Frozen pizza is a staple of the frozen food aisle, and Trader Joe’s has no shortage of the stuff. We love pizza here at Freezer Meal Frenzy, so we see this as a very good thing. The more pizza options there are out there, the more pizza we get to eat. We really can’t complain.
Of course, not all Trader Joe’s pizza is created equal. They have more traditional-style pizzas, such as their Wood Fired Pepperoni Pizza, which fall under the Trader Joe’s brand name. Then there are pizzas designed specifically to create an authentic Italian cuisine experience — those pizzas fall under the Trader Giotto’s sub-brand. (Actually, we haven’t quite figured out why some of the Italian-style pizzas still fall under the Trader Joe’s brand, such as the Woodfired Sicilian Style Pizza, but we leave the sorting to Trader Joe’s marketing team.)
Today we’re checking out something that was filed under the Trader Giotto’s sub-brand: the Trader Giotto’s Arugula Pizza with Cherry Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Manchego, Provolone & Pecorino Cheese. What a mouthful! (It’s just the Trader Giotto’s Arugula Pizza for short.)
You can actually heat this in the microwave if you want to, but we think that would run counter to the “authentic Italian” vibe, so we used the oven instructions instead. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a way to cook this with fire, as would have been our true preference, but the oven was our best option. (If you want to see the full cooking instructions, check out our package scans at the bottom of this article.)
As you can see in our images, this is a beautiful pizza. Seriously, cutting into this thing felt like defacing a work of art. But here at Freezer Meal Frenzy, we do what we must, and refusing to cut this thing open was simply not an option.
Thankfully, it tastes as amazing as it looks. The cherry tomatoes are probably the first thing you’ll notice when you bite into this, as they’re loaded with flavor. And since cherry tomatoes have a sweeter taste than other types of tomato, this pizza ends up with an incredibly sweet taste to it. There is a basic tomato paste underneath the cheese, but this pizza almost doesn’t need it.
The cheese blend is made up of mozzarella, manchego, provolone, and pecorino. That means it’s a little stretchy, like your typical pizza, but it also has some sharpness to it. That’s a nice contrast to the sweetness of the tomatoes.
And then there’s the crust. This is going to vary depending on how you choose to cook this, but ours had a nice soft bottom (the part underneath the sauce), while the edges were really crispy. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect consistency.
The box claims that this is three servings’ worth of pizza. We disagree. Who splits a pizza three ways anyway? One third of this pizza has 330 calories (110 from fat) and 760 mg of sodium. That means the full pizza has 990 calories (330 from fat) and 2,280 mg of sodium. Keep in mind that this is a pretty small pizza (small enough to fit in a microwave), and that it’s a thin-crust pizza so it’s not all that filling. Eating the whole pizza is not a monstrous feat by any means.
Trader Giotto’s Arugula Pizza is an incredible frozen pizza, but it’s not very filling. You’ll be tempted to eat the whole pie in a sitting, and as we pointed out earlier, that’s probably not a great idea. Still, this pizza is mighty tasty, and it’s a lovely addition to the Trader Giotto’s line.
If you want to learn more about the cooking instructions, nutrition content, or ingredients for this Trader Joe’s pizza, check out our package scans below.
