10 Popular & 10 Controversial Pizza Toppings

Pizza is one of the most popular foods, and not only in its birthplace of Italy – or even adopted birthplace, America. Pizza is internationally known and loved, and people across the globe are obsessed with pizza in all shapes and forms.

Although Italy started the marinara and mozzarella trend, it’s believed that enjoying a dish of flatbread with toppings may have actually started in several different places, with different ingredients, and under a name other than “pizza.”

The toppings that end up on your slice largely depend on the region you’re dining in and personal preference. Everyone’s got their favorites and everyone’s a critic when it comes to certain pizza toppings (poor pineapple). Here, we break down the 10 most popular pizza toppings and the 10 most controversial. Dig in!

10 Popular Pizza Toppings

Man with pizza boxes looks happy and holds his thumb up.

Pizza toppings hold a special place in our hearts. Some people see them as a curated selection that you’re not allowed to go out of bounds with. Others view the cheesy pie as a vessel upon which they can add whatever they please. First, let’s start with the pizza toppings most of us can agree on.

1. Pepperoni

Pepperoni pizza on a table next to fresh tomatoes on the vine.

The reigning champion, most stereotypical pizza topping accepted by virtually everyone: pepperoni. Pepperoni is certainly a classic, but funny enough, this trend started in America. Italian immigrants began topping their pizzas with pepperoni in the early 1900’s in New York city, where air-dried salami was readily available in Italian markets throughout the city.

What really made this topping stick was when the big chains started popping up and needed an ingredient that would stay fresh for a long time and travel well. Just like many American favorites, good old commercialism might be what made pepperoni pizza America’s pie of choice.

2. Olives

The Egyptians enjoyed olives. The Greeks, who viewed olives as a gift from the gods, awarded Olympic winners with olive crowns. The Roman empire spread olives across Europe. Lebanese food is rooted in using them.

Olive oil is one of the key ingredients of the version of pizza that originated in Italy, so it was only natural that sliced olives found themselves atop pizza way back in the day.

Today, olives are one of the first go-to vegetable toppings for a scrumptious pie. Something about that salty burst mixed with the spice of the marinara… mmm mmmm (cue chef’s kiss).

3. Mushrooms

Many argue that the spongy texture and earthy flavors adds unwanted funk to your pie, but mushroom is one of the original ingredients of an authentic Italian pizza. Pizza capricciosa, topped with tomato sauce, Mozzarella cheese, artichoke, mushroom, and ham, is one of the traditional styles in the homeland of pizza. Said to have been invented in Rome in the 1950’s, this combination quickly became available on menus in pizzerias across Italy.

4. Sausage

Italian at heart, bursting with spicy fennel, Italian sausage is probably the meat of choice right after pepperoni. It’s difficult to trace the roots of when this delightful topping was first used, but Italian sausage on pizza probably originated in America.

While most meat on pizza began in New York, the Chicago deep dish usually gets credit for making Italian sausage such a popular pizza topping.

5. Onion

Onions are a staple in Italian cooking so it’s only natural they show up on pizza. Sometimes you’ll find onions blended into the marinara sauce to give it extra flavor and texture, but more they’re chopped or sliced and used as a topping.

Onions may be a little pungent and strong-tasting in their raw form, but anyone with senses can tell you the caramelization that results from cooking them is something next to magic.

6. Bell Pepper

Whole green bell pepper next to slices of green bell pepper.

Adding a crunch to your pizza pie, bell pepper is a common topping that’s most likely on the supreme or combination pizza at your local pizzeria.

Fun fact: pepperoni actually means “pepper” in Italian. The early pepperoni in New York consisted of salami blended with bell peppers before being processed, thus giving the familiar sausage its name. So funny enough, if you order a pepperoni pizza in Italy, they might bring you a pizza topped with bell peppers.

7. Beef

It may not be a first-choice meat like pepperoni and sausage, but beef is a popular pizza topping here in the U.S., and usually makes an appearance on any meat lovers pizza worth the title.

