15 Clever Yet Simple Ways To Upgrade Bland Frozen Pizza

When it comes to dinners that are quick and convenient, frozen pizza may top the list. After all, it comes in plenty of varieties, with different styles of crust, and in various sizes. Plus, it's pizza, so it's always a crowd-pleaser. It's a hands-off, economical, and easy option after a crazy work week or when you simply can't be bothered to break out a cutting board and actually cook something.

However, sometimes frozen pizza can fall a bit flat on the flavor front. The processes required to bring it to your grocery store freezer can leave it tasting a bit bland, which can be especially disappointing when you're looking to satisfy your pizza craving (and don't want to shell out for delivery fees). Instead of sadly chewing on a so-so slice, give any of these simple upgrades a try. From using what you already have around the kitchen to some simple cooking swaps, here are some surefire ways you can transform that humble pie into a delicious creation.

Sometimes that meat lover's pizza you picked up isn't quite meaty enough. There's nothing more frustrating for the avid pizza lover than to scoop up a pie and discover that the meat is severely lacking, especially if you paid a premium price for it.

To fix this abysmal showing of meat, you'll have to raid your own fridge. Dig into your deli drawer and scrounge up your preferred cured meats. Perhaps you have them left over from a charcuterie board or your usual lunchtime sandwich, but they're getting reinvented at your next pizza topping. While you could add extra pepperoni if you feel your pie doesn't have enough, why not get a little creative? Salty, buttery prosciutto, spicy soppressata, or herbaceous salami can all add some extra flavor to a lackluster pizza.

Take a trip to Italy without leaving your kitchen by amping up the flavor of a frozen pie with a drizzle of good quality olive oil. While extra virgin olive oil isn't always the ideal choice for every time oil is called for in cooking, it really shines here.

To preserve the best flavor of your olive oil, add it right when your pizza has come out of the oven. Drizzle it lightly all over the pizza to ensure there's a taste in every bite, but without allowing it to become a soggy mess. You can also keep some extra oil on the side for dipping, perhaps with a few drops of balsamic vinegar for a wonderfully silky, tangy bite. No crusts will go to waste with this easy upgrade!

Speaking of olive oil, we love using infused versions to wake up a bland frozen pizza (as well as using it to elevate store-bought soup). In particular, we're a fan of chili oil. Infused with chili peppers or chili flakes, chili oil can usually be found at specialty grocery stores, or you can make your own right at home.

For this upgrade, we like to drizzle a hearty amount of chili oil after our pizza is out of the oven. Even for those who have a low spice tolerance, chili oil can be a mild way to add some extra kick to a ho-hum pizza. Use as much or as little as you like for a pizza that's guaranteed to be tastier than the boring old factory version. And be sure to save some on the side for dipping your crust!

Rory Gilmore was onto something when she grated a wedge of Parmesan cheese onto boring frozen pizza at a snowed-in Friday night dinner with her grandparents. The extra hit of savory umami provides some deliciously complex notes to a so-so slice. Extra cheese is always a good idea, and when have we ever stopped a server from giving us extra Parm at a restaurant? (Never, that's when.)

To make the most of this upgrade, be sure to use the real stuff found in the cheese section of your local grocery store — sold in wedges — and grate it yourself. Avoid the dry version found in a shaker container found on the shelves, as it won't have the same effect or flavor. (If your store doesn't have Parmesan, Pecorino Romano or even Asiago will do.)

They're called pizza stones for a reason, and yes, even the humble frozen kind can benefit from getting an upgrade by being cooked on this culinary tool. If crust is your favorite part of your pie, then baking your pizza on a pizza stone might be the hack you've been waiting for. Flimsy, underbaked, and burnt crusts are banished by using one of these. They're especially useful if your oven can be a bit temperamental with its temperature, since the pizza stone helps to concentrate the heat in one area. The result is a wonderfully crispy crust with a beautiful bite –– no soggy bottoms here!

To properly use a pizza stone, preheat the oven with the stone inside to get it nice and hot, then slide the pizza onto it. If you don't have a pizza stone, you can also use an oiled cast iron skillet. It will work similarly to help caramelize the crust and provide a richer depth of flavor.

Frozen pizza can run the risk of tasting, well, frozen, even after it's been baked. While dried herbs are all well and good in the sauce that's already on your pizza, fresh herbs add a potent burst of flavor that really brightens up a pie.

Stick with the Italian cuisine from which your pizza is borne and go with similar fragrant herbs, like fresh basil and oregano. These herbs are milder, more delicate, and are commonly found on pies sold in pizzerias. You can simply tear them (or chop them, if you want to do the extra work) and sprinkle them on top of your pie. Be sure to add them after your pizza has finished baking, or when it's almost done. Adding these herbs too early could cause them to burn, giving them a bitter, acrid taste you definitely don't want to eat.

If you're a fan of all things "swicy" –– that's "sweet and spicy" for the uninitiated –– hot honey is the miracle condiment for you. In addition to livening up a grilled cheese, this popular flavoring can help amp up even the most basic of pizzas. In fact, plenty of pizza restaurants have caught on to the popularity of hot honey and have begun crafting recipes using it on their pies, so you know you're in good company with this hack.

Swirl on some hot honey after your pie has finished baking and dig into this drool-worthy upgrade. While hot honey is a delicious addition on pretty much any kind of pizza, we find it shines the most on pies that are loaded with heavier, saltier ingredients, as it cuts through the richness. Think: pepperoni, extra cheese, meat lovers, and supreme pizza varieties.

If you haven't been dipping your pizza –– or at least your crust –– what have you been doing your whole life? If you're guilty of leaving behind the crusts after chowing down on a slice of 'za, it's because you haven't found the right dip for it yet.

