No matter how much ’90s nostalgia I hold onto in my neon-colored heart there’s one thing that rings unfortunately true in my mind – “it’s not delivery, it’s DiGiorno” is total bullshit. I know, I know, the clever tag-line and “real rising crust” gimmick seems pretty cool, and I’ll admit that I was bamboozled by it at first too, but when it comes down to it it’s just not that good. Overly bready and carrying a bigger cost, both in terms of dollars and calories, DiGiorno is a brand that is quite frankly overrated. 

During quarantine I’ve had the opportunity to revisit frozen pizza in a way that I never thought possible. While I haven’t totally narrowed down my chilly power ranking, I can say that without a doubt I would put Tombstone, Tony’s, and Red Baron all above DiGiorno. Both their Original Rising and Stuffed Crust varieties left me feeling underwhelmed; but just when it felt like 2020 had run out of surprises I came across this…Croissant Crust Pizza.

Pulling the pizza out of the box it has a unique shape that meets in the middle of the two usual frozen pizza shapes – circle and square. It’s kind of boxy but also rounded – a funny little fella. Looking at the uncooked dough the layers of buttery pastry are evident and look very different than your average pizza. It’s pretty cool.

The baking time is a little longer than usual, which makes sense given its hefty thickness. Getting the pizza from the oven was a sight to behold – IT HAS RISEN! This pizza looks a lot bigger to me cooked than it did raw. I don’t know if it’s from its newfound height or the suddenly glistening impact of the pepperoni, but now that it has been baked it’s commanding my attention in a way no DiGiorno pizza has before. 

My main qualm with DG in the past has been it being too bread-forward with a sauce that didn’t quite do enough to stand up to it, lacking balance. That’s not the case with the Croissant Crust. It’s thick for sure, but it’s also buttery and flavorful in a way that compliments the zesty sauce and salty cheese. 

The immediate taste comparison I can draw from the croissant crust is Pillsbury’s Crescent Rolls. Soft and buttery on the inside with a gentle bouncy chew that gives way to slightly flaky and crispy crust. It’s good, it’s really good, and for the first time ever if I hadn’t bought and baked it myself, I might actually believe this was delivery. 

The balance is great and surprisingly complex. Usually frozen pizza almost always needs some ranch on the side by default, but here the buttery intrigue and textural play is enough to keep me engaged for my half of the pizza, and I’m really enjoying it.

Croissant Crust Pizza is the best pizza DiGiorno have ever made – simply put, it’s awesome. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s a brand new release or because croissant’s are always more expensive, but this was a pricey pizza. The only thing holding this back from being absolutely top tier is its price, but even with the $8.99 I paid for it I’ll do it again, and I’m looking forward to it.

Rating: 9/10

Found at: Target ($8.99)