I tried 12 frozen pizzas and flatbreads from Trader Joe’s and would buy most of them again

I tried 12 frozen pizzas from Trader Joe’s. Savanna Swain-Wilson I bought and reviewed all of the frozen pizzas and flatbreads that I could find at Trader Joe’s. I didn’t love the family-size cheese-and-tomato pizza or burrata, arugula, and prosciutto flatbread.

The chain’s garlic-and-pesto pizza is my favorite frozen pie of all time. It’s hard to deny the appeal of a good frozen pizza, and the impressive selection at Trader Joe’s really ups the game. There are gluten-free and vegetarian options as well as familiar classics like Margherita pizza and sophisticated tarts.

As a die-hard Trader Joe’s fan and pizza lover, I reviewed all of the chain’s frozen pies that I could find. The organic cheese-and-tomato pizza was far from the best optionThe cheese-and-tomato pizza from Trader Joe’s was pretty basic. Savanna Swain-WilsonThis bland, thin crust topped with a whisper of tomato sauce and cheese felt as if it should be served at a kids’ party.

It’s basic enough that even the pickiest child would eat it. The Emmental cheese made this pizza smell and taste off, and the other ingredients felt a bit cheap. The crust was a bit too thin.

Savanna Swain-WilsonThis option’s appeal is supposed to be in its value, but calling it family-size seemed like a stretch. Even though it looked large, it was barely satisfying for two adults since the thin crust wasn’t very filling. I’m not sure if it was worth $5.

99. VERDICT: Between the cracker-thin crust and disappointing sauce, this pizza left a lot to be desired. Unless you need something big enough to serve more than two people, I’d pass.

The organic 3-cheese pizza didn’t knock my socks off but would work as a base for other toppingsIt tasted like a basic cheese pizza. Savanna Swain-WilsonThis option was as basic as frozen pizza gets — mozzarella, Fontal, and a nondescript “aged cheese” on top of a simple tomato sauce and wheat crust that was decently chewy — so it was the most forgettable of the bunch. Still, this was of a marginally better quality compared with other frozen cheese pizzas I’ve had.

It smelled real, and the crust didn’t taste like cardboard, despite the dry ends. The premelted cheese was a bit tacky and didn’t give much of a satisfying pull, but the overall flavor wasn’t bad. I just wish the sauce had more seasoning.

Red-pepper flakes and hot sauce elevated the pie. Savanna Swain-WilsonFor $4. 79, it’s passable as a lunch or dinner for two.

Adding a few shakes of red-pepper flakes and hot sauce elevated the meal. This option would also make a good base for other toppings — some cooked mushrooms or red peppers would add a nice boost of flavor. VERDICT: I probably won’t buy this three-cheese pizza again, but I’d recommend it to anyone wanting a customizable, no-frills option.

The Margherita pizza practically tasted homemadeThe Margherita pizza was a tasty and affordable option. Savanna Swain-WilsonThe Trader Joe’s Margherita pizza had a great toppings-to-crust ratio and was flavorful enough on its own, though you can garnish it with fresh basil to make it seem more authentic. The sauce had a pleasantly bright, fresh-tomato flavor and was slightly thicker.

The acidity countered the creaminess from the cheese, making for a memorable and well-balanced bite. With some more garlic, it would be restaurant-quality. The ingredients mostly tasted fresh.

Savanna Swain-WilsonThe beautifully melted cheese had a slightly sweet flavor that paired nicely with the simple sauce. It didn’t taste fully fresh, but it was a step above shredded mozzarella. And the sparse dried basil didn’t pack the same punch as the fresh herb but still gave this pizza enough pizzazz.

VERDICT: Though this Margherita pizza wasn’t perfect, I would spend twice as much buying the ingredients to make it from scratch, so it’s worth having on hand. Though the brie-and-tomato tart was too rich to enjoy as a regular pizza, it’s still worth servingThe brie-and-tomato tart looked beautiful. Savanna Swain-WilsonThis is the kind of frozen dish you put out to impress people.

Brie on pizza was a new concept to me, and even though I would’ve preferred goat cheese, it still tasted good. The creamy French cheese and crème fraîche made for a decadent and yummy sauce, and the cherry tomatoes exploded with a vibrant, juicy sweetness that stole the show. The bits of dried basil across the top and in the crust tied together those sweet and rich flavors.

The brie-and-tomato tart would make for a good appetizer. Savanna Swain-WilsonOverall it was quite tasty, though the specific flavors were a bit intense for a standalone meal. My friend and I had only two slices each.

It would work better as an appetizer. Don’t make this on a foil sheet, however. I did, and the pastry crust was limp and soggy.

