I’ve had enough DiGiorno Pepperoni Pizzas to know that if you stuck one in a generic pizza box and told me it was delivery from some local restaurant, I’d take out the pizza, look to see if there were any grease stains on the box and if there weren’t any, I’d put it in the recycling bin. And if there were grease stains, I’d scold you for wasting a perfectly good pizza box on a poorly planned prank.

My internal prank detector would also quickly notice an attempt to swap a regular DiGiorno pepperoni pizza with DiGiorno’s new Gluten Free Pepperoni Pizza. Unlike Gluten Free Oreo Cookies, DiGiorno’s gluten free offering doesn’t look, smell, or taste exactly like the gluten-ful version.

The burnt cheese may say otherwise, but I did follow the instructions. As I pulled the pizza from the oven, I knew the crust’s rigidness meant it would be crispy or crunchy. While regular DiGiorno crust has some crispiness, this gluten free crust was noticeably crunchier and drier. It even looked like it would be with its too long at the tanning salon looks.

According to DiGiorno, its gluten free pizzas are the only ones in the frozen aisle that feature a thick hand-tossed crust.

Of course, crust only is part of the pizza equation. The sauce, cheese, and pepperoni seem to taste like what’s on a regular DiGiorno offering. While they’re the same toppings, the crust really affects how everything tastes. It’s noticeably blander than the standard stuff, and not even the toppings can help hide that fact.

It’s not a bad pizza, but it’s also not a great one. It’s a good enough pizza, and if I was late to a frozen pizza party and this was all that was left, I would gladly eat it. But more importantly, for those of you who have gluten sensitivities, you now have another option. Or do you?

The ingredients list says it contains wheat starch. Yes, wheat contains gluten. But wheat starch is followed by an asterisk that leads to the following statement, “The wheat has been processed to allow this food to meet the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for gluten-free foods.”

What does that mean? Research for me.

According to the FDA website, a product that contains an ingredient that’s been processed to have less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten can carry a label of “gluten-free.” So, what I take from that is that this may contain a trace amount of gluten or no gluten. But, if there is, it’s below or meets the FDA requirement. Um, yeah, that doesn’t make things clear. So if you have Celiac disease or are very sensitive to gluten, you may want to skip this pizza.

Look, I’m not someone who would typically eat gluten-free food. I’m a gluten-free food hobbyist. I like to try them and compare them with the original version of the product if there is one. I brought up Gluten Free Oreo because it did wonderfully at replicating what a regular Oreo tastes like. But this Gluten Free DiGiorno Pizza wasn’t able to accomplish the same.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample. Doing so did not influence my review. Also, my sample was sent in a plain white box, so the image at the beginning of the review was provided by DiGiorno.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 26.1 oz.
Purchased at: Received from DiGiorno
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/5 pizza) 320 calories, 12 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 970 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, 2 grams of added sugar, and 10 grams of protein.

What is the DiGiorno Meatless Monday Meatless Sausage Supreme Pizza

Well, for starters, it’s a bunch of words. So going forward, I’ll probably refer to this as DMMMSSP, or “dimsup” if I’m saying it aloud. This is the frozen pizza maker monolith’s ode to fake meat, which has been quite the rage for the better part of recent history.

How is it?

It feels as though this review should be split between “how’s the fake sausage” and “how’s the product, overall?”

So, to answer the first one — it’s great! Made with pea protein, you’d be hard-pressed to discern these crumbles from the real deal. (At least in terms of, you know, frozen pizza sausage.) There is a very convincing chew and real sausage-like seasoning. It’s peppery without being spicy.

The pizza, however, is just okay. If you’ve had DiGiorno, you’re familiar with the bland, muted veggies (in this case, red and green bell peppers and onions), the overly sweet sauce that gets applied with a sauce cannon, and the crust which is thick and uncompromisingly bread-y.

Anything else you need to know?

“Meatless Monday” was started in 2003 by Sid Lerner, who advocated that people give up meat one day a week for both their health and the health of the planet. Is it weird that this was the first time I’ve ever heard of it? And I say this as someone who’s been a vegetarian for brief spurts in the past and regularly consumes meat-alternatives.

Conclusion:

While I used to think DiGiorno was tops in terms of the frozen pizza empire, it feels as though they have recently been passed on all fronts by multiple competitors. But while brands such as Urban Pie and Screamin’ Sicilian may best DiGiorno in most ways*, their meat-alternative options are, for now, nonexistent. Kudos to DiGiorno for taking the leap; hopefully, we’ll soon see more brands do the same.

*The best option, if you have it in your area, is Brew Pub Lotzza Motzza frozen pizzas, by the way.

Purchased Price: $6.99
Size: 20.8 oz
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/4 pizza) 300 calories, 10 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 750 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 14 grams of protein.