Feel like a fresh pizza, but don’t want delivery? That’s where the best store bought pizza dough comes into play. We tasted a bunch of premade pizza dough to find out which dough is the one you knead!
Sometimes you want a freshly made pizza, but don’t want delivery. Maybe you’re trying to save money. Or you’re trying to be a little healthier. Or maybe you’re so embarrassed by your topping choice that you can’t imagine actually asking another living person to make it for you. (I’m a pineapple guy, so no judgment here.) Or maybe you just don’t want to wait. Whatever the reason you’re making pizza yourself, there’s a wide range of premade pizza dough you can pick up at your local store.
But how can you find the right store bought pizza dough, when it comes in so many different forms, including frozen, fresh, and tubes? That’s why we took it on ourselves to try them out for you, judging each one in three main categories: how easy it was to knead/prepare, final crust and, of course, taste. So, here are our picks for the best premade pizza dough you’ll find at your local stores.
- Signature Cafe Traditional Pizza Dough
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This refrigerated dough from Albertsons brand stores comes in a bag, ready for you to turn it inside out and slap it right in the pan. As a dough, it stretched easily into shape without sticking to itself (or my hands), and cooked into a light, air-filled pizza crust. It definitely hits the mark of “traditional” as it tastes exactly as you’d expect a pizza crust to taste like. But sometimes, all you want is the basic option for good store bought pizza dough. And this pizza definitely delivers.
Credit: Merc / Albertsons
- Signature Cafe White Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
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Another refrigerated bag dough from Albertsons brand stores, this one turned out to be very similar to the previous premade pizza (easy to spread, good rise), only with a whole wheat crust that gave the pizza a fresh, healthy taste. (And yeah, I know it’s not really healthier than the rest of the dough, but years of indoctrination of “whole wheat equals healthy” has definitely affected my taste buds. Also, I spent a week eating a ton of pizzas, so what do I know about “healthy living?”) So, if you like freshly baked whole wheat bread, you’ll like the extra layer of flavor this dough gives you.
Credit: Merc / Albertsons
- Wholly Gluten Free Dough Ball
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If have any kind of food allergies, this frozen pizza dough ball is probably the one for you, as it’s listed as: “wheat free, dairy free (casein & lactose), egg free, soy free, peanut free, tree nut free, sesame seed free, fish free, and shellfish free.” But even more impressive is that, unlike many gluten free pizza doughs, this one was pretty easy to roll out and barely stuck to my hands. Also, the crust had a good rise and it manages to avoid the “cracker crust” that a lot of gluten free pizza crusts have, with a springy doughy crust that is pretty close to the real thing. (My wife has a gluten allergy, so I’ve eaten a lot of gluten free pizzas.) And, most importantly, it’s just plain tasty, which is pretty impressive for a big ball of rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch. Not only is it the best gluten free pizza dough, but it’s some of the best store bought pizza dough, period.
Credit: Merc / Sprouts
- Home Chef Pizza Dough
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Another refrigerated bag dough, this Kroger brand premade pizza dough was another one that was easy to stretch and made a nice thick crust. But it earned its high place in this ranking because of its flavor, which had a sharp, yeasty tang to it, with a hint of sourdough. Now, that might’ve been because I left it in the fridge for a little longer than I should have, but, whether or not it was because of laziness, it baked into a uniquely tasty crust that added some extra flavor to the pizza.
Credit: Merc / Ralphs
- Kroger Ready to Bake Pizza Crust
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This refrigerated tube pizza dough from Kroger gave me two big surprises. The first was the sheer size of the “pop” as I was unrolling it. But after I caught my breath and picked the tube up off the ground, I got my second surprise: It made the single best pizza of my taste test. This store bought pizza dough was very easy to stretch, although I barely needed to, as it unrolled into roughly the size of the pan. And the dough’s pre-rolled thickness ended up giving it the best bake of the bunch, with a crunchy crust and a nicely browned base and no hint of doughy sogginess. And finally, the taste didn’t disappoint, giving all the fresh bread flavor I normally associate with the finest restaurant breadsticks. (Yeah, I’m pretty basic.) Say what you will about the sheer number of stores Kroger owns, but one perk is that you can probably find the best grocery store pizza dough near you.
Credit: Merc / Ralphs
Best Classic Crust
Best Whole Wheat
Best Gluten Free Dough
Best Almost Sourdough
Best of the Best
Other premade pizza doughs we tried: Manini’s Gluten Free Pizza Dough, Pillsbury Classic Crust Pizza Crust, Whole Foods Market Pizza Dough
