Meta Description: This comprehensive guide covers the health benefits of whole wheat pizza crust, how to choose the most nutritious ingredients and brands for healthy frozen pizza, nutrition comparisons, and tips to customize your pizza for maximum nutrition.
Whole wheat frozen pizza has quickly become a go-to for families seeking a fast, hassle-free meal that doesn’t derail healthy eating goals. However, not all frozen pizzas are created equal when it comes to nutrition.
In this comprehensive guide, we dive deep on everything you need to know about choosing nutritious whole wheat frozen pizza for your family. You’ll learn about:
- The health benefits of whole wheat pizza crust
- How to pick the most nutritious ingredients
- Recommended brands for healthy whole wheat frozen pizza
- Tips for customizing frozen pizza to make it even healthier
- Whole wheat frozen pizza nutrition facts comparison
Let’s get started building your next healthy frozen pizza!
What Makes Whole Wheat Pizza Crust So Healthy?
Pizza crust made from 100% whole wheat flour offers major health advantages over refined white flour crust:
Nutrition Table
Nutrient | Whole Wheat Crust | White Flour Crust |
|---|---|---|
Calories | Varies | Varies |
Fiber
Whole wheat flour contains all three parts of the wheat kernel – the bran, endosperm and nutrient-packed germ. This gives the whole wheat crust a hefty dose of dietary fiber.
The average slice of whole wheat crust pizza contains 3-5 grams fiber, while white flour crust delivers less than 1 gram per slice.
Fiber is essential for:
- Improved digestion and regularity
- Increased satiety that helps support weight management
- Reducing cholesterol and heart disease risk
- Stabilizing blood sugar levels
Protein
With around 5-8 grams of protein per slice, whole wheat pizza crust provides double the protein amount you’ll find in white flour crust. The bran and germ provide a concentrated protein boost.
Protein is crucial for:
- Building and repairing muscles and tissues
- Providing sustained energy
- Regulating appetite by making you feel fuller longer
Vitamins & Minerals
We’ve already discussed how important vitamins are but let’s do it again. Whole grains supply higher concentrations of important vitamins and minerals like:
- Iron – vital for hemoglobin and red blood cell health
- Magnesium – supports bone health, heart health, immunity
- B vitamins – converts food into cellular energy
- Selenium – acts as an antioxidant to protect cells from damage
Overall, whole wheat frozen pizza crust gives you way more nutritional bang for the buck compared to refined white crust.
Benefits of Choosing Whole Wheat Frozen Pizza
Convenience
Let’s be real – making homemade pizza dough from scratch is messy and very time consuming. Whole wheat frozen pizza provides a quick and easy family dinner, ready when you need it.
Budget-Friendly
Trader Joe’s gluten-free pizza (2-pack) costs $10.99. A takeout large cheese pizza from Domino’s will run you $12.99.
With prices often under $5 for name brand pizzas, whole wheat frozen varieties won’t break the bank. You can easily feed a family without spending a fortune.
Kid-Approved
Many kids love pizza night. Whole wheat crust provides extra nutrition and fiber with the fun flavors kids enjoy.
Customizable
Go beyond plain cheese pizza. Load up whole wheat crust with healthy toppings like veggies, beans, or grilled chicken to transform it into a nutritious meal.
Portion Control
A frozen pizza contains a predetermined single portion size. This makes it easy to avoid overeating compared to a restaurant pizza served by the giant slice.
Fewer Calories than Takeout
While they’re not low-calorie, most frozen pizzas have fewer calories per serving than pizza delivery with cheese, fatty meats and extra large portions.
How to Choose Healthy Whole Wheat Frozen Pizza Ingredients
Ingredient Choices for Healthier Pizzas
Ingredient Type | Recommended Options | Ingredients to Avoid |
|---|---|---|
Crust | 100% whole wheat flour | White flour, enriched wheat flour |
Crust
Look for certified 100% whole wheat crusts, with “whole wheat flour” as the first ingredient. Terms like “wheat flour” or “enriched wheat flour” are refined white flour.
Sauce
Many leading brands offer plain tomato sauce, tomato paste or olive oil for brushing as more nutritious sauce options over high-sugar jarred tomato sauce. Or make your own healthy marinara sauce.
Cheese
Regular pizza cheese is high in saturated fat. Opt for reduced-fat cheese or part-skim mozzarella. Go lighter on cheese or use half cheese, half veggie toppings.
Protein
Pick lower-fat proteins like turkey pepperoni, Canadian bacon, grilled chicken or beans over high-fat meats like sausage, bacon and heavily processed pepperoni.
Veggies
This is where you can pack in nutrition! Load up the pizza with mushrooms, spinach, onions, tomatoes, peppers, artichokes, broccoli, pineapple – get creative!
Avoid Extra Drizzles of Oil
Many recipes advise brushing the crust with olive oil before baking. With whole wheat crust it’s not needed and just adds more fat and calories.
Best Brands for Healthy Whole Wheat Frozen Pizza
1. Caulipower
Offers innovative cauliflower-based “crust” with fewer net carbs. Available in gluten-free and vegan varieties.
2. DiGiorno
DiGiorno rising crust pizzas allow you to pile on your own toppings. Choose veggie toppings over DiGiorno’s high-fat meat options.
3. Amy's Kitchen
Amy’s offers many organic, vegetarian and gluten-free pizzas made with organic tomato sauce, whole wheat crusts and no artificial ingredients.
4. Newman's Own
Newman’s Own Thin & Crispy pizzas offer quality whole wheat crusts. Build your own veggie pizza or try their vegetarian varieties.
5. California Pizza Kitchen
CPK Crispy Thin pizzas provide a tasty thin and crispy whole wheat crust foundation. Construct your own healthy veggie pizza.
6. Lean Cuisine
Lean Cuisine whole wheat pizzas provide portion-controlled options between 290-360 calories. Veggie lovers offers a healthy plant-based option.
7. Good & Gather (Target)
Good & Gather whole wheat pizzas include the Garden Vegetable Pizza made with a cauliflower crust. Available at Target.
Tips for Building an Even Healthier Whole Wheat Frozen Pizza
- Load up on extra veggies like mushrooms, onions, peppers, spinach. More vegetables = more nutrients.
- Add beans like garbanzo or black beans for an extra protein and fiber punch.
- Swap out half the cheese for extra veggie toppings to lighten up on saturated fat and calories.
- Opt for vegetable-based sauces like marinara versus sugary jarred pizza sauce. Or use just a drizzle of olive oil.
- Choose lean proteins like grilled chicken breast, Canadian bacon or turkey crumbles.
- Sprinkle nuts and seeds like walnuts and chia seeds on top for added protein and healthy fats.
- Make it Mediterranean-style with olives, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, feta cheese crumbles and basil.
- Toss on some pineapple and jalapeno for a Hawaiian twist.
The Bottom Line on Whole Wheat Frozen Pizza
Pizza night doesn’t have to ruin your healthy diet. Making the right choices for crust, cheese, toppings and brand can mean whole wheat frozen pizzas are great for convenience, portion control and budget-friendly nutrition for busy families.
100% whole wheat crusts are most important and you should stack your pies high with flavorful and low-calorie veggies to create a balanced frozen entree. Plus don’t forget a side salad!
