Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Pepperoni Pan Pizza

Pan pizza is a favorite in our house. With family members who grew up on Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pizzas and the Book It! program, there’s just something special about a pizza with a thick and crispy crust, savory sauce, gooey cheese, and delicious toppings.

When Pizza Hut isn’t in the budget, I buy pan pizzas from the grocery store. Aldi occasionally sells excellent frozen pan pizzas that I always stock up on whenever I see them in stores, usually stashing several of them in my deep freezer.

A while back, Aldi sold a refrigerated deli Sicilian pan style pepperoni pizza that was all right, but the crust wasn’t as crispy or as flavorful as the frozen pan pizzas. That one was a bit of a disappointment because take and bake pizzas from Aldi are usually excellent.

Then, Aldi recently advertised another deli-style take and bake pan pizza. This one is also topped with pepperoni like the last refrigerated pan pizza was. One major difference is that this most recent pan pizza comes with its own baking tray that looks just like the baking trays that come with the frozen pan pizzas Aldi sells. I had to buy one to try at home.

The Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Pepperoni Pan Pizza is an Aldi Find, which means it’s only in stores for a short time. Each store receives one shipment, and after that sells out, it’s gone unless Aldi decides to bring it back at some later time. Aldi does not offer online ordering for products that are not currently in stock at your local store.

This cost $6.99 for a 26.17-ounce pizza at the time of publication. One pizza has five servings, which comes out to about $1.40 per serving.

The pizza box describes this as having a “thick & crispy crust topped with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.” It includes a baking tray. The box also states this was “previously handled frozen for your protection” and to keep refrigerated. The local Aldi store where I purchased this stocked it in the Aldi Find freezers, so I let it thaw overnight in my refrigerator before baking it. Other Aldi stores may put this in the refrigerator case alongside other limited-time specials.

If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains wheat and milk.

This has a lengthy ingredients list with some processed items, along with plenty of calories, fat, sodium, and carbs. But it’s pizza. This is not a surprise.

One serving has 430 calories, 19 grams of total fat (24% DV), 8 grams of saturated fat (40% DV), 35 mg of cholesterol (12% DV), 810 mg of sodium (35% DV), 48 grams of total carbohydrates (17% DV), 2 grams of dietary fiber (17% DV), 4 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of added sugars (4% DV), and 18 grams of protein.

Nutrition information, ingredients, and baking directions. (Click to enlarge.)

The back of the box has directions for baking this pizza. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees while keeping the pizza refrigerated. Once the oven is preheated, remove the pizza from the plastic wrap but keep the pizza in the included tray. Place the tray on the center oven rack. It should be six inches from the bottom of the oven and not touching the oven walls or door. For best results, bake only one pizza at a time. Bake for 18-21 minutes. Once cheese is melted, remove the pizza from the oven. Use caution as the tray and pizza will be hot. Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove the pizza from the tray before slicing and serving.

Fresh out of the oven.

This was done after about 16 minutes in my oven. It was a little sooner than I expected, so you may want to keep an eye on this as it bakes.

Sliced pizza.

This pizza is very similar to the frozen pan pizzas Aldi sometimes sells, even down to the baking tray, which is practically identical. Some family members thought the crust was not quite as flavorful or seasoned as the frozen version, but we all still liked this pizza a lot. The crust is crispy, and the toppings are good. It could maybe use just a little more cheese, but overall it’s good.

I’ll definitely buy more of these if they’re still at Aldi the next time I go shopping, and I can put them in my deep freezer to save for later.

The Verdict:

The Mama Cozzi’s Take & Bake Pepperoni Pan Pizza is a take and bake pizza that features a thick, crispy crust, traditional sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. It comes with its own baking tray to help it get nice and crisp in the oven. It’s almost identical to the frozen pan pizzas Aldi stocks once in a while, although some of us thought the frozen pan pizzas have a slight edge over this take and bake version. Still, this is very good.