The Freezies Awards: The 9 Best New Frozen Finds of 2024
From pizza and ice cream to dumplings and meaty mains, these are the freezer finds we're stocking up on.
We are living in the golden age of frozen foods. Gone are the days of grainy fish sticks and cardboard-like pizzas. In 2024, the freezer aisle is full of possibilities: better-than-homemade dinners, hearty breakfasts that are ready in under one minute, and budget-friendly frozen treats that everyone will love. All you have to do is know what to grab—and we’re here to help.
For the first time ever, Simply Recipes is celebrating the very best NEW products to pick up in the freezer aisle. The nine winners of our inaugural The Freezies Awards passed our months-long taste test with flying colors. From the one-handed waffles with which contributor Molly Adams fell in love with while she was postpartum, to the vegetarian main that our Art Director Sarah Crowder says is “so flavorful,” these are the grocery must-buys that are nourishing our families this year and beyond.
— Ariel Knutson, Senior Editorial Director, and Myo Quinn, Associate Editorial Director
How the Winners Were Selected
For a product to be considered for The Freezies Awards in 2024, it had to have come out sometime in 2023, and it had to be available nationwide. In the first round of testing, our editors, friends, and family tried almost 200 products within nine different categories, and we whittled it down to our five favorite products per category. In the second round of testing, we tasked our favorite cookbook authors, food writers, chefs, bakers, registered dietician nutritionists, home cooks, and kids to pick one winner per category. We evaluated each product based on taste, texture, quality of ingredients, nutritional value, and overall appeal.
Are you ready to see our frozen champions? It's time to make room in your freezer.
Simply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
The Best New Frozen Breakfast: Banza Blueberry Protein Waffles
Where to Buy: Online and at Whole Foods Markets
If you only know Banza as the company that makes utterly delicious gluten-free, chickpea pasta, you need to expand your horizons. In addition to now offering frozen pizza and rice, the company expanded into the freezer with a line of frozen waffles (they’re also gluten-free and made with chickpeas). Don't let the word "gluten-free" turn you off. These aren't the gritty, mealy gluten-free waffles of the past. We're living in an alt-wheat renaissance and Banza is leading the way with a product that got the most votes even in a blind taste that included non-GF contenders.
Recipe developer and writer Molly Adams says, "They don’t have that unappealing protein powder aftertaste similar products leave behind. They get beautifully crisp in the toaster but remain fluffy on the interior. I recommend putting these through the lowest setting of your toaster or toaster oven two times for the optimal texture."
Associate Social Director Brooke Schuldt tasted the three available flavors—blueberry, chocolate chip, and homestyle—and blueberry is her runaway favorite.
Read More: This $4.99 Freezer Find Helps Me Make Breakfast in Under 1 Minute
"These could not have arrived at my house at a better time. Newly postpartum, this is the best quick and easy breakfast I can make for myself (with one hand!). They are packed with protein so they keep me full and satisfied. If I am being completely honest, my kids have these for dinner in a pinch." — Molly Adams
Simply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
The Best New Frozen Dumplings: MìLà Pork Soup Dumplings
Where to Buy: Online, Wegmans Food Markets, and Target
Price: $7.99 (10-count package)
Waiting in line at your local spot for soup dumplings, or xiao long bao, is so 2023. Now you can enjoy stacks of billowing steamers dotted with delicate dumplings in your PJs without leaving your house.
A few soup dumpling brands hit the market in 2023 and our testers tasted them at the same time to compare. MìLà soup dumplings, especially the classic pork, stand out for their supple wrapper that doesn't break and luscious pork filling that tastes like ginger and bright rice wine.
Associate Editorial Director Myo Quinn's three kids will eat a 50-count bag in one sitting, wildly flapping their hands in front of their mouths to cool the hot filling. If you've never had soup dumplings, there's a trick for eating them without scalding yourself. Gently lift the dumpling from the steamer and place it on your spoon. Make a little hole in the wrapper to release some steam. Drink the soup inside. Then you can pop the whole dumpling into your mouth. Repeat again and again, until your belly feels happily full.
