A 16″ pie
BachelorontheCheap.com
Doing my weekly shopping at Aldi the other day and with “Convenience Meal” on my list, I put a take-and-bake pizza in my cart. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that Aldi has these pizzas displayed as one of the first things you see when you walk in the door…
I’ve actually been wanting to try Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Pizza for a while. They look good and they’re huge. For a bachelor, it’s dinner, then the next day breakfast and lunch leftovers. I’ve hesitated though, because I’ve had Mama Cozzi’s frozen pizza before and I was not impressed.
If you’re not familiar with Mama Cozzi’s, it’s an Aldi Private Label Brand. Offering a full lineup of frozen pizzas, take-and-bake pizzas, calzones, and other pizza-related delights, Mama Cozzi’s main appeal is price.
Prepared as directed, no doctoring.
As inexpensive as this extra-large pizza is, as huge and generously portioned in pepperoni as it is, the pizza looks better than it tastes. The portion of pepperoni was impressive, but it was average-tasting pepperoni, lacking a slightly spicy edge. The cheese was nicely portioned and had a nice melt. The sauce was lackluster, light in application and just like their frozen pizza, the crust is quite bland. It has a cracker-like crisp on the exterior and there is some fluffiness on the interior, but the bite is bland. Without the addition of garlic butter brushed on the outer edge, the crust is a very dry chew. The garlic butter was applied after the bake, I couldn’t stand the dry chew. Visual: It’s like kids when eating pizza, consuming everything BUT the edge crust… For kids the outer edge crust is a handle for the good stuff, you don’t actually eat the handle part… Picture that and Mama Cozzi’s crust.
Costing me $7.19 at Aldi, I’m giving Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Pepperoni Extra Large Pizza 3 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars. It’s an “eh” pizza. Compare that price to “Home Chef” Take & Bake Pepperoni Pizza from Dillons for a 24-ounce pie (the Mama Cozzi’s pie weighs in at 41 ounces), priced at $6.99. Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Pepperoni is not worthy of a repeat buy if eaten prepared as is. But given the size and pizza bang for the buck, it’s a borderline repeat buy if doctored up with additional ingredients like mushrooms, onion, and garlic butter along the outer edge before baking.
Related: Food Review: Mama Cozzi’s Combo Pizza
Related: Food Review: Mama Cozzi’s Pizza Kitchen Supreme Pizza
Food Review: Mama Cozzi's Take & Bake Pepperoni Pizza – Bachelor on the Cheap
A 16″ pie
BachelorontheCheap.com
Doing my weekly shopping at Aldi the other day and with “Convenience Meal” on my list, I put a take-and-bake pizza in my cart. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that Aldi has these pizzas displayed as one of the first things you see when you walk in the door…
I’ve actually been wanting to try Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Pizza for a while. They look good and they’re huge. For a bachelor, it’s dinner, then the next day breakfast and lunch leftovers. I’ve hesitated though, because I’ve had Mama Cozzi’s frozen pizza before and I was not impressed.
If you’re not familiar with Mama Cozzi’s, it’s an Aldi Private Label Brand. Offering a full lineup of frozen pizzas, take-and-bake pizzas, calzones, and other pizza-related delights, Mama Cozzi’s main appeal is price.
Prepared as directed, no doctoring.
As inexpensive as this extra-large pizza is, as huge and generously portioned in pepperoni as it is, the pizza looks better than it tastes. The portion of pepperoni was impressive, but it was average-tasting pepperoni, lacking a slightly spicy edge. The cheese was nicely portioned and had a nice melt. The sauce was lackluster, light in application and just like their frozen pizza, the crust is quite bland. It has a cracker-like crisp on the exterior and there is some fluffiness on the interior, but the bite is bland. Without the addition of garlic butter brushed on the outer edge, the crust is a very dry chew. The garlic butter was applied after the bake, I couldn’t stand the dry chew. Visual: It’s like kids when eating pizza, consuming everything BUT the edge crust… For kids the outer edge crust is a handle for the good stuff, you don’t actually eat the handle part… Picture that and Mama Cozzi’s crust.
Costing me $7.19 at Aldi, I’m giving Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Pepperoni Extra Large Pizza 3 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars. It’s an “eh” pizza. Compare that price to “Home Chef” Take & Bake Pepperoni Pizza from Dillons for a 24-ounce pie (the Mama Cozzi’s pie weighs in at 41 ounces), priced at $6.99. Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Pepperoni is not worthy of a repeat buy if eaten prepared as is. But given the size and pizza bang for the buck, it’s a borderline repeat buy if doctored up with additional ingredients like mushrooms, onion, and garlic butter along the outer edge before baking.
Related: Food Review: Mama Cozzi’s Combo Pizza
Related: Food Review: Mama Cozzi’s Pizza Kitchen Supreme Pizza