Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food and Recipes
  • Culture and Lifestyle
  • Style
  • Holidays & Occasions
  • Home
  • Gardening Ideas
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The Best New Haircuts to Try in 2022

      The Best New Haircuts to Try in 2022

      Here are the haircuts you'll be seeing everywhere this year. Read More
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More
    • 50 Thoughtful Messages for a Meaningful Thank You Note

      50 Thoughtful Messages for a Meaningful Thank You Note

      Not sure what to write in a thank you card? Here's how to show your gratitude with a handwritten note. Read More
  • Food and Recipes

    Food and Recipes

    See All Food and Recipes
    4 Easy Ways to Tell if an Egg Has Gone Bad

    4 Easy Ways to Tell if an Egg Has Gone Bad

    It’s not all in the senses, but they sure can help.
    • Recipes
    • Quick and Easy Dinner
    • Kitchen Assistant
    • Casserole
    • Holiday and Occasion Food
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Healthy and Light
    • Side Dishes
    • Party Food and Drink
    • Appetizers
    • Meat
    • Breakfast
    • BBQ
    • Drinks
    • What's Cooking
  • Culture and Lifestyle

    Culture and Lifestyle

    See All Culture and Lifestyle
    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    Let your besties know how much they mean to you with these unique nicknames.
    • Quotes and Sayings
    • Biscuits and Jam Podcast
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Healthy Living
    • Coastal Living
  • Style

    Style

    See All Style
    The Coziest Winter Nail Colors for January 2022

    The Coziest Winter Nail Colors for January 2022

    The beginning of a new year often has us all feeling like starting off fresh by taking on better habits, getting rid of old ones, and—most commonly—changing up our look. While others are hitting the squats and going into the salon for a pixie cut, why not start slow and steady with a cozy winter manicure in a color that feels new to you? It takes only a little courage to step outside your usual OPI Lincoln Park After Dark or Essie Bordeaux, which is all you need to kick 2022 off on a fanciful foot.  From new wintry takes on classic dark nail colors to unique pops of color that'll have you feeling the opposite of boring, these are the best nail colors to try this January and tick off all the way into spring. 
    • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Fashion
    • Short Hairstyles
    • Nails
    • Medium Hairstyles
    • Skincare
    • Long Hairstyles
  • Holidays & Occasions

    Holidays & Occasions

    See All Holidays & Occasions
    • Thanksgiving
    • Gifts
    • Christmas
    • Mother's Day
    • Hanukkah
    • New Year's
    • Easter
    • Mardi Gras
    • 4th of July
    • Weddings
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    16 Kitchen Design Trends Southern Designers Predict Will Be Everywhere in 2022

    16 Kitchen Design Trends Southern Designers Predict Will Be Everywhere in 2022

    There's no denying how the pandemic fundamentally changed the world—including how we live (and work) inside our homes. An overall trend toward celebrating the history and originality of our homes is displacing ultramodern aesthetics and sharp lines as we all look to create cozier, colorful, more personalized spaces that better suit our lifestyles. We're turning away from big-box stores and toward vintage items—first, out of necessity due to supply-chain issues, and now, for design reasons—to add charm and character to every room in the house, including the kitchen. Here, interior designers from around the South share their predictions for what's trending in kitchen design for 2022 and beyond.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Kitchen Design
    • Before & After Photos
    • Bathroom Design
    • Curb Appeal
    • Bedroom Design
    • DIY Home Decor
    • Color Palettes & Paint
    • House Plans & Builders
    • Inspired Communities
  • Gardening Ideas

    Gardening Ideas

    See All Gardening Ideas
    If You Keep Finding Ladybugs in Your House, Here's What You Need to Know

    If You Keep Finding Ladybugs in Your House, Here's What You Need to Know

    Plus a few strategies for keeping them out-of-doors
    • Container Gardening
    • Gardening Flowers
    • Fruit, Vegetable & Herb Gardens
    • Garden Pests
    • Plant Guides A-Z
    • Indoor Plants
    • Fall Plants
    • Landscaping Ideas
    • The Grumpy Gardener
  • News

    News

    See All News
    • Celebrities
    • Local News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Southern Living
  2. Food and Recipes
  3. Dish
  4. Pizza
  5. 15 Deliciously Popular Pizza Toppings

15 Deliciously Popular Pizza Toppings

Mary Shannon Hodes, Associate Digital Editor at Southern Living
By Mary Shannon Wells
Skip gallery slides
FB
Extra Cheese
Credit: Pinterest/Macheesmo
Pizza. Wonderful pizza. What's not to love about homemade bread smothered with sauce, cheese, and toppings of your choice? In our humble opinion, absolutely nothing. Even the pickiest eaters love a simple cheese pizza. For adventurous eaters, though, pizza is an endless experiment. It all starts with the bread, and there are plenty of options: flatbread, thin-crust, whole wheat, stuffed crust, French bread, deep dish, and the list goes on. Next comes the sauce, and even though red sauces are the go-to, white sauces, pesto, barbecue sauces, and other creations can set the base for the pizza. And finally, the toppings. Pizza toppings usually start with a type of cheese, but from there, you can pile on whatever your heart desires (unless your heart desires anchovies—please don't do that). Whether you're making pizza at home, ordering delivery, or visiting a local pizza joint, deciding which toppings you want can be a lengthy process. Some pizza toppings can divide a room (ahem, pineapple), but others are universally loved. These are the best and most popular pizza toppings, plus a few recipes for you try them out with.
Start Slideshow

1 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Pepperoni

Pepperoni
Credit: Lew Robertson/Getty Images

Recipe: Pepperoni Pizza

Poll after poll, pepperoni always tops the list of America’s favorite pizza toppings. When it doubt, you can’t go wrong with a classic.