Read More: The $7.99 Target Freezer Find My Whole Family Devours
"These soup dumplings have a juicy interior with a classic taste that you'd expect from a great pork soup dumpling. These stood out to me as excellent!" — Irvin Lin
Simply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
The Best New Frozen Pizza: Genio Della Pizza The Bianca
Where to Buy: Online, Whole Foods Markets, Fresh Direct, Bristol Farms, DeCicco & Sons, Gopuff, and more
Suggested Retail Price: $11.99-14.99 (varies)
The U.S. frozen pizza market is valued at over $6 billion and quickly growing, which proves we're pizza-obsessed and the freezer aisle is brimming with choices. Though the market is still controlled by big food brands, grocery stores are stocking up on more premium mass-produced frozen pizzas from famous restaurants and pizzaiolos. Our top pick for best frozen pizza, Genio Della Pizza's The Bianca, falls into this category.
Anthony Mangieri, the founder of Una Pizza Napoletana in New York, is behind this slow-risen pizza made with all-natural Italian ingredients. The pizzas are made in Northern Italy in wood-fired ovens and are shipped straight to your local grocery store.
Our testers baked off 15 frozen pizzas. They revealed that the differences among the pies are astounding and the X factor in the best frozen pizza is the dough. Genio Della Pizza's sourdough crust is chewy, puffy, salty, and so delicious—it had us grinning ear to ear and taking a mental note to pick up more pies on our next trip to the store.
"The crust! The crust! The crust! Hands down, this sourdough wood-fired crust is the best of the bunch I tasted. The pizza smells delightfully of garlic and fresh basil, and the buffalo mozzarella is so lovely." — Jeanette Hurt
Simply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
The Best New Frozen Sides & Snacks: Cappello’s Buttermilk Biscuits
Where to Buy: Online, Whole Foods Markets, and Sprouts Farmers Market
Suggested Retail Price: $8.99
Even if you grew up with White Lily flour on your mother's countertops and your homemade biscuit game is A+, who actually makes biscuits from scratch every single time? Not us! The alternative? Easy. Stock your freezers with Cappello's frozen buttermilk biscuits, the very best of the over two dozen frozen sides and snacks our food experts tasted.
Cappello's biscuits are made with almond flour and real butter (that you can taste!) and they bake up with a crispy crust and tender insides.
A tip from our testers: Wait to heat the biscuits until you're ready to sit down and eat. They are best when served hot, just out of the oven.
"Despite being gluten-free, these biscuits have all the right textural notes—crunchy exterior and a light and fluffy interior that's so buttery. I was worried the almond flour in the biscuits would make them taste like almonds, but these are pretty darn close to classic buttery biscuits." — Stephanie Ganz
Simply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
The Best New Frozen Mac and Cheese: HOMEBAKE 425°/:30 Homestyle Mac & Cheese
Where to Buy: Walmart, Target, Kroger, Albertsons, and more
Suggested Retail Price: $7.99
There are countless ways to get a creamy, cheesy bowl of mac and cheese, and the easiest is to open up a pack of frozen cheesy noodles and pop it into the oven until it's bubbly and brown around the edges. Not all brands are made equal and taste good enough to scratch the itch for gooey, cheesy, creamy comfort.
According to General Manager Emma Christensen, HOMEBAKE 425°/:30 Homestyle Mac & Cheese "tastes the closest to homemade and feels like a real side dish I'd serve to guests." Take note for, say, a summer potluck, Thanksgiving, or any day your family begs you for mac & cheese and you don't have the wherewithal to make it from scratch.
"In the 30 minutes it takes to bake—there is no option to microwave—this mac and cheese gets a creamy, cheesy sauce, nicely cooked noodles, and crispy edges and corners." — Nick Evans
Simply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
The Best New Frozen Vegetarian Main: Amy's Roasted Poblano Enchiladas
Where to Buy: Online, Kroger, Target, and Walmart
Suggested Retail Price: $5.99 (9.1-ounce single portion), $15.99 (27.4-ounce family size)
Amy's Kitchen is a vegetarian organic food giant that's been packaging frozen burritos, pot pies, and pizzas for nearly 40 years. It's hard to walk down the freezer section without spotting at least a handful of Amy's products.
One of its newest, Amy's Roasted Poblano Enchiladas, was a favorite in the vegetarian main dish category among our testers. Be warned: This will fill your kitchen with a mouthwatering smell that will have everyone running to your microwave!
These enchiladas are so full of flavor. You'll taste the nutty corn in the tortillas, the sharp cheeses, and the poblanos chiles, which aren't too spicy and have a unique grassy flavor that comes through in this frozen meal. Art Director Sarah Crowder says, "It is so flavorful—it's veggie-filled and the poblano flavor is prominent in the sauce. I would definitely buy this for my family."
