Product Reviews: Conte’s Pasta Gluten-Free Mushroom Florentine Pizza

When I first opened up my package from Conte’s Pasta, I was excited to see quite the variety of products.  It’s not often that gluten-free eaters get so many options, and Conte’s has successfully offered numerous!

Even more impressive to me is that Conte’s has moved from simply offering necessities (bread, rolls, soups, etc) to gluten-free eaters to providing gourmet meal options.  So, what’s so gourmet about a pre-made pizza?  Let’s talk.

Allergy-Related Information: Gluten-free, Soy-free

Appearance 

Pros: This gluten-free pre-made pizza is a wonderful mix of appetizing colors and textures!  When cooked as directed, the crust stays a golden brown and the cheese softens and the crisps to a golden, tantalizingly mixture of creamy and crispy.  There is a perfect balance of ingredients and cheese, offering the eater wonderful flavor with every bite!

Cons: The topping wasn’t covering the pizza as evenly as I felt it should.  There was definitely a heavier coated side and a more lightly coated side.

Taste

Pros: What other companies have lacked in flavor in their pizza crust, Conte’s has made up for with intense, flavorful crust that offers the possibility of a variety of savory options.  The toppings of this gourmet-style pizza included tomatoes, fresh white mushrooms, baby leaf spinach, roasted garlic, olive oil, and mozzarella, asiago, and romano cheeses!  What an explosion of amazing taste!

Cons: Adam wasn’t a fan of the mushrooms.  Eh… pick ’em off. I loved it!

Texture/Moisture

Pros:  Warm and covered with such a variety of textures and tastes, this pizza was a wonderful display of gourmet tastes.  I was definitely taking notes to make this homemade and even non-gluten-free (aka. “normal”) for those I might cook for who can traditional pizza.

Cons: The crust was a little more cracker-ish than I like.  Adam didn’t complain, but he did leave more of the crust behind than normal (He’s an edge-of-the-pizza avoider in general.)  The crust was wonderfully moist when covered in the topping, but by itself, although bursting with flavoring, it was a little dry for my liking.

What I Love

I can just re-state all the pro’s from this article to emphasize all that I loved from this pizza, but I feel like that doesn’t do this flavorful pizza justice.  If you’re a fan of gourmet cooking, vegetable pizzas, and a great play on textures and complimenting flavors, this pizza is for you!

What I’d Improve

As I looked online at Conte’s website, I found that this and the margherita pizza with roasted garlic and olive oil are the only gluten-free pre-made pizza options available.  My suggestion would be to include some traditional toppings like pepperoni or sausage for those more classic (ie. less gourmet) eaters.  Adam said he’d wished it was more traditional with the traditional red sauce and greasy meat topping and less gourmet (…as he sat and ate and enjoyed as much of the pizza as he could…. ).  So, my biggest suggestion to Conte’s would be to offer some more working man’s pizza options ’cause your ingredients are stellar!

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Overall Rating: A+

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Buy this gluten-free gourmet pizza here!!