1 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Mushrooms

Mushrooms
Credit: Photo: Melina Hammer

Recipe: Breakfast Sausage-Egg Pizza

This earthy topping can be divisive in the kitchen, but many agree that it fits right in on a pizza, and this breakfast recipe is a perfect excuse to try eggs on a pizza. Spoiler: You’re going to love it.

2 of 15

3 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Sausage

Sausage and Kale Pesto Pizza
Credit: Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food styling: Karen Rankin

Recipe: Sausage and Kale Pesto Pizza

Some prefer mild, others spicy, and Southerners Conecuh, but sausage is consistently a favorite pizza topping of Americans. This cast-iron pizza recipe gives you another reason to love that skillet.

3 of 15

Advertisement

4 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Onions

Smoked Chicken Pizza with White Barbecue Sauce
Credit: Alison Miksch

Recipe: Smoked Sausage, Grilled Corn, and Sweet Onion Pizza

Whether they crisp up in the oven or go on the pizza caramelized, onions are a popular topping that add a little salty or a little sweet, depending how they’re prepared. Red onions often accompany barbecue chicken pizzas, while white and yellow onions are popular for supreme pizzas.

4 of 15

5 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Bacon

Pea Pesto Flatbread
Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Pea Pesto Flatbread

Bacon goes well with anything (try us), so of course it’s a popular pizza topping. This fresh spring recipe gets salty, meaty flavor from just a few bacon crumbles. You’ll also see pizzas topped with pancetta, which is bacon’s Italian cousin.

5 of 15

6 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Extra Cheese

Extra Cheese
Credit: Pinterest/Macheesmo

Recipe: Deep-Dish Skillet Pizza

Who doesn’t love a little extra cheese for the perfect cheese-pull picture? We sure do. You might want to check with your local pizza joint to see how much cheese actually comes with an “extra cheese” order, because apparently, it’s hotly debated.

6 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Peppers

Peppers
Credit: Alison Miksch

Recipe: Sheet Pan White Pizza with Salami and Peppers

Green, red, yellow, or orange, peppers add a missing crunchy element to chewy, cheesy pizza. This sheet-pan recipe is the easiest way to serve pizza to a crowd, which is code for, “You should have a pizza party.”

7 of 15

8 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Black Olives

Pizza Recipes: Antipasto Pizza Recipe

Recipe: Antipasto Pizza

People either love or hate olives, but even if you’re not a fan, you might actually like the salty bite black olives add to a generously topped pizza. Or you’ll just pick them all off. Either way.

8 of 15

9 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Chicken

Quick BBQ Chicken Pizzas
Credit: Photo: Jason Wallis

Recipe: Quick BBQ Chicken Pizzas

The winner winner of weeknight meals goes well on pizzas, too! BBQ chicken, buffalo chicken, and chicken bacon ranch are common pizza orders that contain this protein.

9 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Pineapple

Pineapple
Credit: Photo: Johnny Autry

Recipe: Grilled Ham and Pineapple Pizza

Although a debate about whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza can be as polarizing as an Iron Bowl, pineapple-on-pizza lovers are devoted, so it remains a constant on menus.

10 of 15

11 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Spinach

Spinach
Credit: Pinterest/Seasons and Suppers

Recipe: Spinach and Artichoke Skillet Pizza

Spinach is a delicious way to add a little green to your pizza. Another popular green found on pizzas is arugula. Unlike spinach, which is usually cooked with the pizza, arugula is placed fresh on top of the pizza for a fresh, peppery pop. Try our Fig Flatbread for an arugula-topped pizza recipe.

11 of 15

12 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Fresh Basil

Fresh Basil
Credit: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Grilled Tomato-Peach Pizza

Regardless what else comes atop your pizza, a few fresh basil leaves will taste amazing with it. This simple summertime pizza would make a delicious cookout appetizer or light dinner paired with a salad.

12 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Ham

Ham
Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

Recipe: Fig, Ham, and Ricotta Pizza

Ham is often paired with the aforementioned pineapple for Hawaiian pizzas, but it can be delicious with other toppings (we’re looking at you, meat-lovers’ pizza). For a fancier feel, try prosciutto, or Italian ham.

13 of 15

14 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Pesto

Pesto
Credit: Photo: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Shrimp-Pesto Pizza

Although tomato-based sauces are the far-and-away favorite for pizza, pesto can make any pizza feel lighter. Even if you don’t top the whole pizza with pesto, a drizzling on top of a marinara-or white sauce-based pizza tastes amazing. This quick and easy pizza recipe is made on the grill, which makes it perfect for a summer night.

14 of 15

15 of 15

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Beef

Beef
Credit: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Grilled Pizza With Steak, Pear, and Arugula

In case you haven’t noticed the trend, meat is always popular on top of pizzas. Whether you’re going for a dressier steak pizza, a kid-friendly cheeseburger pizza, or a pizza topped with meatballs (actually a thing), beef always has a place on pizza.

15 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Mary Shannon Wells

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 15 Pepperoni
    2 of 15 Mushrooms
    3 of 15 Sausage
    4 of 15 Onions
    5 of 15 Bacon
    6 of 15 Extra Cheese
    7 of 15 Peppers
    8 of 15 Black Olives
    9 of 15 Chicken
    10 of 15 Pineapple
    11 of 15 Spinach
    12 of 15 Fresh Basil
    13 of 15 Ham
    14 of 15 Pesto
    15 of 15 Beef

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print
    Southern Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • About Us
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Books from Southern Living
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    MeredithSouthern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Southern Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    15 Deliciously Popular Pizza Toppings
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.