6 Best Frozen Pizzas From Costco

Costco is a treasure trove of fun and oftentimes unique finds, whether you're looking for electronics, clothes, furniture, or nifty appliances. Of course, there's also the food section, which alone boasts a seemingly endless supply of produce, meat, sushi, snacks, condiments, and perhaps most importantly of all, pizza. We all know and love Costco's food court pizza, but the warehouse chain also offers a steady rotation of frozen pizzas which, in true Costco style, come large and in bulk.

As someone who is both a Costco and pizza lover, I set out to determine which of Costco's frozen pizzas is the best (and is therefore worth taking up an entire shelf in your freezer). As expected, Costco's frozen section is consistently stocked with Kirkland brand pizzas, but there are also a couple of other brands in the mix to keep things interesting — and perhaps even dethrone Kirkland? Costco also offers an impressive amount of gluten-free frozen pizzas (three out of the six that I tried had gluten-free crusts), so it's safe to say that several dietary restrictions are accommodated for here (except vegan options, sorry vegans). 

But just because something is available doesn't mean it's good, so I put each pizza to the taste test to see which crusts, cheeses, and toppings stood out above the rest. When considering each pizza, I paid close attention to crusts that had a good balance between softness and crispiness without being doughy, and toppings that really stood out (whether it be that the toppings themselves were particularly tasty, or there was just a lot of them on the pizza). I also just generally considered which pizzas tasted best and which ones left a lasting impression overall.

While I am a lover of nearly any toppings on a pizza — including pineapple and anchovies — I also can't resist a classic slice of cheese. There's something so quintessential about cheese pizza, as it doesn't try too hard and it doesn't get overly complicated or bogged down by toppings. And, considering that I love a good slice of cheese pizza from Costco's food court, I thought for sure that Kirkland's frozen cheese pizza would be a huge hit in my kitchen.

Alas, I was sorely disappointed by this cheese pizza. Let's start with the crust: It was overly doughy and lacked any sort of crispiness whatsoever. And before anyone questions if I cooked the pizza long enough, I surely did follow the package instructions — and I even put the pizza back in the oven for a couple of minutes once I realized how doughy the crust still was. Unfortunately, even extra bake time didn't help. A slice of Kirkland's cheese pizza felt more like a disappointing doughy mess than anything else.

Crust aside, I also just wasn't wowed by the other elements of the pizza. The sauce was your typical marinara, the cheese was lackluster, and without any toppings to possibly redeem this pie in any way, I knew that this cheese pizza would (sadly) have to come in last place in this ranking.

I promise that I don't have it out for cheese pizza. The only other plain cheese option on this list, Sabatasso's gluten-free four-cheese pizza, wasn't a whole lot better than the Kirkland one. That said, it was at least a little bit better, and there are a few crucial reasons why this one was able to edge out the Kirkland option.

For starters, the crust wasn't nearly as doughy on this one, which I can only imagine is due to the fact that it's gluten-free. However, it did still lack a certain crispness that the other gluten-free pizza crusts did have, perhaps because the other gluten-free pizzas had cauliflower crusts, whereas this one did not. I almost look for that distinct hardness in a gluten-free pie, and this one really didn't have that crispy factor, which may be a good thing for those gluten-free folks who want to enjoy pizza that's a little bit on the softer side.

Another reason why this pizza was slightly better than the Kirkland cheese pizza was thanks to the cheese, or rather the assortment of four cheeses: mozzarella, fontina, Parmesan, and Asiago. Could I really detect notes of each distinct cheese when eating a slice? No, not really, but there definitely was a little complexity going on. Ultimately, however, this just tasted like another lackluster cheese pizza; it's nothing abhorrently offensive, but nothing to return to Costco over either.

While I typically favor a slice of cheese over pepperoni when it comes to Costco's food court, I found the opposite to be true with Kirkland's frozen pizzas. Though Kirkland's pepperoni pizza certainly wasn't my favorite of all the options on this list, it's a huge step up from the cheese one, making this a true middle-ground option.

Although the crust on this pizza was still a tad bit doughy for my taste, it was much-improved from the cheese one, and there were definitely some crunchy bites to help contrast all that softness. Also, I really appreciated that this thing came absolutely loaded with pepperoni. There's nothing worse than buying a frozen pepperoni pizza from the store only to come home and find that there are, at best, five errant pepperonis on the whole pie. With Kirkland's pizza, it's more like five pepperonis per slice, and that's the kind of pork distribution I can get behind.

