Some pizza toppings are considered classic and non-negotiable, such as tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices. Yet there are more pizza options out there beyond the standard pepperoni pie. Try adding these toppings to your basic pie order to create your own custom pizza, and see if you can think up more of the weirdest pizza toppings.
Move over, pineapple
Fruits aren’t such a weird addition to pizza—after all, a tomato is a fruit—but here are some that might surprise you:
- Banana: Swedes enjoy adding bananas to their pie, often combined with curry powder. Banana also works well with ham, similar to a Hawaiian pizza.
- Grapes: Grapes offer a sweet complement on a pie with bacon and gorgonzola.
- Durian: Durian is a prickly fruit that is used as a sweetener in Malaysian candies and sweets. While sweet in taste, its smell is quite pungent, making it an odd choice for a pizza topping.
Eat your veggies
If you have to get your servings of veggies, hiding them in pizza toppings isn’t a bad way to do it.
- Elote: Elote, or Mexican street corn, gives an Italian meal some south-of-the-border flair. Chili powder, spicy mayo and cilantro give your pizza some extra kick.
- Heart of palm: Taking it even further south, heart of palm is a popular Brazilian vegetable made from the inner core of palm trees. Heart of palm has a similar texture to artichoke.
- Celery: Who says you have to pick wings or pizza? Adding celery to a buffalo ranch pizza means you get the entire hot wing experience all in one slice.
- Kimchi: Kimchi is a staple of Korean-style cooking made from salted and fermented vegetables like cabbage and radishes. The spices and garlic complement other pizza toppings well.
Cheese, please
Regional cheeses add extra flavor to local pies:
- Cheese Whiz: Inspired by the Philly cheesesteak, you can add Cheese Whiz as a bonus gooey topping. Go for the full Philly experience by adding steak and French fries as toppings.
- Provel: Provel is a combination of provolone, Swiss and cheddar cheese and is the key ingredient in St. Louis-style pizza. The unique cheese blend pairs well with the cracker crust also popular in the region.
Pizza of the sea
Anchovies aren’t the only seafood you can add for extra protein on your ‘za:
- Tuna: Tuna salad on a pizza is less a pizza and more an open-faced sandwich. A pizzeria in White Plains, NY created the concoction to feed Catholics during Lent, when they abstain from all meat except fish.
- Crab and lobster: The Northeast is known for its culinary creations using crab and lobster, so it only makes sense that the region also pioneered adding them to pizza.
- All the seafood: Many Italians celebrate Christmas Eve with the Feast of the Seven Fishes, so one pizzeria in Philadelphia decided to make dinner easier by creating a pizza with seven fish and seafood toppings: clams, mussels, shrimp, tuna, crab, anchovies and sardines.
Sometimes you have to add the weirdest pizza toppings to make the most delicious pies. Even tomato sauce was once a weird pizza topping that one bold Neapolitan used to create a custom pizza.
At Giovanni’s Frozen Pizza, we offer distributors and commercial businesses an exciting and delicious selection of custom pizzas. To learn more about the delicious meals crafted by Giovanni’s Frozen Pizza, or to inquire about pricing, please reach out to us today.