Trader Joe’s Frozen Pizza, Ranked

Trader Joe’s pizza has a dedicated fandom—and rightfully so, for the most part. Trader Joe’s frozen pizza is usually pretty great and affordable. It’s one of the things you should actually be buying at Trader Joe’s, along with niche snacks and bagged salads. And there’s a pretty big selection, too. You can get everything from BBQ chicken pizza to fried pizza to mini pizzas! 

But there’s definitely a Trader Joe’s frozen pizza hierarchy—some are far superior to others. On a recent afternoon, I monopolized the office oven and cooked up 13 different Trader Joe’s frozen pizzas in order to find the very best Trader Joe’s frozen pizza. Here they all are (Trader Joe’s flatbread pizza included), ranked from worst to best.


Trader Joe's Mushroom & Black Truffle Flatbread

Mushroom & Black Truffle

Mushroom & Black Truffle Flatbread

This might be ranked at the bottom, but honestly this Trader Joe’s mushroom pizza is pretty darn good. It has a subtle truffle flavor—so many truffled products are way over truffled—and finely diced mushroom topping (which takes the place of a sauce) is pleasantly earthy. I wish there was more cheese and more flavor in general. But it would be a perfectly acceptable appetizer at a dinner party—perhaps drizzled in some flavorful olive oil, a scattering of chopped parsley, and fresh grated parm.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

5/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza

Gluten-Free Pepperoni

Gluten-Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza

The cauliflower crust on this Trader Joe’s gluten-free pizza is surprisingly good. It doesn’t taste like cauliflower at all. It just tastes like a fairy plain, somewhat under-seasoned regular crust. Along with the uncured pepperoni (uncured just means the pepperoni were made without any synthetic nitrates or nitrites), the pizza is topped with bell peppers, red onion, and black olives. A classic combo—but the bell pepper flavor is far too present. It permeates every bite. The pepperoni is thin and spicy, though, and that’s what this pizza should be all about. This is a middle of the road Trader Joe’s pepperoni pizza for me, but if you’re in it for the gluten-free factor and don’t mind a lot of bell pepper flavor, this could be the Trader Joe’s frozen pizza for you.

Related: Best Frozen Gluten-Free Pizza

Credit: Merc

Rating:

5.5/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's Spizzico di Pizza

Spizzico di Pizza

Spizzico di Pizza

Trader Joe’s mini pizzas are like Trader Joe’s pizza bites. They’re like if Bagel Bites had a baby with a flaky pastry. They’re Bagel Bites for grown-ups—kinda. They still have that same gloopy, sweet tomato sauce but the cheese is much better. I’d happily serve these as a snack during a game day party next to some wings with a side of ranch

Credit: Merc

Rating:

6/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's Cheese & Tomato Pizza Family Size

Cheese & Tomato

Cheese & Tomato Pizza Family Size

This is big. It is savory. (Sometimes frozen pizza tomato sauce can be sweet, but that’s not the case at all with this big boy.) And it gets crispy fast, so be sure to watch the time. It’s a totally acceptable pizza for family pizza night. But it’s definitely a great blank canvas for your choice of toppings

Related: Best Frozen Cheese Pizza

Credit: Merc

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's Pizza Margherita

Margherita

Pizza Margherita

Here’s the thing, Trader Joe’s margherita pizza is good. It’s wonderfully savory with thick, gooey cheese and sauce that ends on a tangy, tomato-y note. But there are just better Trader Joe’s pizzas out there. There’s even a better Trader Joe’s cheese pizza. Still, if you have your heart set on the more Italian sounding margherita pizza over a cheese pizza, then this is a perfectly fine option.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's Bambino Pepperoni Pizza

Bambino Pepperoni

Bambino Pepperoni Pizza

I wrote in my notes that this Trader Joe’s mini pizza was “perfect for a six year old.” By that I mean the crust is doughy. The sauce is savory. The pepperoni is mild. And the size is smaller than a personal pan pizza but bigger than a Spizzico di Pizza. Following this taste test, we, the Sporked staff, have enjoyed a Trader Joe’s Bambino pizza or two for lunch in the office. I would recommend you also keep a box of them in your work freezer.  

