Elevate Frozen Pizza To Restaurant Quality With One Ingredient

Frozen pizza has certainly come a long way from the cardboard-like crusts and plasticy cheeses of yesteryear. But let's be real — most store-bought pizzas still fall short of delivering a restaurant-quality slice. That is until you add one special ingredient: burrata. Sure, most frozen pizzas already come with their own blend of cheeses, but adding burrata takes that frozen disk and instantly upgrades it to a gourmet status pie that would probably even be bougie enough for Martha Stewart.

What is it about burrata that makes it so decadent? It seems to come down to the combination of textures — rich mozzarella on the outside and luscious moisture in the center. And don't even get us started on the cool creaminess of the burrata contrasting with the piping hot pizza fresh out of the oven. It's such a simple trick that it might even keep your Italian nonna from disowning you when she finds out you get your pizzas from the freezer aisle. (Don't be embarrassed, some of them really aren't bad.)

While it might seem intuitive to load your pie up with all the toppings before putting it in the oven, there's actually a careful method behind when extra ingredients should be placed on a pizza. Take arugula, for example. You wouldn't want to add this bitter green — which you totally should because it's a delicious and underrated topping — until after the pizza's already finished baking so that it stays fresh and green. The same goes for burrata. This fancy cheese is actually pretty watery, so adding it to the pizza before baking could turn your meal into a soggy mess. Which, let's be real, is anything but fancy.

Once the pizza is out of the oven, and at peak crispiness, tear apart a ball of burrata and plop little bits around the pizza. This works best when the pizza is still steaming hot so the burrata melts slightly into the other toppings. Drizzle a little olive oil, toss on some fresh basil, and shave a bit of parmesan and viola! Suddenly, that frozen pizza looks — and tastes — like a pie straight out of a trattoria.