Review: California Pizza Kitchen's Dill Pickle Pizza Proves How Versatile Pickles Truly Are

Dill pickles are currently in vogue, and for good reason: They're a simple, versatile, and practical ingredient. Need proof? Look no further than recipes like fried pickle egg rolls, pickle deviled eggs, and pickle cream cheese that are circulating the internet. Or, try California Pizza Kitchen's Dill Pickle Pizza, an adventurous product that encourages one to think outside the (pizza) box and experiment with new flavor combinations. While dill may not be the most common ingredient in American cuisine, it is a welcome addition that helps this pizza stand apart from other dishes that may be in your regular rotation.

Frozen pizzas have come a long way over the years; while we once only got to choose between plain-Jane options like cheese and pepperoni, there are now all sorts of fun variations. Plus, the quality of frozen pizzas has vastly improved, partly because brands like California Pizza Kitchen and Authentic Motor City Pizza Co. have raised the bar. Dill Pickle Pizza is proof of that. This isn't to say that it's the perfect product, though, so keep reading for critiques and kudos alike.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

For starters, this is a thin-crust pizza. If you don't usually like thin crusts, though, don't write this one off yet. Two people in my family, including myself, typically fall into that camp, yet we drooled over the crust on this pie (more on that later). Sitting atop the crust is a thin, creamy layer of garlic sauce; there are no tomatoes whatsoever on this pizza. Next up comes a layer of mozzarella cheese, which is interspersed with chunks of pickle. The vinegar flavor of pickles naturally pairs well with cheese; for instance, dill pickles taste great in cheese dip, too. Finally, a sprinkling of fresh dill finishes things off with burst of herbal flavor.

The star of the show, as the frozen pizza's name suggests, is the dill pickle. Depending on where you are in the world, the question "What is a pickle?" will be answered a bit differently. Generally, in the United States, dill pickles are prepared by placing cucumbers in a brine of vinegar, water, salt, and perhaps some additional flavoring agents like mustard seeds, fresh garlic, and black pepper. Of course, both dill seeds and dill leaves can be used to make dill-icious pickles. The box does not specify how the pickles on this pizza have been prepared, but both dill weed and dill oil are included in the ingredient list.

Selling at an MSRP of $8.49 per pie, California Pizza Kitchen's Dill Pickle Pizza can comfortably feed two people. While it certainly cannot be considered a budget-friendly pizza, it's only slightly more expensive compared to many other frozen pizzas of its ilk. It has just been released at select Target stores across the country as of May 1, and because it features dill, it's the perfect pizza to add to your springtime dinner table.

When it comes to nutrition, each serving contains 13 grams of protein, largely thanks to the inclusion of cheese, as well as 11 grams of fat. Naturally, sodium is to be expected, and 740 milligrams, or 32% of the recommended daily value, is contained in each serving, pretty par for the course as far as frozen pizzas go. Calcium, iron, and potassium are all present in substantial amounts, and the flour is enriched to amp up the vitamin and mineral content. This pizza clocks in at 280 calories per serving, with each pie comprising three servings (at least on paper).

As a dill pickle fan, I enjoyed this pizza. While there could have been 20% fewer pickles, I appreciated how well their tangy flavor complemented the more mellow garlic and mozzarella cheese. The pickle chunks were just the right size and not obtrusively juicy, allowing their flavor to meld with the cheese and garlic sauce, which did not have a bite at all. In light of the fact that pickles are infamously high in sodium, I was pleasantly surprised that the pizza was not too salty. The sprinkling of dill certainly helped add an element of freshness to each bite, though I wished there was a bit more of it.

The crispy texture and thin crust of this pizza were a real treat. It was not so thin that it burned, nor was it hollow and flaky like a tostada. This is true for several other of California Pizza Kitchen's highly acclaimed frozen pizzas, as well. The instructions on the package emphasized that the pizza should be placed straight on the oven's middle rack without a cookie sheet underneath. This placement makes a difference in ensuring that the dough does not become soft or soggy, and the pizza is designed in such a way that no sauce or cheese drips onto the rack or the oven floor. 

All in all, it was a very clean experience. Even when cutting the pizza, only a few crumbs escaped, and none of the ingredients fell off the crust while eating. I did wish that the cheese had more pull — and would even have forgiven a bit of messiness for the joy of softer, gooier bites — but, alas, rare is the frozen pizza that achieves this benchmark.

This pizza is a must-try for anyone who loves dill pickles, but a must-avoid for those who are put off by their briny flavor. That's because it would be a tedious task to pull each pickle off the pizza, given how encased in cheese the chunks are. In the event that you are sharing your pizza with someone who avoids pickles, I would suggest instead buying a plain pizza and doctoring up your portion of it with a handful of chopped pickles — perhaps using this classic dill pickles recipe. That said, California Pizza Kitchen has clearly crafted the garlic sauce and mozzarella cheese combination to complement the pickles' flavor, so just tossing pickles on any old pizza probably won't achieve the same effect. For the most part, there was a good ratio of crust to sauce to cheese to toppings.

As someone who has eaten nearly every brand of cheese pizza in the frozen aisle, desperate to find one that does not assault my senses with freezer burn or fill my mouth with the gummy texture of a sorry, soggy crust, Dill Pickle Pizza was a welcome surprise. Folks who love thin crusts will approve of its base, and even though the mozzarella cheese did not have much of a pull, it was sufficiently flavorful and present in just the right quantity. The garlic, dill, and pickle flavors played with one another like the best of friends, and nothing was noticeably missing or in short supply.