I compared five supermarket pizzas – one 99p pick was better than Pizza Express

The 99p supermarket pizza is undoubtedly a party food staple, and as a family, we relish our weekly pizza film night.

The arrival of Friday evening marks the end of a hectic week at work and school, and we delight in unwinding with a movie to usher in the weekend.

Found in the refrigerated section of every supermarket, the simple margherita usually pleases even the pickiest of guests. So if you’re planning to stock up on them, it’s worth knowing which supermarket offers the best one.

I typically purchase frozen supermarket own-brand pizzas with a variety of toppings, but I was eager to discover if any of the budget fresh ones might be equally satisfying, but at a fraction of the cost.

We all know that Pizza Express pizzas are scrumptious, whether enjoyed at home or in a restaurant, so I also grabbed one of those to see if any of the own brand pizzas could hold a candle to it.

I visited Asda, Tesco, M&S, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – and I discovered one pizza that outshone all the others.

Pizza Express Margherita Pizza

The Pizza Express Margherita Pizza costs £5.50 for 245g from Sainsbury’s. It was smaller than all the others, except for M&S.

The pizza was topped with diced cheese instead of grated, and it wasn’t as rich in tomato flavour as some of the others. There was a noticeable gap around the sauce, revealing the crust, and the herbs in the sauce were visible.

As anticipated, it boasted the classic Pizza Express crispy base, the tomato sauce was scrumptious, and there was a generous amount of tangy cheese on top. I adored how the cheese turned golden brown in the oven.

The packaging described it as mozzarella, cheddar and passata on a classic base as part of the ‘Icons at Home’ range. Additional ingredients included basil, semolina and lemon juice.

It had a seven-day shelf life and contained 4.7g of saturated fat, 4g sugar and 1g of salt per half pizza, although it was so small, you’d really want to devour an entire one by yourself.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Tesco Hearty Food Co Pizza

Priced at 99p for 300g with a three-day shelf life, this pizza was adorned with tomato sauce, mozzarella and cheddar.

It had a pleasingly crispy base and the sauce had a good herby taste. There was ample cheese that extended right to the edge. This pizza reminded me of the joy of savouring pizza slices at family gatherings.

It contained 4.7g saturated fat, 3.1g sugar and 1.3g of salt per half pizza. The ingredients included garlic powder, basil, chilli powder, semolina and cayenne pepper.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Morrisons Savers Cheese and Tomato Pizza

I found this pizza to be excessively tomatoey and lacking in cheese and the base wasn’t particularly crispy.

The distribution of the tomato sauce was uneven, with a large gap on one side as if it had slipped. However, there was a decent distribution of cheese, albeit in a small quantity.

Also priced at 99p for 300g, this featured tomato sauce with mozzarella, but no cheddar or semolina. The only additional ingredient worth mentioning was black pepper, which was visible in the sauce.

It had a five-day shelf life. Per half pizza, there was 4.6g of saturated fat, 5.3g of sugar and 1.32g of salt.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Sainsbury’s Stamford St Co Pizza

The Stamford St Co Pizza is priced from £1.50 at Sainsbury’s for a 309g portion. This pizza was garnished with tomato sauce and mozzarella, with no cheddar in sight.

I appreciated that the sauce extended right to the edge of this pizza. It had a significantly thicker base than the others, which I felt was too thick.

Despite the sauce containing garlic puree, basil and oregano, I couldn’t detect any of these flavours and thought it lacked taste. It was the only one my children left untouched, which speaks volumes. It tasted even worse when cold.

The pizza contained 4.4g of saturated fat, 4g of sugar and 1.14g of salt per half pizza. The best before date was the following day, but there was no reduction in price.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

M&S Mozzarella and Tomato Pizza

This pizza costs £2.75 for a 243g portion. Similar to the Pizza Express one, it was noticeably smaller than the others.

This was a stonebaked base topped with tomato and mozzarella, again without any cheddar. Additional ingredients included basil, garlic puree and semolina.

Its golden cheese bubbled right to the edge of this pizza, making it the most enticing option on the board. The herbs peeking through the cheese and the crust looked fantastic.

I’m happy to report that it tasted as good as it looked, with the herby flavour complementing the creamy cheese perfectly. The base, which contained semolina, was crispy and just the right texture and thickness. If it weren’t for the high price, I’d buy this pizza again.

The pizza contained 3.7g of saturated fat, 3.8g of sugar and 1.08g of salt per 100g and had a shelf life of five days.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Aldi Essentials Cheese and Tomato Pizza

This costs 99p for 300g. It had a seven day shelf life and claimed to contain no artificial colours or flavours. I suspect this was true for some of the other pizzas, but this information wasn’t as clear on their packaging.

A pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella and cheddar with oregano and basil, it had a higher saturated fat content than most of the others, containing 6g of saturated fat per half pizza, along with 6.9g sugar and 1.14g salt.

This might be because there was visibly more cheese grated onto the top of this pizza than all the others. The topping was well distributed, spread evenly right to the edges.

The base was slightly thicker than some others, but it was crispy and delicious, with the tomato sauce being rich and full of flavour, packed with a variety of tasty herbs.

The cheese truly made this pizza stand out. It had a great look and taste, reminiscent of the stringy cheese from old Pizzaland adverts.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Asda Just Essentials Cheese and Tomato Pizza

Priced at 99p for 300g, the packet said it contained mozzarella and mild cheddar with tomato sauce, with oregano and black pepper.

The sauce was unevenly distributed on the pizza, reaching right to the edge on one side while leaving a large bare crust on the other. There was also a significant clump of cheese on one side.

Despite these flaws, the base was tasty and nicely crispy at the edges. It cooked well and there was plenty of cheese, but it lacked a herby flavour.

Per half pizza, it contained 4.4g saturated fat, 7.1g sugar and 1.4g salt. It had a shelf life of six days.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Lidl’s Simply Cheese and Tomato Pizza

Also priced at 99p for 300g, this was topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella and cheddar, along with dried herbs and dried garlic.

This pizza had an extremely thin sourdough base, so thin that it split in two places when I was transferring it to the oven. Not the best beginning.

There was a noticeable gap around the crust where the topping didn’t quite extend to the edge. Despite featuring dried herbs and dried garlic in its ingredients, it merely tasted of tomato and lacked sufficient cheese.

The base had a ‘doughy’ taste and, even though it was thin, it seemed like the base was still thicker than the even thinner layer of topping.

Per half pizza, it contained 3.9g saturated fat, 4.9g sugar and 0.86g salt. It had a shelf life of four days.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Overall verdict

The thickness of a pizza base is a matter of personal preference. Some people prefer them super thin and crispy, while others enjoy a good, doughy deep pan.

We lean towards the thin and crispy side. All of the pizzas were suitable for freezing.

While the Pizza Express pizza was undoubtedly tasty, I didn’t think it justified being five times the price of most of the others. I also enjoyed the M&S pizza but found it rather expensive.

My top pick was the Aldi pizza, priced at just 99p and tasting delightful. The children were fans as well, so I’ll certainly be adding it to my weekly grocery shopping list. What a bargain!