This New $3.99 ALDI Find Is a Garlic Lover's Dream

It’s loaded with two kinds of cheese, jalapeños, and a creamy roasted garlic sauce.

I have always been a diehard pizza fanatic. My love for pizza knows no bounds, and my standards are pretty steady on a spectrum. Of course, I recognize the blood, sweat, and tears that go into making a great New York slice, but I’m not going to turn down a cafeteria slice as if I was too good for it, either (looking at you, Costco).

One of my favorite things about pizza is the wide variety of ways in which a good pie can be made. Fresh or frozen, certain ingredient combinations will always hit the bullseye for my tastebuds.

On a recent trip to ALDI I decided to explore outside of my usual pizza cravings and found myself purchasing a delicious-looking new variety from Mama Cozzi’s that was hidden in last week’s selection of ALDI Finds—albeit in an eye-catching bright green box and accompanied by a $3.99 price point.

Advertised as a Thin Crust Jalapeño Popper Pizza, the box boasts delicious ingredients such as a creamy roasted garlic sauce, low-fat mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, jalapeños, green onions, and bread crumbs—all of which sounded like a great combination of flavors to me. Mama Cozzi’s has an extensive track record of tasty frozen pizzas, so I had high hopes for this new and interesting flavor.

My Thoughts About Mama Cozzi’s Thin Crust Jalapeño Popper Pizza

To me, pizza is pizza. I love everything about biting into a hot, perfectly baked crust that is topped with delicious tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and my favorite toppings. You have to seriously do the art of pizza making a disservice (or top it with an abomination of questionable ingredients) to deter me from indulging in a hot and ready slice.

With that being said, after eating two slices of Mama Cozzi’s Thin Crust Jalapeño Popper Pizza, I came to the conclusion that this pie falls a little bit short of greatness for me. While I did enjoy the unique combination of flavors brought forth by the jalapeños, green peppers, and garlic, it was the abundance of creamy roasted garlic sauce in each bite that ultimately became too overpowering. I found myself enjoying the bites closer to the crust more than the initial first bites of the slice, as by that point, the creamy sauce was much more thinned out and palatable.

To be honest, what I loved about Mama Cozzi’s Thin Crust Jalapeño Popper Pizza is almost enough for me to look past the excessive creaminess. The crust was perfectly airy and crisp, and it came out of the oven nearly perfect after 12 minutes at 425°F. And despite the inclusion of jalapeño peppers, there was only a light hint of spice in each bite, which, for some, might make this pie a little easier to stomach.

In addition to flavor and a perfectly crisp crust, I enjoyed the combination of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. I’m a sucker for cheese, and adding cheddar to the mix gave the top of the pie a nice golden color that contrasted beautifully with the field of green peppers and jalapeños. Overall, for a frozen pizza, the display was perfect and well put together.

How I Would Serve Mama Cozzi’s Thin Crust Jalapeño Popper Pizza

Even though the creamy roasted garlic sauce prevented me from raving about how delicious this pizza is, I still found it to be a pleasant discovery that I will absolutely eat again.

In the future, I can see myself elevating this pizza by adding some extra ingredients to absorb some of the creaminess. Diced chicken, sausage, red peppers, and onions are just a few ingredients that come to mind and would transform this pie for the better.

If you’re planning a family and friends get-together this summer, I would encourage you to buy a couple of these Jalapeño Popper Pizzas and cut them into thin slices after baking. It would make the perfect appetizer for your guests, and in small doses, the creaminess is likely to not be so overpowering.

And in the off chance my tastebuds are just a little over sensitive to creamy roasted garlic, then this new offering from Mama Cozzi’s just might be perfect for you!

Read the original article on Simply Recipes.