Frozen pizza is an easy meal that many enjoy. Understandably, it is something many of us reach for in the grocery store, as frozen pizza is usually cheap, quickly prepared, and tastes pretty good as well. But how healthy is frozen pizza?
Being fast food, frozen pizza is not the healthiest food option available. Many frozen pizzas contain high amounts of fat and sodium, are rich in calories, and have many additives. Luckily, healthier frozen pizzas are out there, so you don’t have to completely cut them out of your life.
Read on if you want to learn more about the health impacts of frozen pizza, which brands are considered healthier than others, and how frozen pizza compares to fresh, homemade pizza.
Is Frozen Pizza Considered Healthy?
While frozen pizza will never be as healthy as a salad, it does have some health benefits. According to the USDA, pizza can contain around 37% of your daily calcium intake and 30% of your daily fiber intake.
Both of which are essential nutrients for your body.
However, there are good reasons why you shouldn’t eat frozen pizza on a daily basis.
While this type of food contains high amounts of calcium and fiber, it also includes many ingredients that are not very healthy.
According to Healthline, one serving (1/3 pizza) of Red Baron’s frozen pepperoni pizza contains:
- 380 calories
- 18 grams of fat
- 810 mg of sodium
- 39 grams of carbs
- 8 grams of sugar
That’s 34% of your recommended daily sodium intake!
If that’s not bad enough, many frozen pizzas have additives like BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene) and BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole).
Both of these food additives are suspected to be human carcinogens, meaning agents with the capacity to cause cancer.
It is, however, important to remember that not all frozen pizzas contain these additives, nor do all of them have excessive amounts of sodium or fat.
The best way to avoid these is by reading the nutrition label and choosing your toppings carefully before you decide to buy a frozen pizza at the grocery store.
Additionally, you should always read the ingredient list and look out for names like ammonium sulfate, Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), and Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA).
These are ingredients you want to avoid at all costs!
As for toppings, try to go for vegetables. Pizzas with sausage and pepperoni toppings will likely contain much more sodium, while vegetables have more fibers and minerals in them.
If you are firmly against vegetables on pizza, don’t worry, there are still other options available!
A plain cheese pizza (a.k.a. a classic Margherita) works just as well, even though it’ll probably have a few more calories and less fiber than a veggie pizza.
RELATED ARTICLE: Is Frozen Pizza Fast-Food or Not?
What Brand of Frozen Pizza Is the Healthiest?
There are many healthier frozen pizzas available today, and many of them taste delicious as well.
So if your health is important to you, you should definitely check out the following brands:
Amy’s Margherita Pizza
I don’t eat a lot of frozen pizza these days, as I enjoy making my own at home, but whenever I do eat one, Amy’s is usually the one I end up buying.
This is a delicious, thin-crusted pizza that looks appealing and contains many healthy ingredients, many of which are organic.
If compared to other frozen pizza brands (like the one mentioned above), you’ll find that one serving of Amy’s contains much less sodium, calories, carbs, and sugar.
Amy’s Margherita pizza is an excellent option for those who still want to enjoy frozen pizza every now and then.
The full calorie and nutrient breakdown per serving (1/3 pizza) are as follows:
- Calories: 270
- Fat: 12 grams (Saturated fat is 4 grams)
- Sodium: 540 mg
- Carbs: 31 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Added sugar: 2 grams
- Protein: 10 grams
Personally, I really like that the company focuses on using non-GMO ingredients in their frozen pizzas.
California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust Margherita Pizza
By default, pizzas with thin crusts tend to be healthier since they have less dough.
California Pizza Kitchen’s frozen Margherita pizza is another healthy frozen pizza alternative with quality ingredients.
This one sticks out in terms of sodium, carbs, and added sugar, as the amounts of each are really low. In fact, I don’t think another brand can beat California Pizza Kitchen in that regard.
The full calorie and nutrient breakdown per serving (1/3 pizza) are as follows:
- Calorie: 320
- Fat: 17 grams (Saturated fat is 7 grams)
- Sodium: 480 mg
- Carbs: 29 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Added sugar: 1 gram
- Protein: 12 grams
If you are watching your sodium intake and still want to enjoy a frozen pizza, California Pizza Kitchen’s Margherita is the right choice for you!
Caulipower veggie pizza
If you’re looking for a super nutrient-packed frozen pizza, you might want to reach for the Caulipower Veggie Pizza.
Rather than having a typical dough-based crust, this pizza’s crust is made from cauliflower and white and brown rice flour instead.
Cauliflower is filled with vitamin C and Vitamin K, two vitamins you typically wouldn’t get from a frozen pizza.
The crust tastes slightly different, and it’s probably not for everyone, but it’s nonetheless quite tasty and enjoyable.
Caulipower’s pizza is, by far, the healthiest choice out there, as the calorie and nutrient breakdown per serving (1/3 pizza) clearly shows:
- Calorie: 218
- Fat: 8 grams (Saturated fat is 2.3 grams)
- Sodium: 288 mg
- Carbs: 30 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Added sugar: 0.7 grams
- Protein: 7 grams
The Caulipower veggie pizza may not be the typical pizza, but it does not sacrifice flavor for health. Be sure to give it a go next time you’re grocery shopping and feeling for a frozen pizza!
How Often Should You Eat Frozen Pizza?
Eating frozen pizza is completely fine to enjoy, but you should do so moderately.
Try to limit consuming frozen pizza to only a few times a month.
If you decide to eat one of the healthier frozen pizzas listed above, eating one pizza a week is probably fine as well.
However, if you prefer the lesser healthy meat lover’s pizzas with extra cheese, it’s better to reduce consumption to a maximum of once a month.
Personally, I have decided to skip those unhealthy frozen pizza brands entirely. After having researched and written about the topic so many times, it was the logical next step for me. Of course, that’s a highly individual choice!
I do enjoy a healthy frozen pizza from time to time, though, as they are really yummy.
Knowing that they are a healthier choice also lets me enjoy them much more, which is also super important when it comes to food!
A healthy diet is all about balance, so there is no need to cut frozen pizza entirely from your diet.
As long as you are not eating it daily and are aware of its ingredients and overall quality, frozen pizza will not cause too much harm to you.
Is Homemade Pizza Healthier Than Frozen Pizza?
Making pizza at home or enjoying a fresh pizza at a restaurant will generally always be healthier for you than frozen pizza. I also find that fresh pizza almost always tastes much better than frozen pizza!
Fresh pizza is better because it does not need all the additives that frozen pizza generally contains.
Not only will the ingredients used be fresh and natural, but there is more control over what goes in and on your pizza.
Instead of using a ton of cheese, you can only add a small amount, cutting down the fat and calories significantly.
You can also use way less salt (sodium) when making your dough and decide not to top it with a lot of ham or salami. Once again, moderation is the key here, I think!
Regardless of whether it’s fresh or frozen, if you add a ton of toppings to your pizza, both will end up unhealthy. When it comes to enjoying a healthy pizza, simple is better.
A simple Margherita or vegetable pizza will be the healthiest option when choosing a pizza – frozen or fresh.
At the end of the day, choose what you enjoy eating. Whether it has more toppings or it has a cauliflower crust.
It is essential to be aware of what you eat and the impact that food can have on your health.
Having this awareness will help you make the proper decision for yourself and your lifestyle.
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