Why Aldi's Frozen Pizza Is the Best $5 You'll Spend This Week

It's Friday, you're tired, and the pizza app is whispering sweet, expensive nothings. Put the phone down. Aldi's Mama Cozzi's frozen pizzas usually cost just a few dollars each, and they're a much better blank canvas than most people give them credit for.

The trick is to stop treating the pizza as the finished meal. Treat it as a crust-and-cheese foundation, then add fresh toppings, a sauce, or a salad, and suddenly one cheap pie becomes a legit dinner. Grab a couple of varieties and you've got a whole weekend covered.

The One Thing That Decides Whether It's Crisp or Soggy

Skip the baking sheet and the cardboard circle. Preheat your oven to 425°F with the rack in the center, then bake the pizza directly on the rack (or on a preheated pizza stone or upside-down sheet pan) for 12 to 16 minutes, or per the box. Direct heat means a crisp bottom instead of a limp one. Add any fresh toppings during the last 3 to 4 minutes so they warm without turning to mush.

Five Dinners From One Frozen Pizza

1. The Arugula Finish. Bake a cheese pizza as directed. Toss two big handfuls of arugula with a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of salt, then pile it on top after baking. Add shaved Parmesan if you're feeling fancy.

2. The Breakfast-for-Dinner Pie. Bake a cheese or pepperoni pizza for 8 minutes, crack 2 eggs onto the center, and bake 5 to 6 more minutes until the whites set. Finish with black pepper and hot sauce.

3. Pizza Croutons Caesar. Bake the pizza until very crisp, cut into 1-inch squares, and use them as croutons on a bagged Caesar salad with grilled or rotisserie chicken. Sounds odd, tastes great.

4. The Stuffed Calzone Fold. Thaw a pizza for 10 minutes, add a handful of baby spinach and a few spoonfuls of ricotta on one half, fold it over, and crimp the edges. Bake at 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes until deeply golden. Serve with warm marinara for dipping.

5. The Loaded Veggie Upgrade. Top a supreme or cheese pizza with thinly sliced bell pepper, red onion, and mushrooms before baking. Pre-cook the mushrooms in a dry skillet for 3 minutes so they don't release water onto the crust. Bake 14 to 16 minutes.

Your Aldi Shopping List

• 2 frozen pizzas (cheese plus one meat or supreme variety)
• 1 bag arugula
• 1 bag Caesar salad kit
• 1 small tub ricotta
• 1 bag baby spinach
• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 bell pepper and 1 red onion
• 1 small pack mushrooms
• 1 jar marinara
• 1 lemon
• Parmesan wedge or shaker

Bottom Line

Two frozen pizzas and a handful of fresh add-ons can cover five dinners for roughly the price of one delivery pizza. Nobody has to know your "homemade calzone" started life in the freezer aisle. We won't tell.