Like most of its other product lines, Aldi’s frozen pizza selection tends to vary from time to time. At the time of writing, the chain carries 19 different varieties (not counting pizza snacks), but only 11 were available when a Mashed reviewer tried and ranked them all from worst to best. Some of the flavors on that list are no longer in the lineup. Chicago deep dish is gone, as is thin crust jalapeño popper. However, Aldi still carries the first-place item, Mama Cozzi’s pepperoni rising crustpizza. Alas, it’s also still selling the one in last place, Mama Cozzi’s Pizza Kitchen three-cheese cauliflower crust offering.
You might think this pizza was downgraded due to its cauliflower crust (and if some of us had been rating, this might have been the case), but the reviewer who pulled Aldi pizza duty doesn’t mind the stuff. However, the quality of the crust did factor into the ranking, as did the flavor of the cheese and sauce.
The reviewer found the crust to be a limp and soggy mess. Admittedly, they made the mistake of heating this Aldi pizza without a pan. (Even though the package says no pan necessary, this item needs structural support). That issue aside, the cheese failed to impress. Aldi doesn’t fully disclose which three cheeses are used, although the label lists them as mozzarella, cheddar, and the mysterious “medium fat hard cheese.” More generally, the pizza tasted overwhelmingly of rosemary.
Read more: Frozen Pizzas, Ranked From Worst To Best
Cauliflower Crusts Are Not For Everyone
While our reviewer isn’t a cauliflower crust hater, these pizzas are particularly polarizing. The crust may be a dietary necessity for some, but others might prefer to give up pizza rather than make do. There’s actually a biological reason for cauliflower hate: Genetics and the chemical composition of your saliva can cause cruciferous vegetables, including cauliflower, to taste unpleasantly bitter. If you can’t stand the vegetable, you might feel vindicated by the fact that not all cauliflower crusts are as nutritious as they’re cracked up to be.
Compare the first and last place pizzas on our list, for example, bearing in mind that a single serving of the three-cheese pizza is smaller than that of the pepperoni pizza (110 grams instead of 129 grams). The cauliflower crust pizza is higher in both fat (12 grams compared to 10 grams) and sodium (740 milligrams to 720 milligrams). While the pizza does have fewer carbohydrates, it’s not exactly carb-free. The rising crust contains 41 grams, while the cauliflower crust has 23 grams since it’s made with five different flours (rice, millet, pea, buckwheat, and flaxseed) in addition to the cauliflower. To give the pizza its due, all five flours are gluten-free, but some shoppers are unhappy that Aldi has yet to offer a vegan cauliflower pizza.
Read the original article on Mashed.