Are you familiar with take-and-bake pizza? Take-and-bake pizzerias have seemingly popped up everywhere in the last few years and are a great way to enjoy the pizza you bake at home.
We have a few different take-and-bake pizzerias, and they are a good alternative to homemade pizza when you don’t have time to make homemade pizza.
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We are not pizza purists, and sometimes it’s challenging to have the time to make homemade pizza dough, cut toppings, and make a sauce. So having a tasty alternative in a take-and-bake pizzeria is the next best thing. Get a side of ranch dressing, and you’re good to go! We always have at least a couple of these flavored Ranch bottles like sriracha ranch or garlic ranch.
What is Take and Bake Pizza?
Take-and-bake pizzerias are pizzerias where they make your pizza to order, and then you take it home to bake it yourself. The majority of this style of pizzeria has no in-house seating and is just made for to-go orders.
Many of these pizzerias have an assembly line style similar to a popular sandwich chain, and you watch your pizza being put together.
These restaurants are usually cheaper than traditional sit-down pizzerias because they keep the overhead low. They don’t need a lot of space, and they keep the cost down with their efficient order-as-you-go style.
You might be wondering what the difference is between take-and-bake pizza and frozen pizza. And that is a great question because it seems like they are both convenient when you are challenged with time and just want to eat a pizza that someone else made.
Well, the main difference between frozen pizzas and take-and-bake pizzas is that take-and-bake pizza are freshly made. You can customize your pizza and watch it made right in front of you. And frozen pizzas are well frozen.
You can upgrade your frozen pizza with a few tweaks, but it is still a frozen pizza. Some frozen pizzas are better than others. That is a truth that we learned the hard way. Some frozen pizzas have very few toppings, or the cheese doesn’t melt right, or the flavor is just off.
But in a take-and-bake pizza, all the ingredients are fresh, and you watch the magic happen right in front of your eyes.
You can find a variety of chains of take-and-bake pizzerias, and some grocery store chains even have a take-and-bake pizza section next to the deli. So since the industry is growing and pizza eaters are buying them, you know, they must be a good choice.
Why You Should Try Pizza You Bake at Home
We like to think of the take-and-bake pizza as a lazy pizza night alternative to homemade pizza. Some nights firing up the pizza oven isn’t appealing, but neither is putting on nice clothes, driving to a nice pizzeria, paying for parking, waiting in line, and then paying a high price tag for a gourmet pizza night. So for us, take-and-bake pizza is a great option.
Best Take-and-Bake Pizzas
Depending on where you live, there are different take-and-bake pizza options. According to Wikipedia, the top three take-and-bake pizza chains are Papa Murphy’s, Figaro’s, and Nick-n-Willy’s.
While Figaro’s only has locations in the Pacific Northwest and Nick-n-Willy’s only has three locations, two in Colorado and one in Illinois, you are probably more familiar with Papa Murphy’s since they have locations all over the U.S.
Of the three, Papa Murphy’s seems to be doing the best and has taken the number one seat. They offer several different crust thicknesses and gluten-free crust options. They even have a keto pizza which is just all the goodies in a tray minus the crust, perfect to go along with any low-carb pizza snacks you’ve prepared.
Plus, they offer a few different types of salads, beverages, and cookie dough. You make one stop on your way home, and you get a full meal. Plus, each pizza comes with specific cooking instructions depending on the type of crust, so it is nearly impossible to mess up their pizza.
Papa Murphy’s started with a merger between two local take-and-bake pizzerias Papa Aldo’s, which opened in 1981, and Murphy’s pizza, which opened in 1984. In 1995, the two merged in Vancouver, Washington creating Papa Murphy’s take-and-bake empire.
In 2011, the restaurant ranked number 5 on Forbes magazine’s list of the top 20 restaurant franchises to buy. Now in 2023, they are everywhere.
The thing that we like about Papa Murphy’s is that they offer a lot of coupons and weekly deals. C’mon, everyone likes to save money, so having an inexpensive pizza option for those lazy evenings is ideal.
They have an app so you can order ahead of time and just drop in and pick it up. Plus, their weekly deals come straight to my phone. So they are easy to order from and provide a quality product.
Our Top Papa Murphy’s Pizza Picks
- Papa’s Favorite is basically a Supreme pizza with a mix of veggies and meats.
- Papa’s Perfect is half pepperoni and half Hawaiian which is great for game day.
- Chicken Bacon Artichoke is excellent.
- Herb Chicken Mediterranean is good.
- Thai Chicken is new, and we love it.
As much as we love to support local businesses and especially pizzerias, sometimes convenience wins out. So the next time you are craving a slice but are short on time or money, check out Papa Murphys’s or your local take-and-bake pizzeria and try baking your pizza at home.
What is your favorite place to get a pizza you bake at home?
