Frozen Pizza

Frozen pizza is a fully made pizza, base, sauce, cheese and topping, frozen so it can go straight into a hot oven. The shelf holds Italian style thin crust, thicker deep pan and stuffed crust pizzas, with classic margherita and pepperoni style toppings alongside the flavours British Asian families tend to order: tandoori or tikka chicken, paneer tikka, spicy vegetable and chilli. Many households keep a couple in the freezer for a Friday night or a sleepover.

Choose the base first. Thin crust cooks fastest and stays crisp, deep pan is softer and more filling, and stuffed crust adds a ring of melted cheese. Then look at the topping and the marks on the box: Halal for meat pizzas, and vegetarian for those without meat. Smaller pizzas suit one person or an air fryer, larger ones a whole table.

Bake from frozen on the middle shelf of a preheated oven, straight onto the rack for a crisper base or on a tray for a softer one. The pizza is ready when the cheese is bubbling and the base is golden. To give any pizza more kick, scatter sliced green chilli, red onion and crushed chillies over the top before it goes in, or finish with fresh coriander. Keep pizzas flat in the freezer at -18°C. Serve with garlic bread or wedges, and find more quick dinners in frozen chips, pizza and meals.