Read More: This $13.84 Walmart Freezer Meal Feeds My Whole Family—It's Our Favorite
"With fresh flavor, great texture to the corn tortillas, and creamy sauce, this feels like a restaurant dish as opposed to a frozen meal. The tofu filling makes it feel hearty and satisfying as a meal." — Erika Kwee
Simply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
The Best New Frozen Meaty Main: HOMEBAKE 425°/:30 Pulled Pork with BBQ Sauce
Where to Buy: Walmart, Target, Kroger, Albertsons, and more
Suggested Retail Price: $12.99
Some days are meant for pulling half your fridge and pantry onto the kitchen counter for a serious meal, and other days are meant for reheating something frozen. We're busy, busy people! So give yourself the gift of time and a delicious dinner with endless serving options by stocking your freezer with HOMEBAKE 425°/:30 Pulled Pork with BBQ Sauce.
You get almost 1 1/2 pounds of pulled pork swimming in a sweet BBQ sauce—enough for a family of four or five. The whole tray goes into a 425°F oven for 30 minutes. (No need to memorize the directions because they're in the name.)
Serve the pulled pork however you'd like! Our food experts' eyes sparkled with possibility when they tasted this product. They could picture themselves sinking their teeth into a juicy pile of saucy pork in a warm bun or dotting it on a pizza with jalapeños, red onions, pickles, and cheese. Stuff them in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Sprinkle them on nachos. Or serve them with our favorite frozen mac and cheese: HOMEBAKE 425°/:30 Homestyle Mac & Cheese.
Read More: The $12.99 Target Freezer Find I Stock up On for Weeknight Dinners
"I love that the HOMEBAKE products are oven-ready and the directions are literally part of the name. This stood out as the most flavorful of the mains I tried and I can see how versatile this protein could be—serve as sandwiches, folded into tacos, over polenta, etc." — Meghan Splawn
Simply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
The Best New Frozen Treat: Yasso Fudge Chocolate Crunch
Where to Buy: Online, Schnucks, Hannaford Supermarket, Food Lion, Wakefern, and Woodman's Market
Suggested Retail Price: $6.49
In 2009, the founders of Yasso, Amanda Klane and Drew Harrington, had the idea to freeze Greek yogurt into popsicles. The U.S. was starting to see an explosion of Greek yogurt and folks couldn't get enough. Fast forward almost 15 years, the yogurt has become a mainstay and Yasso popsicles reign supreme in the frozen treats category.
Our food experts tasted over two dozen new popsicles, ice cream bars, frozen mochi, chocolate-covered fruit, and Yasso Fudge Chocolate Crunch got the most votes. Even if you aren't a fan of Greek yogurt, you're going to love these. Case in point, check out what recipe developer and writer Kayla Hoang has to say about them below.
Read More: The $5.99 Target Find I Always Keep Stocked In My Freezer
"I can honestly say that these are the only frozen treats I’d purchase going forward. They deliver on everything: They are so smooth, creamy, and light. The frozen yogurt has the perfect level of sweetness to balance the richness and intensity of the dark chocolate coating, which has the snappiest texture. It is only made better with the crisped quinoa speckled throughout the coating." — Kayla Hoang
Simply Recipes / Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
The Best New Ice Cream: Tillamook Neapolitan
Where to Buy: Online, Target, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, and more
Suggested Retail Price: $7.49
Neapolitan ice cream is a convenient compromise for indecisive shoppers and families with misfit ice cream preferences. Can't decide on a flavor? Here's three! Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Whether you scoop out just your favorite flavor (Go on, be that monster!) or aim for a symmetrical tri-colored scoop, having a tub of Neapolitan in the freezer is always a good idea, especially if it's Tillamook's. It's the gold standard for creamy, airy, and oh-so-dreamy ice cream.
Tillamook's Neapolitan ice cream includes its already-popular Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream, Oregon Strawberry Ice Cream, and a chocolate ice cream with chocolate ripples throughout. Each flavor is the best version of itself, and combined, it's truly magical.
Read More: The One Ice Cream You'll Find In My Freezer Right Now
"It's exactly what ice cream should be: creamy, rich, smooth, and full of flavor. The mouthfeel is perfect and it is just sweet enough. I would absolutely buy this and would absolutely recommend it." — Sara Haas
Read the original article on Simply Recipes.
