The Clever Frozen Pizza Trick We Wish We Knew About Sooner
- Food Network star Sunny Anderson shares a hack to elevate frozen pizza by adding fresh ingredients before and after baking, transforming it into a restaurant-quality meal.
Frozen pizza can be a little sad. The toppings are often scarce, the pies can be a little small and they don't always bake up as soft and puffy as you hope. They're a super handy thing to have in the freezer for busy nights, but they're not typically what you'd call exciting.
At least that's what I thought until I came across a recent video shared by Food Network star and cookbook author Chef Sunny Anderson in which she took fans step by step through her process for leveling up her frozen pizza . What caught my attention was how she took something simple and convenient and elevated it to feel like takeout or even restaurant-quality. As soon as I saw the video, I knew I had to try it.
Because I follow a gluten-free diet , I started with a frozen gluten-free pizza base, but type, brand or style of pizza will work. The beauty of Anderson ’s hack is that you don’t need to settle for what comes in the box, and you can choose any pizza you like because it's going to be totally different when you're done.
By adding a few fresh ingredients before and after baking, the results are completely transformed. What surprised me most was how what came out of my oven ended up tasting almost exactly like my favorite pizza order, and I even found myself excited to eat the leftovers. This simple hack completely changed how I think about frozen pizza, turning something convenient into a surprisingly elevated, delicious meal. It’s proof that with just a little creativity, even the most basic frozen pizza can feel like a special treat. Here's how to do it.
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Sunny Anderson's #1 Tip for Upgrading Your Frozen Pizza
Sunny’s biggest tip (and now mine, too) is to roast garlic cloves and tuck one underneath each pepperoni slice. Yes, every single one. It may sound like overkill, but this small detail yields a huge payoff. The roasted garlic softens in the oven and infuses each bite of pepperoni with rich, mellow flavor. If you love garlic like I do, this is non-negotiable.
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Next comes the fun part: layering on fresh ingredients before baking. Sunny drizzled her pizza with olive oil, which is simple but brilliant. I gave mine an extra boost by using the oil my garlic had roasted in, which added even more flavor. Then I sprinkled it with some Italian seasoning for a little depth.
For toppings, Sunny added tomatoes and peppers, but I went with sliced yellow bell pepper, sliced cherry tomatoes and pepperoncini, which added freshness and a little zing that balanced the richness of the cheese and pepperoni. I also sprinkled on some extra cheese to make it gooier.
Related: The Easy Chef-Approved Way to Make Frozen Pizza Taste Like It Came From a Fancy Pizza Shop
When it's time to bake, Anderson says don't worry about what it says on the box. In the video, she says to bake the pizza at 400° for about 10 minutes, crank it up to 425° for another 10 minutes, then finish it under the broiler.
Once the pizza is baked until it's all bubbly and gooey, you add even more fresh ingredients. Sunny added basil from her garden, so I finished my pizza with fresh basil, too, then added on sun-dried tomatoes. These post-bake toppings added brightness, chew and a pop of color, making the pizza feel homemade.
The final flourish was a drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey, just like Sunny does. It may seem unexpected, but the sweet heat was the perfect foil for the savory garlic, salty pepperoni and tangy sun-dried tomatoes. Each bite had layers of flavor: sweet, spicy, smoky, garlicky and cheesy.
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My Honest Review of Sunny Anderson's Frozen Pizza Trick
What I loved most was how versatile this hack is. You can follow the same roasted garlic and fresh toppings formula to make any frozen pizza taste completely new. Whether you stick with classics, like mushrooms and basil, or get creative with artichokes and arugula, the possibilities are endless!
Chef Sunny Anderson’s frozen pizza hack turned me, a non-pizza lover, into someone who now looks forward to making pizza night happen. And the best part is that you don’t need a wood-fired oven or a long prep time—just a frozen pizza, a few fresh ingredients and a little inspiration.
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This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the Food & Drink section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
