The Ultimate Ranking Of California Pizza Kitchen Frozen Pies

California Pizza Kitchen has nearly 200 locations throughout the U.S. and worldwide. But if you can't make it to one of the chain's locations, then you may have an easier time finding the brand's pizza selection at a local grocery store, such as Albertsons, Target, and more. There are a bunch of pies to pick from, but not every store sells all CPK pizza flavors. Keep that in mind; you may have to do some digging to find a particular store with a specific flavor that interests you. 

I recall visiting CPK restaurants a handful of times, but it has been several years since my last venture in-store. I wanted to bring the pizza chain's flavors to my home by trying a bunch of pies to rank in the search for which one is superior. I judged them based on the taste, texture, if it was especially interesting or notable, and if it delivered the advertised ingredients on the box. Which ones are worth the trip to the grocery store, and which ones can you just skip? We're about to find out.

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

Typically, I like barbecue chicken pizza, but the California Pizza Kitchen Crispy Thin Crust BBQ Chicken Pizza lacked flavor and left me wondering where the BBQ sauce was. It is described as being decked out with toppings like barbecue-seasoned white meat chicken, red onions, cilantro, mozzarella cheese, and supposedly, barbecue sauce. The BBQ flavor is light with a lingering sweetness, but overall, it's not too noticeable. I wanted more of everything — sauce, chicken, toppings. It felt like it was missing flavor.

True to the description, it's very crunchy with a flat crust. I'm not a big fan of the crisp crust. Seeing this was a small, personal-size pizza, it got especially firm in the oven. The edges are quite hard to bite into, but the central part that's under the toppings is a bit easier to chew because of the sauce and cheese. Perhaps this would've fared better in the standard size, as the BBQ chicken pizza ranked seventh among a ranking of 30 popular pizzas and then second among various restaurant chain frozen meals.

I am not a fan of the thin crusts I tried from CPK's frozen pie line. Rather than mention this for each pizza, I'll just preface it here. This is a personal preference, but I felt like they didn't provide much dimension. Sometimes a thin crust is flavorful and sturdy yet not overly unyielding. These are flaky, sometimes too hard, and don't bring a lot to the table. I usually scarf down crust with pleasure, but I left a lot of the thin crust on my plate.

Pickles on pizza? It sounds polarizing in theory — something that you'd either adore or detest, but I fell in the middle. I do love pickles, and I'm open to having them on pizza, but the Dill Pickle Thin Crust Pizza was far from a stand-out, must-order pie. This pizza features a creamy sauce that distinguishes it from tomato-based CPK pizzas, and frankly, I can't imagine the tartness of pickles being paired with the acidity of a tomato sauce. The pizza has a generous amount of dill for an herbal uplift, while the pickles add a salty, tangy touch and a chewy texture to the crisp crust and creamy sauce. 

It doesn't have the snap of a fresh pickle, but it still offers a bit of texture variance. Overall, the execution was pretty good, but the thin crust leaves a little to be desired. I also felt like the pizza was missing some added depth, like an extra punch of vinegar powder to offer more tartness. However, you may think differently — as the writer who reviewed the CPK dill pickle pizza really enjoyed it, and the crust, to boot. This absolutely tasted better than the BBQ chicken, but it was not too memorable (aside from the pickle aspect).

Margherita pizza has a thin, crispy crust with Roma tomato pieces that offer some moisture. This means the crust isn't overly firm like some other options on this list. It features cubed, colorful tomatoes, a mozzarella and Fontina cheese duo, extra-virgin olive oil, basil, and an Italian herb tomato sauce that includes basil, oregano, and thyme. Some pieces had a little more flavor than others, so it was slightly uneven. I like the herbs that are visible in the sauce; they bring a visual element as well as a light, fragrant touch to the spice. The herbs consistently set California Pizza Kitchen apart from other frozen pizza brands. While it was more interesting than the dill pickle pie, it still had some issues that prevent me from ranking it higher on this list.