I fixed it by cooking it on the oven rack for a few minutes, but it would’ve been crispier if I had baked it like that from the start. VERDICT: Though this tart’s flavors were a bit intense, it would make a great brunch appetizer. I’d buy it again, but only for special occasions.

The burrata, arugula, and prosciutto flatbread sounded great but didn’t impressThis flatbread was too salty. Savanna Swain-WilsonMade with crème fraîche, arugula, prosciutto, and burrata, this flatbread sounded like something from the menu of a bougie cocktail bar. I had high hopes for the layered flavors since mascarpone, Fontal, and Pecorino Romano are also listed as ingredients, but the execution fell short.

The crust was a bit dense, and the toppings offered little variety since the prosciutto was soft and chewy and the arugula was mushy like cooked spinach. The salty flavors overpowered the burrata. Savanna Swain-WilsonThe overly salty flavor also lost me.

This prosciutto seemed saltier than usual. I tried to split it into tiny bits that wouldn’t overwhelm the other flavors, but each serving had me reaching for water. The crust — which tasted like a saltine cracker — and the other salty cheeses didn’t help and buried the rich burrata flavor.

I’m typically a big fan of arugula, but this batch lost its herbal, peppery quality after being frozen and reheated. The bitter flavor was more of a distraction than complementary. VERDICT: Despite the array of elegant ingredients, this flatbread got old after two bites, proving that some dishes shouldn’t be convenience food.

The crust on this cauliflower cheese pizza made for a convenient gluten-free mealThis pizza’s gluten-free crust is made of cauliflower. Savanna Swain-WilsonI appreciate that Trader Joe’s has a convenient pizza for gluten-intolerant shoppers. The chain has sold premade cauliflower crust for years, but this pie takes away all of the prep work.

This pizza boasts a basic combination of tomato and cheese on top of a cauliflower crust, so it’s vegetarian but also easy to dress up. The base cooked in about 12 minutes, but I’d leave it in for just a bit longer for the cheese to fully melt. The crust held up well and got quite crispy.

Savanna Swain-WilsonIt didn’t look that different from regular cheese pizza. The crust browned so well that it seemed like actual bread. Veggie-based crusts are often mushy or fall apart, but this one stayed intact until the last bite.

It was a bit chewy, yet not unpleasant. The cauliflower was detectable but didn’t overpower the other ingredients, and the addition of mozzarella in the dough made it more authentic. Compared with other gluten-free pizzas I’ve tried, this one was more flavorful and better constructed.

VERDICT: I wouldn’t go out of my way to get this again for me, but the Trader Joe’s cauliflower-crust pizza is a solid gluten-free alternative. Plus $4. 99 is a decent price.

A satisfying mix of pepperoni, Italian sausage, and roasted peppers made this Pizza Parlanno as good as takeoutThe Pizza Parlanno had a great mix of flavors. Savanna Swain-WilsonI don’t what “parlanno” means, but this was a fantastic frozen pizza nonetheless. A crowd-pleaser for meat eaters, this photogenic pizza was packed with a colorful melange of roasted red, yellow, and green peppers with bits of Italian sausage, onions, mozzarella, and pepperoni.

The toppings covered the entire pie, ensuring every bite was worthwhile. All of the flavors balanced one another out. Savanna Swain-WilsonAll of the components were balanced.

The pepperoni’s nice kick paired well with the pepper’s subtle sweetness. The sausage was milder, but there was already enough flavor on this pie. Every bite was the perfect combination of zesty, spicy, and cheesy.

Plus it was a fair amount of food for $5, sliceable into six midsize triangles or eight thin ones. VERDICT: I enjoyed every bite of this pizza and would gladly buy it again. For half what you’d pay at a restaurant, the Trader Joe’s barbecue-chicken pizza was a solid take on the West Coast classicThis option is great to have when you’re craving barbecue-chicken pizza.

Savanna Swain-WilsonThis pizza’s barbecue sauce tasted great and wasn’t overly sweet. The sprinkled bits of red onion added an extra pop of flavor to the even distribution of cheese and meat. It was missing the cilantro garnish that’s standard on barbecue pizza, but its flavor was still better than that of other frozen pies I’ve tried.

The Gouda brought out the smoky notes, and the chicken was surprisingly tender for being precooked. The barbecue sauce wasn’t too sweet, and the chicken was tender. Savanna Swain-WilsonI intended to just eat one or two slices for this taste test but ended up devouring four in one sitting.

The thin crust was a little dry and (understandably) had a freezer-food texture, but dousing the pizza in hot sauce or ranch would help. VERDICT: For $4. 79, this was a solid, budget-friendly alternative to takeout.

