Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza on a Cauliflower Crust Review

For some folks, gluten-based crust can be a roadblock to enjoying a delicious pizza. But we live in modern times, and there are modern solutions for this problem. We’ve seen some pretty interesting attempts at getting around this, like Evol’s crust that’s made out of chicken, but a lot of frozen food makers are leaning into cauliflower.

Even Trader Joe’s is getting in on this action with the Gluten Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza on a Cauliflower Crust. Now, the full name of this pizza is the Gluten Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza with Bell Peppers, Red Onions & Black Olives on a Cauliflower Crust, but we’re not going to type all of that every time we mention the name. That’s just too much.

Anyway, this is a pretty easy thing to cook. If you’ve ever cooked a frozen pizza before, this one is certainly not going to throw any curveballs. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, then pop in the pizza for about 14 minutes. The box says to place the pizza directly on the rack, but we used a baking sheet for ours. (If you want to read the full instructions straight off the box, check out the package scans at the bottom of this review.)

We should point out right away that this pizza is smaller than the box makes it look. You might be tricked into thinking, at a glance, that this is a 12″ pizza, but it’s not. We’d say this is closer to a 9″ deal. In fact, it’s almost exactly nine inches wide; we took the time to measure it because we were curious.

Now, the box is actually about ten inches wide, but it’s remarkably thin to give it the appearance of being wider than it actually is. No, we don’t think this is some grand pizza conspiracy or anything; we’re just pointing out that this pizza is smaller than the box might lead you to believe if you just glance at it quickly. We’re not mad, bro.

Anyway, let’s talk about this crust. This crust actually does have a pretty distinct cauliflower flavor. Not all of the cauliflower-based crusts we’ve tried actually taste like cauliflower, but it’s important to note that this one does. It’s not a super potent flavor, but it’s definitely noticeable.

For the sauce, TJ’s went with a tomato paste that leans toward the acidic undertones rather than the sweet ones. While we do often enjoy a sweeter tomato sauce, this actually works better with the cauliflower crust. It’s a smart choice that shows TJ’s is leaning into the cauliflower thing rather that actively trying to push against it or cover it up.

The pepperoni is sliced really thin, but it manages to stay moist through the cooking process instead of drying out. And if you pick off a piece of pepperoni and eat it on its own (which we did for this review), you’ll discover that each piece is absolutely loaded with flavor, and each one is even a little bit spicy. You won’t notice this spice level if you just eat the pizza as a whole, but if you single out a piece of pepperoni, you might be surprised to learn that it has some kick to it.

There’s also a smattering of veggies here too. You’ve got green and yellow bell peppers, red onions, and black olives. While we personally would have cut the olives (we’re just not fans, and that’s a personal preference rather than a commentary on these specific olives), the peppers and onions are pretty good.

The box recommends that you only eat one third of this pizza. Of course, they make that recommendation primarily because they can then tell you there’s only 290 calories and 470 mg of sodium per serving. The reality, though, is that a hungry person could genuinely eat this entire pizza in a sitting — it’s not that big — which changes those numbers to 880 calories and 1,410 mg of sodium.

The Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza on a Cauliflower Crust is a truly great-tasting pizza for fans of cauliflower. If you don’t like cauliflower, you might take issue with how unashamed of it this pizza is of its cauliflower content. But for anyone expecting a cauliflower-based treat, this pizza is the real deal.

To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for this Trader Joe’s frozen pizza, check out our package scans below.