizza dough and the best store bought pizza crust you can get at the grocery store.
Best Store Bought Pizza Dough
- Signature Cafe Traditional Pizza Dough
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This refrigerated dough from Albertsons brand stores comes in a bag, ready for you to turn it inside out and slap it right in the pan. As a dough, it stretched easily into shape without sticking to itself (or my hands), and cooked into a light, air-filled pizza crust. It definitely hits the mark of “traditional” as it tastes exactly as you’d expect a pizza crust to taste like. But sometimes, all you want is the basic option for good store bought pizza dough. And this pizza definitely delivers. — Jon Gutierrez
Credit: Merc / Albertsons
- Signature Cafe White Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
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Another refrigerated bag dough from Albertsons brand stores, this one turned out to be very similar to the previous premade pizza (easy to spread, good rise), only with a whole wheat crust that gave the pizza a fresh, healthy taste. (And yeah, I know it’s not really healthier than the rest of the dough, but years of indoctrination of “whole wheat equals healthy” has definitely affected my taste buds. Also, I spent a week eating a ton of pizzas, so what do I know about “healthy living?”) So, if you like freshly baked whole wheat bread, you’ll like the extra layer of flavor this dough gives you. — Jon Gutierrez
Credit: Merc / Albertsons
- Wholly Gluten Free Dough Ball
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If have any kind of food allergies, this frozen pizza dough ball is probably the one for you, as it’s listed as: “wheat free, dairy free (casein & lactose), egg free, soy free, peanut free, tree nut free, sesame seed free, fish free, and shellfish free.” But even more impressive is that, unlike many gluten free pizza doughs, this one was pretty easy to roll out and barely stuck to my hands. Also, the crust had a good rise and it manages to avoid the “cracker crust” that a lot of gluten free pizza crusts have, with a springy doughy crust that is pretty close to the real thing. (My wife has a gluten allergy, so I’ve eaten a lot of gluten free pizzas.) And, most importantly, it’s just plain tasty, which is pretty impressive for a big ball of rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch. Not only is it the best gluten free pizza dough, but it’s some of the best store bought pizza dough, period. — Jon Gutierrez
Credit: Merc / Sprouts
- Home Chef Pizza Dough
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Another refrigerated bag dough, this Kroger brand premade pizza dough was another one that was easy to stretch and made a nice thick crust. But it earned its high place in this ranking because of its flavor, which had a sharp, yeasty tang to it, with a hint of sourdough. Now, that might’ve been because I left it in the fridge for a little longer than I should have, but, whether or not it was because of laziness, it baked into a uniquely tasty crust that added some extra flavor to the pizza. — Jon Gutierrez
Credit: Merc / Ralphs
- Kroger Ready to Bake Pizza Crust
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This refrigerated tube pizza dough from Kroger gave me two big surprises. The first was the sheer size of the “pop” as I was unrolling it. But after I caught my breath and picked the tube up off the ground, I got my second surprise: It made the single best pizza of my taste test. This store bought pizza dough was very easy to stretch, although I barely needed to, as it unrolled into roughly the size of the pan. And the dough’s pre-rolled thickness ended up giving it the best bake of the bunch, with a crunchy crust and a nicely browned base and no hint of doughy sogginess. And finally, the taste didn’t disappoint, giving all the fresh bread flavor I normally associate with the finest restaurant breadsticks. (Yeah, I’m pretty basic.) Say what you will about the sheer number of stores Kroger owns, but one perk is that you can probably find the best grocery store pizza dough near you. — Jon Gutierrez
Credit: Merc / Ralphs
Best Classic Crust
Best Whole Wheat
Best Gluten Free Dough
Best Almost Sourdough
Best of the Best
Best Premade Pizza Crust
- Boboli Original Crust
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As I age swifty and severely, my doctor and digestive system will be happy to hear that there are great pizza crusts out there that come in sizes smaller than 16”. Shoutout to Boboli for understanding that not everyone has families to share large pizzas with, OKAY? Boboli’s 8” rounds are more reasonable for a serving or two. This is the best store bought pizza crust for people who are just trying to fill their stomachs and not their hearts. The crust doesn’t have a ton of flavor on its own, but that’s nothing a great sauce and cheese can’t fix. The real selling point, besides the convenient size, is the delightful texture. This crust has the perfect level of chew that feels substantial without being rubbery.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Boboli Thin Crust
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I took this premade pizza crust out of the package and felt lied to. It wasn’t thin. In fact, it was as thick, if not thicker than the Boboli original. But it’s a different story after baking. It’s actually considerably lighter than the original crust. That said, it won’t give you a cracker-thin crust crunch—it’s fairly fluffy—but it’s got a classic, simple flavor and won’t weigh you down if you have an extra slice or two.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Brooklyn Bred Pizza Crust
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As someone who views pizza crust as simply a holder, and leaves it for the birds or bread-loving friends, I can confidently say that even I genuinely enjoyed eating this straight. It’s just good, flavorful bread. It’s nutty, toasty, and pleasantly chewy. It’s got the slightest tang but not anything to rival sourdough, and a beautiful salt level. The bubbles are crispy, the underbelly is pleasantly chewy. Although it’s great as a pizza crust, I would almost rather eat this on its own. Honorable mention for this category goes to Stonefire Artisan Thin crust, which had all the same flavor and texture merits, just one notch lower than Brooklyn Bred.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
Best Crust for a Personal Pizza
Best Crust for Thin Crust
Best Premade Pizza Crust
Other premade pizza doughs we tried:
- Manini’s Gluten Free Pizza Dough
- Pillsbury Classic Crust Pizza Crust
- Whole Foods Market Pizza Dough
Other premade pizza crust brands we tried:
Schar Pizza Crust
Pillsbury Mini Crusts
Mama Mary’s Thin and Crispy Pizza Crust
Mama Mary’s Original Pizza Crust
Stonefire Pizza Crust
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Justine Sterling
Jordan Myrick
