Great news for folks who require a diet free of gluten and full of pizza: DiGiorno just launched gluten-free frozen pizza in four-cheese and pepperoni varieties. The brand says these new pies are “as delicious as the classic DiGiorno hand-tossed crust pizza, sans gluten.”
The crust is made from a gluten-free dough that uses wheat starch as the main ingredient instead of traditional wheat flour. Wheat starch is made by processing the wheat grain to remove gluten, a protein that people with celiac disease cannot tolerate. (Like all foods labeled “gluten-free,” products made with wheat starch must contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten, per the Food and Drug Administration. So although gluten-free-labeled wheat starch products may contain a very trace amount of gluten, they are generally considered suitable for people who cannot eat gluten.) The product is not wheat-free, though, so it is not safe for people with a wheat allergy.
It’s worth mentioning here that if you’ve tried DiGiorno’s gluten-free pies before and were not particularly impressed, this new crust is a total overhaul of the brand’s first gluten-free offerings (launched in 2017 and no longer available). Those pizzas had an ultra-thin crust, and the dough was mainly made with rice flour, rice starch, and potato starch.
Aside from the unconventional crust, the new pizzas are pretty traditional. Both pies are topped with tomato sauce and part-skim mozzarella cheese. The four-cheese flavor features a blend of three hard Italian cheeses (Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano), while the pepperoni variety is topped with slices of pepperoni made from a combination of pork, chicken, and beef. These cook just as fast and easy as the original varieties too: Just pop them in the oven (directly onto the rack) at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 minutes, and let stand for 5 minutes more.
Nutritionwise, both flavors have a good bit of protein per serving (1/5 of the pizza). There are 9 grams of protein per serving of the four-cheese and 10 grams in the pepperoni. Pair a couple of slices with a side salad and/or a cold glass of gluten-free beer, and you’ve got a convenient and delicious weeknight dinner.
The timing could not be more perfect, considering the past year was huge for frozen food sales in the U.S.—and frozen pizza in particular, according to Food Business News—as people burned out on cooking and stocked up on convenience food. The suggested retail price is $9.99, which is a few bucks more than most other DiGiorno pies but in line with gluten-free frozen pizzas sold by other brands. Select Target stores will start carrying the pies beginning this month. The pizzas will also be available via target.com (and third-party fulfillment platforms like Instacart) in some areas by the end of the month. More national and regional retailers will be added later in 2021.
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