Veggie Pizza - Aldi: Cherry Hill, NJ

Veggie Pizza - Aldi: Cherry Hill, NJ

Aldi stepped up their pizza game in 2014! There's been a new flavor combination advertized in every circular!  Sadly, I haven't tried every single one, but I have reviewed the Chicken Club, Gyro, BBQ Chicken, and Tandoori Pizzas. (Plus, they just showed a Cuban style pizza in this week's ad I'm really excited for.) Some were better than others, but I haven't regretted a purchase yet, and the prices can't be beat. (I still say Aldi's Gyro pizza was leaps and bounds better than Papa John's attempt at a Greek pizza.)

Compared to the other pizzas I've reviewed, veggie may seem a bit bland, but it's one of my favorites, so I had to give it a try.

Since this is a "Stone Oven" pizza, it has the same brick oven backdrop as the other flavors in this line. The image is nice, especially for a no-frills store brand, but there's not much going on here. We have a backdrop and a large photo of a pizza. That's it. It looks a lot nicer than other no frills brands, but it's a bit boring when you compare it to the other pizzas I've already reviewed from this line.

Just like any freezer pizza, it was really simple to bake. Remove the packaging and toss it into a preheated 400 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes. Doesn't get much easier than that. The finished pizza was heavily topped with veggies, and it nearly looked like the photo on the box. (Which is a rare thing for any freezer item to accomplish.)

The baked pizza smells mild and cheesy, and there's a slightly refreshing, almost bell pepper-like, scent that I always related to vegetables, but the veggies themselves don't have much of an aroma. It might not smell like much, but it looks beautiful. Look at all these colors! We have some purple/red from the onion, a rainbow of bell peppers, zucchini (my fav), and spinach. It's been a while since I've had a frozen veggie pizza, but I don't remember them being this heavily topped or colorful. (At this price point.) I love it!

I took a bite, and the crust was deliciously crispy, but this pizza was just as bland as it's box design. The veggie toppings were refreshing, but they lost a lot of their texture from the freeze-thaw-bake process. The sauce and cheese added a bit of flavoring, but it wasn't very well seasoned, so the whole pizza came off as being very bland, which is a pity. I really think it could benefit from a spicy pepper or seasoning added to the blend. Maybe diced jalapenos? Or some banana peppers? Poblanos? Crushed red pepper flake? Cayenne? Something.

I added a bit of red pepper flake to my second slice, and I feel like that really helped. It definitely needs something spicy added to the mix to make you appreciate the more subtle veggie flavors, so unless you like your pizzas to be very bland, this pizza might be a bit too blah as-is. Still, it was a nice meal for the price. Just toss a few of your own topping and spices onto it before eating and you're good to go. I would definitely buy this again, but next time I'll dice a few hot peppers up and add them to the toppings before baking. Then, it'll be perfect.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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