Ultimately, Kirkland's frozen pepperoni pizza didn't blow me away, but it definitely didn't leave me disappointed either. Pepperoni pizza is a delicious, iconic, and classic pie that you can't go wrong with, but it does become a bit one-dimensional in flavor, which is why I consider this one a good, but not great, option.

Calling all gluten-free vegetarians out there — Costco not only has a pizza for you in the frozen section, but it has a pizza for you that tastes pretty darn good, too. We've already established that I'm a sucker for a crispier crust as opposed to a doughy one, and boy did Milton's roasted vegetable pizza, which comes on a cauliflower crust, deliver on crispiness. Though I haven't dabbled too much in the world of cauliflower pizza crusts, I was thoroughly impressed by this one, not only for crispiness but also because it tasted like a classic crust that might have been made with flour.

While the crust certainly sang to me on this one, the toppings' song is not something to be overlooked either. I love a good veggie pizza, and this one came adorned with zucchini, an assortment of bell peppers, and onions. The toppings were tasty and offered up a nice fresh flair to contrast all of that oily, cheesy goodness. My only caveat is that this pizza could've piled on those beautiful veggies even more — like Kirkland's heavy-handed style, essentially — but from what veggies I did taste and enjoy, I had no complaints. 

Who doesn't love a good supreme pizza? It's great when you can't decide on what toppings you want, you're a big fan of the classics, and you want a little bit of everything on your slice. For those unaware, a supreme pizza typically includes both pepperoni and sausage along with veggies like peppers, onion, or mushrooms, and, of course, plenty of cheese. Kirkland's supreme pizza, which comes on a cauliflower crust, included these toppings, and it was about as successful as I imagine a frozen supreme pizza could get.

The cauliflower crust was another winner. If offers up enough body to handle the hefty assortment of toppings while still retaining a delightful crunch. The toppings were the real star of the show here, with the pepperoni and sausage providing a super rich, salty, meaty flair, and the roasted vegetables contrasting with a more mellow, juicy, and earthy flavor profile. 

Another thing that made this pizza such a success wasn't just the toppings themselves, but rather the sheer amount of toppings that were on the pizza. Again, Kirkland proved that it doesn't skimp on pizza toppings, so not only did this one taste delicious, but it really felt like good bang for your buck thanks to the fact that the entire pie was adequately covered in meat and veggies.

There were some pizzas on this list that left me utterly disappointed, whereas there were others that left me thoroughly satisfied — but just one blew me away, and that was the Motor City Pizza Co.'s double pepperoni Detroit-style deep dish pizza. You think the name of this pizza is a mouthful? Try taking a bite of this absolutely loaded pie, which boasted a thick crust, lots of gooey cheese, and both pepperoni slices and chunks.

For those unfamiliar with Detroit-style pizza, it's a form of deep-dish pizza that's baked in an oiled-up, rectangular pan; the result is a pizza that has an impossibly crunchy, crispy, and caramelized crust — a true corner piece-lover's dream. This pizza definitely had that dreamy crust, and before anyone questions how I might love this pizza so much despite not loving super doughy crusts, it's simple. This pizza's crust hasn't too doughy, nor was it too crunchy. It truly had the perfect balance, making this the tastiest crust out of all of Costco's pizzas by far.

We can't overlook the pepperoni topping, either. Each and every bite is absolutely loaded with either a slice or chunk of pepperoni, and when you get a bite with caramelized crust, it really is about as delicious as it gets. It's no wonder this Detroit-style pizza has a cult following, and if there's one I'd return to Costco for time and time again, this would be it.

When ranking each of Costco's frozen pizza options, I naturally looked for which pizza I enjoyed the most. Right off the bat, it was clear that the Motor City Pizza Co. pizza was the one I objectively found the tastiest, but on a deeper level, it also checked all of the boxes that I think a pizza should. It was cheesy, had a crust that perfectly balanced doughiness and crispiness, and was absolutely loaded with pepperoni — it was a pretty clear first-place pie.

Less successful pizzas were those that had lackluster crusts or those that didn't have redeeming elements, like both of the cheese options. Neither of these pizzas had particularly stellar crusts, nor did they have any toppings to make them stand out. And, just having toppings wasn't necessarily enough either; I strongly favored the Kirkland supreme pizza, for example, as it not only had toppings, but it had a lot of those toppings on the pizza, which made it a success all-around.