From creamy garlic to hearty marinara, you don't need to rely on products exclusively labelled as pizza dip to indulge in them. In fact, any sauce in your fridge can become a dip, so long as you're creative enough –– or bold enough –– to give it a try. Salad dressings, barbecue sauces, pasta sauces, and even chip dips can be reinvented into something to dip your crust into. Mosey on over to your fridge the next time you're baking a frozen pie and see what you have on your shelves that could be given new life as a pizza accoutrement. You never know what may prove the most delicious sauce to upgrade your crust.

Even veggie pizzas can be seriously lacking in the veggie department. You open the box expecting a cornucopia of produce and wind up with a few peppers and a lone mushroom instead. To combat a lack of veggies, you simply have to chop up and season some of your own.

Zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and more are all welcome additions to a veggie pizza that doesn't live up to its name. Allow whatever's in your crisper draw to inspire you. Cook your veggies lightly in a pan with some oil and seasonings before spreading them across your frozen pie. Cooking them beforehand will ensure the water doesn't evaporate in the oven, leaking into your pizza and leaving you with a soggy mess. Then, place your pizza in the oven and bake according to the package instructions. When done, dig into that veggie- and vitamin-packed goodness.

For a true taste of a trattoria, use luscious burrata. Offering cheesy one-two punch, burrata is composed of loose stracciatella encased in a mozzarella shell. It's a young, mild cheese with a fresh, milky flavor that can freshen up the pizza that's been near-fossilized in the back of your freezer.

To properly use this creamy cheese on a frozen pizza, you'll want to add it a minute or two before the pizza is done. Since this cheese is so young and elastic, it could end up bursting and burning, ruining your culinary creation. Instead, adding it at the end allows it to warm slightly but not melt or get runny. Once your pizza is done, use a sharp knife to slice open the burrata and spread the beautiful stracciatella and mozzarella all over your pie. If you'd like to season your burrata for extra flavor, you can do that, too. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt and a grind or two of black pepper are all you need to elevate this simple cheese.

If the crust is your favorite part, you'll want to make sure you don't leave it behind on the tray. Too often, frozen pizza crusts can bake up tough, chewy, or dry. If you want to get the most bang for your buck by consuming the whole pizza, rather than leaving half of it behind, you'll want to use this simple upgrade –– because even frozen 'za deserves to get a little dressed up.

Before baking, use a pastry brush to brush your pizza with olive oil or melted butter. Either one will add flavor and moisture to a boring crust. Then, you'll want to amp things up even more by adding seasoning. Crushed chili peppers, Parmesan cheese, and dried herbs or garlic powder can really level up the taste of a frozen crust. If you want to really get gourmet, we suggest brushing your pizza with olive oil or butter immediately before placing in the oven. Then, about two thirds through your cooking time, remove the pizza, give it another brush of oil or butter, and sprinkle on your seasoning of choice. This allows the flavors to meld properly and enhance the crust without burning.

Has there ever been too much cheese on a pizza? We think not. While we've already suggested the sophisticated additions of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and creamy burrata to elevate a frozen pie, this upgrade is for those who want more cheese, all the time.

See what you have on hand in your fridge and go to town by grating it over your frozen pizza. Cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, fontina — they can all bring an extra savory, salty flavor profile to your pie. You can even get more creative –– and daring –– by adding cheeses like Brie, blue, or goat cheese to customize your pie. Whatever cheese you like (or, more accurately, whatever cheese you have on hand) can add some rich indulgence and complexity to a simple frozen pizza. Allow your taste buds to decide what cheese reigns supreme when it comes to hacking your frozen pie.

When it comes to cooking a frozen pizza, sometimes the directions on the back of the box operate more as guidelines than hard-and-fast rules. If you bemoan a softer, sloppier crust and prefer to crisp things up, crank your oven up to its maximum temperature and cook your pizza for a shorter amount of time. This way, your toppings will still get cooked through, but your crust will have more of a snappy, toothsome feel –– ideal for those who are thin crust purists. 

While no replacement for an authentic stone-fired pizza cooked in a traditional pizza oven, it does add some extra oomph. This upgrade does require a more hands-on approach to cooking. You'll want to keep an eye on your pie to make sure it doesn't burn and end up inedible.

Looking for a way to add some freshness to a frozen pie? Alongside cooked veggies, fresh veggies can work wonders when added to a store-bought pizza. In particular, leafy greens like arugula add some punchiness that really takes frozen pies to the next level. Its fresh, peppery flavor can bolster lackluster pizzas while also adding a nice pop of color. Truly, it is an underrated, elite pizza topping.

A generous pile of arugula is a common pizza addition in Italy, and one that more people should be embracing on this side of the pond. Plus, it's a way to get your veggies in while still eating pizza, so it's definitely a win-win. We like pairing arugula with prosciutto on our pizzas after they've finished baking for a more gourmet take on your standard frozen pie.

Have you ever slid your pizza from the box only to find that all the toppings have shifted to one side? This tends to happen with frozen pepperoni pizzas when the toppings have clustered to one edge and left the rest of the pie bereft of the spicy, savory meat. Instead of simply leaving your pizza like that and cooking it as-is, you can be the change you want to see in the world — and in your frozen pizza.

Allow your pizza to warm up on your counter just a bit, enough for you to be able to pluck up the toppings and move them around as you see fit. (Operate even more efficiently by allowing you to preheat your oven while the pizza thaws.) This upgrade requires zero extra ingredients, only a little bit of time and patience. Finally, there is equality (as in, equally-topped slices) for all!