Frozen pizza is a convenience we can’t help turning to from time to time. But long gone are the days of simple crust, some cheese, and a topping. The grocery store is now stocked with stuffed crust, croissant crust, rising crust, and even garlic bread crust. While you might think you’re doing your diet a favor by opting for frozen pizza over fast food, you might be in for a calorie and nutrition shock.
If you look at the nutrition information on the box of most frozen pizzas you probably think it looks innocuous, but who actually eats one-sixth of a small pizza? A more reasonable portion is about half. After all, how many people can stop at one slice of a typical large pie? Be honest—it’s usually two and a few bites more. Here are the worst frozen pizzas you can buy right now based on calories, sodium, and nutritional value of half of the pie, or a reasonable serving of a personal pizza.
(Plus, always pass on the 8 Worst Fast-Food Burgers to Stay Away From Right Now.)
Per 1/2 pizza serving: 1,025 calories, 55 g of fat (25 g saturated), 2,100 mg sodium, 90 g carbs (21 g sugar), 42 g protein
Most likely, no one thought it was a good idea, nutritionally speaking, to put pizza on a croissant crust, but Digiorno did it anyway. Here’s a secret, no three-meat pizza is going to be the right way to go. You’re going to run into sodium nitrate and other preservatives that have been linked to cancer and heart disease. Though, for the record, the four-cheese version of this pizza doesn’t fare much better. Keep croissants and pizza separate.
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Per 1/2 pizza serving: 1,050 calories, 45 g fat (21 g saturated), 2,460 mg sodium, 123 g carbs (21 g sugar), 42 g protein
This pizza is downright dangerous with over a day’s worth of sodium and 21 grams of saturated fat. Supreme pizzas, though they contain more veggies than the multiple meat pizzas, are still no health bargain. You’re still looking at a bunch of fatty sausage and pepperoni and a smattering of veggies.
Per 2 slice serving: 860 calories, 38 g fat (9 g saturated), 2,120 mg sodium, 88 g carbs (10 g sugar)
40 g protein
There are lots of scary words in the name of this product that should scream, “Stay clear!” No mega, double-stuffed, four meat pizza is going to leave you with the energy to face the day or avoid a night of crippling heartburn. And, let’s face it, you’re probably going to have two slices of this pizza, so double whatever you see. We also wonder why they used reduced-fat pepperoni and textured vegetable protein when sausage, ham, and beef are all packed in these double-decker slices. Also, something called mozzarella substitute appears before real mozzarella on this list, which means some of the chees in this product isn’t real cheese at all.
Per 2 slice serving: 880 calories, 40 g fat (8 saturated), 1,920 mg sodium, 88 g carbs (10 g sugar)
42 g protein
Usually, the meat-packed pizza is the worst offender of the bunch, but Banquet is bucking the trend with its double-decker cheese pizza slices. This cheesy construction has 20 more calories than the meat pizza, but hey, two slices also have nearly 100% of your calcium needs. That counts right? No. Plus, why use a mozzarella substitute when the slice is already filled with three cheeses? Things that make you go “Hmmm.”
Per half pizza serving: 1,020 calories, 48 g fat (18 g saturated), 2,040 mg sodium, 111 g carbs (12 g sugar)
33 g protein
We’re not saying that using garlic bread to make pizza is a bad idea—if you’re still college dorm age and are experimenting—but it’s not a good move health-wise. While there is some dried garlic way down the list of ingredients, what you are really getting here is garlic-flavored oil without any of the garlic benefits. Is your bad breath really worth that?
Per half pizza serving: 1,110 calories, 54 g fat (21 g saturated), 2,730 mg sodium, 105 g carbs (12 g sugar), 51 g protein
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We probably didn’t need to tell you that the four-meat Tombstone isn’t going to win any diet awards either. But this guy does win the award for most sodium on this list with 2,730 milligrams. That’s equivalent to two regular-sized bags of Lay’s potato chips. Yes, two whole bags. Also, the ingredient list on this pizza is a veritable novel. Here’s a tip: If you need a degree in chemistry to understand an ingredient list, it’s probably a good idea to step away.
Serving size: 2 slices, 580 calories, 22 g fat (10 g saturated), 1,280 mg sodium, 66 g carbs (18 g sugar), 32 g protein
Now, this isn’t the most caloric of the California Pizza Kitchen pies, but this is the one that you’re probably looking for if you’re going CPK. We went with two slices of this pizza since the serving size is 1/3 of the pizza. Honestly, isn’t really bad nutritionally speaking but you are getting 18 grams of sugar. On the plus side, the ingredients are, for the most part, pronounceable. If you eat the whole pizza, you’re running into the same problems with sodium, fat, and more sugar than the other pies.
Serving size: 2 slices, 700 calories, 34 g fat (19 g saturated), 1,960 mg sodium, 62 g carbs (10 g sugar), 36 g protein
The Sicilian version of CPK is the one that you’re going to want to skip. This one has the most calories and sodium, but again, the ingredient list isn’t the worst. You will get sodium nitrate and other preservatives because of the cured meats, but no imitation meats or cheeses.
Serving size: half pizza, 1,080 calories, 45 g fat (21 g saturated), 2,580 mg sodium, 120 g carbs (9 sugars) 48 g protein
Whoa, the sodium contained in half this pizza is astronomical. Also, the ingredient list is a novel. Best to skip this one.
Serving size: 1 pizza, 460 calories, 25 g fat (9 g saturated), 1,070 mg sodium, 40 g carbs (50 g sugar) 18 g protein
If you down two of these meat-heavy French bread pizzas, you could be in for a sweaty night. Nearly a day’s worth of sodium is packed into these pizzas, plus lots of cured meat preservatives.
Serving size: 1 pizza, 430 calories, 20 g fat (9 g saturated), 1,010 mg sodium, 47 g carbs (11 g sugar), 16 g protein
Usually, it’s the triple-meat pizza or supreme that is the biggest offender but in the Red Baron line, the pepperoni pizza wins. With 430 calories, 20 grams of fat, and over 1,000 milligrams of sodium, almost half a day’s worth for one individual pizza, if you eat the two that are in the package you better be ready for some sodium sweats. Also, if you’re surprised at how much sugar there is in pizza, so are we; it’s likely that the sweet stuff comes from the pepperoni and the sugar that’s added to the dough.
Serving size: Half pizza, 1,140 calories, 2,040 mg sodium, 57 g fat (27 g saturated), 111 g carbs (18 g sugar), 45 g protein
Red Baron has another crust type that blows the individual deep dish away. Their “Fully Loaded” line claims to be “crispy on the outside and airy on the inside.” What it really seems to be is extra dough and extra fat. Half of this pizza has an astonishing 27 grams of saturated fat about enough for 1.3 days and the most on this list.
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