While not necessarily uniquely American, beef as a pizza topping is more of a rarity in Italy (most of their meat toppings are of the pork variety). Most pizza in Italy is also considered lighter fare, so more vegetables are used as toppings.

8. Artichoke

Sliced artichoke heart atop a pile of sliced artichoke hearts.

Some polls I’ve read name artichoke a least favorite as far as popular American pizza toppings go. I say bollocks to that! You can’t go wrong with this classic, a traditional favorite topping across Italy.

Artichokes also get an honorable mention for how good they are for your liver. We’re not talking about a cure-all here, but if you enjoy Italian wine, or the more American pairing of beer with your pizza, maybe adding artichoke isn’t a bad call.

This popular pizza topping is also a great ingredient to blend into your marinara sauce.

9. Bacon

It’s bacon – on pizza. Of course this is a popular pizza topping! Pancetta and prosciutto might be the more traditional Italian pork for pizza, but I say there’s nothing wrong with spreading your love of bacon over to lunch and dinner. Pig out!

10. Ham

Ham is another popular pizza topping found on both American and Italian pies (remember the Italian classic capricciosa?).

Although ham is now a widely used topping throughout Italy, it should be noted that old world pizzas from Italy were actually pretty sparing with meat toppings – if they had any at all. Back then, their concept was to create a cheap meal for the common man while making a somewhat healthier choice.

The Americanized versions of pizza definitely took the meatier and saltier toppings to the next level, and it doesn’t get much meatier or saltier than ham.

10 Controversial Pizza Toppings

Man with pizza boxes looks unhappy and holds his thumb down.

The next ten toppings are sure to stir the angry feelings of pizza aficionados that refuse to accept any toppings that break from tradition. Indeed, those who see pizza as a dish that should never stray away from its Italian roots will certainly cry blasphemy at most of these controversial pizza toppings.

Interestingly enough, there are actually a few traditional toppings that made the controversial list just because they’re so infrequently used today. Alas, these toppings have their own set of haters that would prefer to see them phased away from the modern pie.

1. Pineapple

Holding a pineapple up with a reflection shadow.

Canadian bacon and pineapple on pizza has been a thing as long as I’ve been alive. Dubbed “Hawaiian style,” this pizza style was invented about as far from the islands as you can get. Canadian restaurant owner Sam Panopoulos came up with this nation-divider of a dish in the 60s.

The name was likely influenced by Tiki culture, which was all the rage at the time and spurred on the popularity of other Concoctions attempting to make food and beverage feel like a tropical vacation.

In the last ten years or so, the validity of pineapple as a pizza topping has come under intense scrutiny. I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever seen more people angry over food than they are over pineapple on pizza. The State Of Italy has even called the topping an act of war. They can’t be serious… can they?

2. Anchovies

This controversy might be second to pineapple but, unlike pineapple on pizza, anchovies are rooted in the Italian history of pizza. In fact, anchovies are one of the original pizza toppings.

Pizza was cherished in Italy after its debut for being the common man’s food. Something the poor can afford while being tasty enough for the rich. In some ways, pizza means unity.

Anchovies were cheap and easy to get in Italy, so using them as a topping was only natural. When pizza came to the Americas in the 1900’s, anchovies were out. Sounds fishy if you ask me…

3. Egg Plant

Eggplant is another classic Italian pizza topping that just didn’t crossover into American popularity. Again, pizza is considered a healthier food choice in Italy while Americans take more of a junk food approach to their pies. When there are sausage and ham as options to gorge, why waste the time with chunky vegetables that get in the way?

Maybe going the healthy route is how Italians get away with casually eating pizza whenever, whereas Americans see pizza as more of a Friday night specialty.

4. Spinach

Definitely not found on most modern-day pies, spinach is a controversial pizza topping since it falls outside of the normal vegetable toppings and doesn’t necessarily hold up well to the high heats most pizza ovens produce. Thus, the funky texture of spinach on pizza isn’t loved by all.