If you like Buffalo sauce, then you'll favor the Buffalo Style Chicken Thin Crust Pizza. This pie has a Buffalo-style sauce base, white meat chicken, diced red onions, and a sprinkle of parsley to give it a touch of color. Everything is then topped with mozzarella cheese, which offers a creaminess to balance the sauce. Some of the chicken was not evenly dispersed, so it piled up in one half of the pizza. The Buffalo sauce provides a light heat to your tongue and offers more intrigue than any of the aforementioned pizzas, but the chicken itself needed a little bit of flavor. It could benefit from getting tossed in a splash of the spiced red sauce. On the plus side, I liked that it had a unique spicy sauce foundation, compared to the rest of the tomato or creamy-based ones.

The white pizza is "white" because of its creamy garlic sauce, made with buttermilk powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar, and a few other ingredients. This pizza is topped with spinach, garlic, and five cheeses, which include ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago. I like the combination of spinach and cheese because leafy green brings an earthiness to round out the decadent cheese blend and sauce. There's not a lot of garlic coming through, though, perhaps it's hidden under the herby spinach notes and the sugar in the garlic cream sauce; but given that there's supposed to be a creamy garlic sauce and then garlic as a topping, it didn't deliver on this aspect. The pieces of ricotta and the wilted nature of the spinach add a welcome touch of texture that doesn't overwhelm the senses. If you like creamy spinach dip, you will like the flavors and textures in this pie. It's comforting and tasty. This is the best pizza so far, as far as taste and texture, but there are better ones to come.

If you're in the mood for a white pizza base, then you may want to pick the Roasted Garlic Chicken Thin Crust Pizza. This features white meat grilled chicken, gooey mozzarella cheese, roasted garlic, caramelized onions, and parsley with creamy garlic sauce. The chicken is juicy, but it doesn't have much of a grilled flavor. I can also pick up on the caramelized onions, which bring sweetness, and the creamy sauce, which brings a rich mouthfeel. I don't taste much garlic, you'd think it'd be more prominent with the roasted garlic and garlic sauce. The flavors of the pizza work well together to create a tasty combination, making it more captivating and scrumptious than anything else I've covered so far. Once again, I commend CPK for incorporating herbs, as it brings a pleasant taste and attractive appearance.

Can you ever go wrong with a pepperoni pizza? California Pizza Kitchen's Thin Crust Signature Pepperoni Pizza comes with a trio of mozzarella, Fontina, and hickory smoked Gouda cheese. It has a nice sprinkle of basil and a marinara sauce base. The pepperoni is a little oily, but that's to be expected; the ingredient is also fragrant and flavorful enough to make it to the top half of this taste test. Pepperoni is a classic for a reason. The cheese is nice and salty and seems to balance the crust a little bit better — some of the previous pies are light in terms of toppings, so the cheese-to-crust ratio is much better in this pepperoni pizza. The meat also brings a lightly spiced, impressive taste to each bite. 

The Sicilian recipe pizza has the thinner, crispy crust that we are very familiar with by now. You'll find this one topped with meats like Italian sausage, Genoa salami, and thinly sliced spicy ham, effectively making it a meat trio — perfect if you want a meat lover's pie, as this is the most meaty one on the list. There's also mozzarella and Fontina cheese, marinara sauce, and a bit of sweet basil to punch it up. 

Even though this has the same crackery crust issues as the lower-ranking pizzas, it ranks higher because the meats offer a welcome flavor and chewy texture to act as a balance. There's a mild sweetness from the sweet basil, some spiciness, and then the savory meat trifecta. Everything works together to establish a meaningful pie that you'll want to stock in your freezer. The Sicilian pizza edges out the pepperoni because it has a little more going on in terms of flavor. 

The four cheese pizza has two types of mozzarella, Fontina, and hickory smoked Gouda to give it the designated quad of quesos. It has a combination of tomato sauce and olive oil sauce to offer added moisture, which I've been longing for with each passing pie. I ranked this pretty high up because, in this instance, the crust seems balanced and not overly crunchy and brittle. 

