Make Your Own Frozen Pizza

Make Your Own Frozen Pizza

In our house, we love the convenience of throwing a frozen pizza on the pizza cooker, but I didn't like the expense or the lack of nutrition in frozen pizzas, so I started making my own.

I found a great wholegrain pizza crust recipe, and I cook the crust up half way and let it cool before adding some homemade sauce and my toppings. I put the pizza on a cardboard cake round and put it in a 2 gallon Ziploc to freeze it.

I make up several of them at a time, and then they are ready to grab whenever we need a quick meal.

Helpful Hints:

• The Ziploc bags can be washed and reused.
• Cake rounds were much cheaper at the restaurant supply store then buying them at a hobby store.

By Kneuv from Rochester, MN

Freezing Pizza

Commercially Prepared Unbaked Pizzas:

Leave in package and place directly in freezer. Double wrap if necessary.

Homemade Pizza:

• Pre-Baked Pizzas: Prepare and bake as usual, omitting sausage and pepperoni. Cool. Tray-freeze until firm. Wrap in aluminum foil. Seal and label.

• Pre-Baked Pizza Crust: Pre-bake crusts for 7 to 10 minutes. Cool completely. Leave on baking sheet and place in freezer. Tray-freeze until firm. Double wrap in heavy-duty plastic or foil. Seal, label and freeze.

• Leftover Pizza Sauce: Pack in airtight container. Seal, label and freeze.

Suitable Packaging:

Freezer containers should be moisture and vapor resistant and should not be prone to cracking or breaking at low temperatures. Containers should provide protection against absorbing flavors or odors and should be easy to label. Suitable packaging for freezing pizza and pizza crust includes freezer-grade plastic wrap and heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Maximum Storage Time:

Store homemade pizza for 3 months and commercially prepackaged frozen pizza for up to 1 year at 0ºF.

Thaw & Serve:

For homemade pizzas, loosen foil and bake with or without thawing in 375ºF oven until heated through. For commercially prepackaged pizzas, remove wrapper and bake according to instructions. Defrost leftover sauce in microwave or thaw in double boiler on low heat.

Tips & Shortcuts:

Prepare and freeze pre-baked crusts ahead of time to have on hand when you need them. Freeze leftover meat, vegetables and cheese to use as toppings.

Refrigerating Pizza:

Wrap leftover cooked pizza in aluminum foil and keep in the refrigerator 1 to 2 days. To reheat, leave in foil and place in warm oven or remove foil and heat in microwave.

By Ellen Brown