For our busy routines, frozen pizzas are time saviors. They are quick and easy meal options, yet budget-friendly. But then, have you wondered, are frozen pizzas precooked? Can you eat frozen pizzas without cooking? Do you still need to cook frozen pizza?
This blog has the answers to your queries
Table of Contents
What is frozen pizza?
Frozen Pizza is a ready-made pizza that has been frozen and preserved for convenience. Frozen pizzas are available around the world in a variety of sizes, flavors, crust types, and toppings. Toppings may vary, but most of the basic components like crust, sauce, and cheese are used for a signature pizza taste.
Frozen pizzas have a longer shelf life than fresh pizzas as they are made for long-term use. This makes them convenient for busy individuals and families. These pizzas can be stored in the freezer for weeks or even months and can be used as a ready-and-easy meal anytime on a busy day.
Are frozen pizzas precooked?
When we have already discussed frozen pizza, we are now moving on to the burning question: are frozen pizzas precooked? The answer is yes or no. If I say yes, then it means some pizzas are fully cooked and just need to be heated in an oven, while some of the frozen pizzas need proper baking, like baking from scratch.
Frozen pizza packing is described in all cooking instructions, and it is key to read those before consumption as different brands offer variety in frozen pizzas and mention details on the packaging.
Can You Eat Frozen Pizza Without Cooking?
Even pre-cooked pizzas need heating before eating. So it is not recommended to eat frozen pizza without cooking it, as it may have developed some bacteria that can cause damage to your digestive system, and you may suffer from stomach aches, vomiting, discomfort, or even diarrhea.
Frozen Pizzas in the store
Frozen pizzas in the store are partially cooked. This means that some components of the pizzas are pre-cooked and some are added raw before being frozen. Most crust and toppings are pre-cooked to some extent.
The reason for not cooking all is to prevent the crust from sogginess during freezing. So if you see a frozen pizza looking like raw dough, it has still gone through some cooking, although not enough.
Crust frozen pizzas
The most common types of frozen pizzas are thin crust, traditional crust, and rising crust.
Thin Crust Frozen Pizza
The only frozen pizzas that are typically well cooked are thin-crust frozen pizzas, and they need only reheating for at least 8–10 minutes in an oven.
Traditional crust frozen pizzas
Regular-crust pizzas, known as pizzas with traditional crust, are usually partially cooked. This means cooking frozen pizzas is done to some extent, and now it requires additional cooking time for toppings. It takes almost 15–20 minutes for a fully cooked pizza in a pre-heated oven.
Rising crust frozen pizzas
Rising crust pizza is a thick crust pizza that is done with minimum pre-cooking and usually takes 20–25 minutes for fully cooked pizza in a pre-heated oven. This is because a thick crust takes more time to cook.
Frozen Pizza Topping
A variety of toppings are used in frozen pizzas. The topping choice is also an indicator to check whether this frozen pizza is pre-cooked or not. For example, frozen pizzas that have meat, and pepperoni, are typically partially cooked and need proper cooking before consumption.
Why are some frozen pizzas partially cooked while others are fully cooked?
Now you may be wondering why some frozen pizzas are partially cooked while others are fully cooked. The reason is that different brands use different methods of freezing.
Some frozen pizza manufacturers use the “blast freezing” method, while others use quickly freezing pizza at very low temperatures. Fully cooked pizzas are mostly frozen at low temperatures to ensure the toppings remain intact without being overcooked later on.
Partially cooked pizzas are mostly frozen using the “hardening” method. Pizza is frozen slowly at a normal, low temperature. Thicker crust pizzas or regular pizzas are frozen using this method.
How to Bake Frozen Pizza
Frozen pizzas must need cooking with a divergence of cooking time. For more details on how to cook frozen pizza, you may visit my blog:
Conclusion
In conclusion, whenever we go to purchase frozen pizzas, take serious notes of the instructions provided on the packaging to let us know what suits you; fully-cooked frozen pizza or partially-cooked frozen pizza. Both will need baking, but fully-cooked frozen pizza will be easy and less time-consuming to cook or bake, while partially-cooked frozen pizza will need more time before getting ready to eat.
Next time you see a frozen pizza, as a means of convenience, don’t rush to eat it, as it still needs some cooking time to avoid any health hazards.