Just add some chopped cilantro to make it taste like the real deal. The Trader Joe’s meat-lover’s vegan pizza had potential, but the toppings left me with mixed feelingsI wasn’t a fan of this pizza’s meatless pepperoni. Savanna Swain-WilsonThis option features a regular wheat crust topped with vegan mozzarella, Italian-flavored soy chorizo (not to be confused with the chain’s award-winning Soyrizo), and faux Italian sausage and pepperoni.

As a former vegetarian, I appreciate seeing more plant-based options, but I don’t understand the point of this one. Most pizzas are already vegetarian and can easily be made vegan; plus, when I followed that diet I didn’t exactly want to be reminded of what I couldn’t eat. I don’t understand the point of fake meat on vegan pizzas.

Savanna Swain-WilsonVegan cheese doesn’t melt easily, so it was tricky to tell when this pizza was finished baking. Even after 12 to 15 minutes, it didn’t quite look done. The cheese had a slight sweetness that reminded me it’s not real dairy, but it was passable when paired with the other ingredients.

I had mixed feelings about the other toppings, though. The meat alternatives at Trader Joe’s are typically reliable, but the vegan pepperoni was off-putting. Thankfully the faux sausage was much better, and the soy chorizo added a yummy kick.

I prefer my vegan pizza with vegetables like peppers or onions, but overall the other toppings still redeemed the disappointing pepperoni. VERDICT: This is one of the tastier plant-based options I’ve tried. It’s a little pricey for a frozen pizza but pretty reasonable for a dinner with vegan ingredients, so it’s worth trying.

This exquisite, French-style Tarte d’Alsace tasted like something from a high-end restaurantThe Tarte d’Alsace is topped with caramelized onions and ham. Savanna Swain-WilsonThis may not be a pizza in the traditional sense, but it’s time we expand our horizons — or at least make an exception for this flatbread. It sports a twisted pastry crust in lieu of standard bread and is topped with caramelized onions and matchstick cuts of ham over a bed of crème fraîche and Gruyère.

It tasted as delightful as it sounds. The creamy base was rich and buttery, with a subtle tang that was more interesting than regular mozzarella, yet not pungent. The toppings were plentiful.

Savanna Swain-WilsonTrader Joe’s was generous with the toppings, so every bite was substantial. The ham was perfectly salty, and I loved how the caramelized onions added a savory sweetness to the dish. This cost $4.

70 and was as tasty as some items I’ve ordered at restaurants, plus it’s only slightly smaller than the chain’s regular pizza lineup. It cooked in just eight to 10 minutes, so it’s great for a last-minute meal or appetizer. It turned out best baked directly on the rack.

VERDICT: This option was 10/10. I’m close to buying all of the boxes at my local Trader Joe’s. This Tarte aux Champignons exploded with a delectable, savory flavorThe Tarte aux Champignons features a creamy sauce with mushrooms.

Savanna Swain-WilsonI had a good feeling about this tart from the moment I saw it, and it thankfully didn’t disappoint. For just $4. 79, it had all the makings of a gourmet pizza, with a luscious sauce of Emmental and crème fraîche and finely chopped mushrooms on top of a pastry crust.

The savory and creamy nuances balanced well, and the hint of Parmesan added just enough salt to make me anticipate each bite. I ate half of this tart in one sitting. Savanna Swain-WilsonThe bits of parsley flecked across the top were also a nice touch that added a pop of greenery.

Despite all of the dairy, this thin, flaky flatbread was light. I devoured half of it in a single sitting, and given the chance, I’d do it again. VERDICT: If you want something that’s equal parts sophisticated and satisfying, look no further than this flatbread.

The garlic-and-pesto pie seriously changed the frozen-pizza gameThe garlic-and-pesto pizza is my favorite. Savanna Swain-WilsonI’ve previously written about my love for this garlic-and-pesto pizza, and I can confidently say it’s in a league of its own. For less than $5, you get something that seems as if it were hand-tossed and baked in an Italian café.

It smelled incredible and tasted even better. The flavors were wonderfully balanced. Savanna Swain-WilsonAll of the ingredients tasted great, and the deep-fried, Naples-style crust gave it a standout artisan quality.

The combination of mozzarella, Parmesan, burrata, and provolone made for just the right mix of creamy, slightly sweet, and salty. Plus the cashew pesto and aromatic bits of roasted garlic were sublime. VERDICT: If I could buy only one frozen pizza for the rest of my life, it would be this one.

Click to keep reading other Trader Joe’s taste tests in this series. Read the original article on Insider.