If this is how all other pies were executed, it would've made a more delicious experience. After taking a couple of bites, I could see that the upper half of the crust was moist from the tomato sauce and the four types of cheese, while the bottom portion remained the standard crisp one I had tried so many times before. This is the only reason I can fathom for the crust tasting considerably better and having a more satisfactory, not-so-crackly texture. The cheese blend offers a gooey decadence that melts in your mouth (especially if you eat it immediately after taking it out of the oven), while the crust provides a light crispness to juxtapose the cheeses' richness. Despite cheese being a rather standard option, California Pizza Kitchen's version is flavorful and comforting — the best I've had ... so far.

When I said that thin crusts can be done well, this is what I meant. The BBQ Chicken Gluten-Free Cauliflower Crust Pizza nails the thin and crispy crust without being overly firm. This pie was like a breath of fresh air compared to the other barbecue option that ranked all the way at the bottom. Among the monotony of the constant crispy crusts, this cauliflower version is, yes, crispy, but it has a more flaky texture and almost butter-like taste. 

It also has a bit of earthiness that works marvelously with the sweetness of the barbecue sauce, which is flavorful this time around. I could visibly see it on the pizza, too. I have noticed that the cauliflower crusts tend to burn even if you follow the directions (this is true for a range of brands, not just CPK), so I recommend keeping a watchful eye on the time. This pizza actually had me finishing the whole slice, rather than scraping off the topping and leaving some of the crust. It left me impressed with every element — taste, texture, memorability, and the delivery of the ingredients advertised on the box — and it also left me satiated. Virtually every pizza could have been partially improved if they had used a cauliflower crust or the Neapolitan-inspired crust, which is coming up next.

The Double Uncured Pepperoni Neapolitan Inspired Crust features double the meat than your average pepperoni pie, ideal for fans of the cured meat. It offers the standard circular slices that most pizza-eaters are familiar with, as well as small diced pieces. Plus, there are two types of mozzarella (one is part-skim and the other is not) and smoked Gouda to offer a mild smoky profile that works nicely with the pepperoni. The pepperoni duo has a peppery aftertaste to contrast the creaminess of the cheese, and the different pepperoni slices also offer a welcome pop of texture. The topping combines basil, tomato sauce, and garlic for added dimension. Overall, this is a well-executed pizza. It delivers on its advertised qualities, and I'm a big fan of the Neapolitan-based crust — it blends the soft and doughy interior part of the crust with the firmer exterior. The pepperoni combination is fun and interesting, making it a tasty way to mix up your pizza night. This is truly a scrumptious pizza.

You stuck with me long enough to make it to the top of the list. California Pizza Kitchen's Six Cheese Neapolitan-Inspired Crust is described as having a chewy and crispy texture, which is accurate. The six cheeses include Parmesan, Asiago, Romano, smoked Gouda, mozzarella, and lastly, ricotta cheese. It has a creamy tomato sauce with crème fraîche, olive oil, basil, and roasted garlic that brings a flavorful contrast to the otherwise cheesy pizza. I have to say the photo on the box looked purely like a white sauce, but mine had a very herby basil topping and tomato sauce base, which I appreciate. The basil is strong and aromatic, while adding freshness that lifts the pizza. 

I knew off the bat that I was going to like this crust based on my experience with the double pepperoni one. It's soft and fluffy on the inside but crispy on the edge, creating the perfect balance. This is a well-done cheese pizza with a delicious taste and fantastic crust. I like the mix of flavors and textures. There's acidity from the tomatoes and creaminess in the cheese, and then that herbal, almost lemony note of basil. The crisp exterior of the crust slowly melts in your mouth, and the ricotta balls have a nice mouthfeel. If you want a cheese pizza that's elevated, this is as good as it gets.

California Pizza Kitchen sent me a few pizzas to try, and then I had to scour the Internet to find other flavors at stores near me. Even then, I couldn't access all the options in my area. Some were out of stock completely, while other stores didn't carry certain flavors. I baked the pizzas according to the package instructions and sampled them over a few days, ranking them on flavor, texture, memorability, and delivery of advertised ingredients. For the thin and crispy pizzas, I recommend taking off a minute or two from the cooking time so it isn't as firm.