Spinach and feta cheese are toppings found on a style typically known as Greek Pizza. Like Hawaiian style, this pizza wasn’t born in Greece but rather Connecticut in 1955. However, Greek Pizza has a little more connection to its namesake land since its inventor, Constantinos Kombouzis, was actually a Greek from Albania.

Greek Pizza aside, it’s actually debatable that the Greeks invented pizza. Sure, it wasn’t the marinara and mozzarella we know today, but it’s said the soldiers of ancient Greece would eat a flatbread dough topped with herbs, olive oil, and dates served off of their shields.

5. BBQ or Any Other Sauce Instead of Marinara

Sauce is also a pizza topping that sometimes steps into non-traditional territory. BBQ sauce in place of marinara gained popularity after California Pizza Kitchen debuted their BBQ Chicken Pizza in 1985. Now you can get all sorts of specialty sauces that will tick off pizza purists.

A United States glutton such as myself considers White Pizza to mean with alfredo sauce, but white pizza originally hails from Italy and was the term for a completely sauce-free pie.

I’ve even seen a Philly cheese steak pizza with alfredo sauce (apparently another version uses horseradish), and one of Sarah’s favorites is Little Caesar’s Pretzel Pizza with pretzel cheese for sauce. But there will always be pizza purists that refuse to alter the tomato sauce base.

6. Egg

Egg may sound like a pretty out-there pizza topping, but pizza with egg is actually an Italian classic: the Bismarck, named after German ruler Otto Bismarck. Bismarck swore by eating twelve eggs every day to stay strong.

Might be strange to some of us, but I personally like the idea of making pizza for breakfast, too. Pizza can and should be eaten whenever you want – in the name of freedom!

7. Broccoli

Alright, now we’ve gone too far. Nobody knows who started this hullabaloo in the first place, but one Chicago pizzeria is known for serving broccoli on pizza. Not often requested and certainly controversial, broccoli is a rare pizza topping since it’s fairly challenging to cook evenly in a pizza oven.

8. Clams

The notion of topping a pizza with clams came from a man named Frank Pepe who ran a pizzeria in Connecticut in the 60’s. Serving clams as an appetizer gave him the idea to put them on a white pizza, sans sauce.

Frank Pepe’s pizzeria and the White Clam Pizza are still going strong today. Apparently Mr. Pepe has even won awards for his controversial topping idea. Kind of makes me curious to give this one a try…

9. Shrimp

Seafood pizza isn’t typically found at the Big Chain pizza places in America, but it is said to be a menu staple in countries like Malaysia, India, and Vietnam.

Mr. Pizza is a South Korean pizza chain that brought its popular Shrimp Gold pizza stateside with a location in Los Angeles, where you can try this favorite loaded with controversial toppings. While it does have the usual suspects like mozzarella cheese, onions, and olives, this pie really gets wild with more unusual toppings like corn, ground beef, salsa sauce, and Cajun shrimp. As if that wasn’t enough, the crust is filled with sweet potato mousse. Whoah!

10. Ranch

Creamy homemade ranch dressing in a bowl on a striped tablecloth.

Ranch on pizza: loved by some, questionable to many. What a way to pile on the fat!

Ranch was originally stocked at pizza chains as a dip for breadsticks. It wasn’t long before people in the South and Midwest started dipping their pizza slices in the buttermilk pit of calories. Word caught on quick and thus another American junk food tweak was made to the classic Italian pie.

Traditionalists, of course, were appalled. It’s even said that two Italian cousins outlawed dipping their pizza in ranch at their Houston pizza place. And so the cross-cultural pizza toppings war continues.

The Story Never Ends

A photo album book of young girls eating pizza.

Pizza may be Italian at its heart, but when a dish this phenomenal is loved by so many around the world, there’s bound to be renditions that stray from the norm in favor of local and cultural flavor favorites.

There will always be popular pizza toppings like mozzarella cheese and pepperoni that we can pretty much all agree on. And love them or hate them, the controversial pizza toppings on this list are probably here to stay. So, pass the anchovies?