California Pizza Kitchen Sicilian Frozen Pizza: West Coast Goodness

I have gone through my fair share of frozen pizzas. Many taste good, some have tasted like the cardboard boxes they come in, and some really stand out. California Pizza Kitchen's Crispy Thin Crust frozen pizzas fall into that last and scrumptious category.

I had heard about these California Pizza Kitchen pizzas on television and had been keeping my eye out for them in the frozen food section ever since. Sure enough, I finally spied the distinctive, yellow California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza boxes in the freezer at the grocer and decided to start trying them out. Here I review one I tried just the other day: the Sicilian recipe.

The Sicilian recipe California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza places a tasty marinara sauce, Italian sausage, Mozzarella cheese, Fontina cheese, spicy ham, salami, Parmesan cheese, and basil on a golden, crispy, and thin crust.

Now, whenever I see "crispy" on the packaging of anything frozen, I get a little bit unsure. After all, there are many frozen, "crispy" foods that, well, simply don't come out of the oven crispy. Hard, maybe. But not always crispy. California Pizza Kitchen satisfied me here.

Yes, these California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust frozen pizzas really do come out of the oven---at least my family's---truly crispy. I was pleasantly surprised. The crust was golden, and the crust actually had quite a bit of flavor with it, too.

The yellow box says one should preheat the oven to 400 degrees then place the pizza in the oven for 11-12 minutes. I personally use the 11-minute setting. Also, the box indicates that one should place the pizza not on a cookie sheet but rather directly on the center oven rack for best results. Personally, I have used a low-rimmed pizza pan for the California Pizza Kitchen product. No, it's not out of rebellion---I simply prefer to use the pizza pan!

There is nothing remarkably healthy to remark on the food label. It's a frozen pizza, after all. The front of the package does say that the Mozzarella cheese is reduced fat, but I am not sure how much of an impact that makes on the overall fat content for the pizza. For a 120-gram serving, which is 1/3 the entire pizza, one gets 14 grams of total fat, or 22% of the recommended daily intake. Saturated fat comes in at 5 grams, or 25%. This pizza does contain 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. Cholesterol ticks in at 30 milligrams, and sodium at 920 milligrams---10% and 38%, respectively. Carbohydrates are not too bad, at 30 grams, or 10%, and there are just 3 grams of sugar in the Sicilian recipe pizza. There are 17 grams of protein, and 2 grams of dietary fiber.

I don't know how the frozen California Pizza Kitchen product compares to the restaurant's pizza. According to the box, California Pizza Kitchen first was established in 1985 in Beverly Hills, California. I will certainly have to look for a California Pizza Kitchen restaurant nearby and see what the "fresh" pizzas taste like. However, if the frozen pizza is any indication, I am sure the pizzas served at the restaurant must taste really good. Though the California Pizza Kitchen's frozen Sicilian pizza cost $6.29 where I shop (a little pricier than most other frozen pizzas), it is well worth the cost.

Yes, I recommend people to try the California Pizza Kitchen frozen pie. I know frozen pizzas aren't supposed to always taste all that great, but this is one of the few frozen pizzas that clearly breaks that rule.

Resource:

California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust Sicilian Recipe Pizza Box