When we ranked the best and worst of store-bought pizza, one factor became clear — it’s a real challenge for refrigerated or frozen pizza preparations to really bring the flavor. Unlike when dining out at your favorite pizza joint or even when recreating restaurant-style pizza at home, store-bought pizza brands struggle to deliver on that nuanced, well-rounded, flavorful experience that screams “quality.”
In a realm where acidity doesn’t translate, bright herbs become muted, and subtle toppings lose their taste, store-bought brands focus on melty cheese, salty meat, and, ideally, a sauce as flavor-packed as possible. The good news is that this good-but-not-great base is perfect for experimentation. With one particular condiment you likely already have in your fridge, you can seriously wake up your convenient pizza-eating experience with as little effort as possible. The answer, of course, is spicy chili crisp.
There are actually very few foods that chili crisp, the Chinese condiment made of crunchy chiles, Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, scallions, and other herbs and spices all packed in spicy oil, won’t improve. We’ve tried it on aglio e olio pasta, inside spicy deviled eggs, and even as an unexpected topping on ice cream. On pizza, the acidity helps brighten the tomato sauce, the aromatics add depth to your other toppings, and the spice brings a welcome heat to the mild taste of bread and cheese.
How to best incorporate chili crisp on your store-bought pizza
Improving your store-bought pizza can be as easy as swapping your usual red pepper flakes for chili crisp. Simply dot your fresh-from-the-oven pie with chili crisp straight from the refrigerator. While the dried chiles, shallots, and garlic will wake up any of your other toppings, like sausage, pepperoni, bell peppers, or mushrooms, we’d recommend spooning chili crisp somewhat sparingly into your pizza’s melted puddles of cheese. To help distribute the chili crisp throughout each bite, give the chili crisp and cheese a little swirl — otherwise you might accidentally blow out your palette with one bite.
If you prefer to assemble your pizzas at home with a few store-bought ingredients like pizza crust and tomato sauce, we’d recommend adding chili crisp directly to your pizza sauce (to taste). That way your entire pizza-eating experience will have that added zip chili crisp can bring, without overwhelming that classic, nostalgic pizza taste.
Last but not least, whether you’ve baked up a frozen pizza, assembled a few pre-made pizza ingredients, carried out a pizza from your favorite Italian place, or made a delicious hand-crafted pizza at home, a chili crisp dipping sauce will be your pizza crust’s new best friend. Simply mix together chili crisp with a little ranch dressing and you’ll start to think the crust was the best part all along.