Related: All the Totino’s Pizza Roll Flavors, Ranked

Credit: Merc

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's Organic Roasted Vegetable Pizza

Organic Roasted Vegetable

Organic Roasted Vegetable Pizza

We’ve waxed poetic about this vegetable pizza before. It came in on top of our best frozen veggie pizza taste test. It is just so flavorful and the vegetables don’t immediately turn to mush. The eggplant spears, in particular, are quite well-seasoned and delicious. And the cheese sauce adds a ton of zest and creaminess. Hot tip: Turn the oven to broil right at the end to really make sure the veggies roast up right.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's Shrimp & Garlic Flatbread

Shrimp & Garlic

Shrimp & Garlic Flatbread

This new Trader Joe’s flatbread pizza tastes like shrimp scampi pizza. The little shrimp come out tender and firm—not mushy at all. And the overall flavor is bright and garlicky and herby and even a little tangy. The crust is somewhere between standard pizza crust and flaky tart crust. While a whole one of these would be a lot to consume, a couple of slices and a crisp salad would make for a lovely light dinner, or it would also be great cut up into little squares and passed out at a cocktail party.

Related: Best Frozen White Pizza

Credit: Merc

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's BBQ Chicken Pizza

BBQ Chicken

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I’ll just come out and say it: Trader Joe’s BBQ chicken pizza tastes more like an in-restaurant California Pizza Kitchen BBQ chicken pizza than a frozen CPK BBQ chicken pizza. The BBQ sauce is sweet but not too sweet, it’s tangy but not too tangy. The chicken tastes like real chicken. And there are little bits of onion that really put it over the edge into delicious town, population you and this pizza.

Related: All the Best California Pizza Kitchen Products, Ranked

Credit: Merc

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic & Pesto Pizza with Deep Fried Crust

Roasted Garlic & Pesto

Roasted Garlic & Pesto Pizza with Deep Fried Crust

Why isn’t all pizza deep fried? That’s what you’ll be asking yourself after you try this Trader Joe’s pizza. The crust is the real star here. It’s doughy and stretchy and crispy all at once. The cheese does its job being gooey cheese. The pesto does its job being salty and savory. The garlic is not as noticeable as I would like—but that really doesn’t matter because this unique pizza is a decadent delight as is. It’s different from any other Trader Joe’s frozen pizza you’ll try.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's 3 Cheese Pizza

3 Cheese

3 Cheese Pizza

This is the best Trader Joe’s cheese pizza. You might not have high expectations from the picture on the box, which looks like something off a pizza parlor menu from the ‘90s, but it is so good. The sauce is wonderfully thick and tomato-y and the cheese is stretchy and gooey. There’s a really good amount of oregano in the sauce that takes this to the next level. The crust is puffy—almost DiGiorno-esque—and you get a thick pool of cheese in the middle. It’s the perfect Trader Joe’s pizza to bake up and eat while watching some schlocky movie on TV. This is sleepover pizza!

Credit: Merc

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's Vegetarian Meatless Cheeseburger Pizza

Meatless Cheeseburger

Vegetarian Meatless Cheeseburger Pizza

I can’t believe how much this Trader Joe’s vegan pizza tastes like a McDonald’s cheeseburger! You’d never know it was fake meat. And you’d never expect pickles to be so good on pizza. This is Trader Joe’s really doing what Trader Joe’s does best. It’s a unique, weird product that they have executed extremely well. You’ll buy it once out of curiosity but you’ll come back again because it’s just so darn good. 

Related: Best Vegan Frozen Pizza

Credit: Merc

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Trader Joe's Uncured Pepperoni Pizza

Uncured Pepperoni

Uncured Pepperoni Pizza

The best Trader Joe’s frozen pizza is this Trader Joe’s pepperoni pizza. The cheese and the peps are spread almost all the way to the edge of the crust and there is even more cheese sprinkled onto the pepperoni slices, which helps keep them in place. Brilliant! The sauce is bright and zingy, which complements the spicy, zesty pepperoni. What little crust exists is puffy and well-seasoned—no bland bits of bread here! This is simply a great pepperoni pizza and the best of all the Trader Joe’s frozen pizzas we tried.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Want more? Check out our list of the best frozen pizza you can buy beyond Trader Joe’s shelves.


About the Author

Justine Sterling

Justine Sterling is the editor-in-chief of Sporked. She has been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and is an avid at-home cook and snacker. Don’t worry, she’s not a food snob. Sure, she loves a fresh-shucked oyster. But she also will leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and loves a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients.