Ranked: the greatest pizza toppings EVER

Pizza perfection

Pizza is a universally adored dish, with an estimated five billion pies sold around the world every year. Part of what makes pizza so popular is of course the endless variety of toppings available, from classic favourites like pepperoni and mozzarella to less traditional delights such as pineapple and even clams. Here, we look at the most iconic pizza toppings from around the globe, counting down to the greatest of all.

Read on to discover the top pizza toppings of all time, counting down to the very best.

We've based our ranking on the enduring popularity of each pizza topping in its place of origin and beyond, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.

31. Kebab pizza, Sweden

Sweden’s signature pizza topping may not be sophisticated, but it sure is tasty, featuring thin slithers of doner kebab meat, mozzarella, sweet peppers and a special kebab sauce (kebabsås) that's a mixture of yogurt and spices. This fusion dish dates back to the 1980s, when kebab and falafel restaurants began to crop up throughout Sweden. It was common for these restaurants to offer pizzas and kebabs, and at some point the two items merged into one iconic dish. These days it’s one of Sweden’s most popular fast food options, and has even spread internationally to the US and Australia.

30. Fig and blue cheese, Italy

Fig and blue cheese sounds like a modern combination, but the idea actually originated in ancient Rome, when figs served with unleavened bread was a common snack. It's unclear when blue cheese entered the picture, but it was an inspired move – the salty cheese (often gorgonzola) balances the sweetness of the figs beautifully. Most recipes add cream cheese or mascarpone as a base, and prosciutto is also a common addition.

29. Smoked salmon, USA

There's nothing Italian about the heritage of this unusual yet elegant topping. It was created in the early 1980s, at the famous Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills, California by Austrian-American celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. Made originally for British actor Joan Collins, the luxurious creation features a base of chilli and garlic oils and sliced red onions, topped with dill cream, smoked salmon, chives and generous spoonfuls of caviar. It's still considered one of the chef's signature dishes, and has gone on to inspire many interpretations.

28. Tartufo, Italy

With their pronounced, umami-rich flavour and earthy perfume, truffles are the perfect topping for pizza – the only drawback is that they're one of the most expensive ingredients on the planet. Pizza tartufo is a fairly modern invention, born out of the trend in the late 20th and early 21st centuries for chefs in Italy to experiment with luxurious ingredients to create high-end pizzas. The trend soon spread, and these days you’ll find truffles in various forms on top of pizzas all over the world. Truffle paste or oil makes an economical alternative, though there’s nothing quite like the real thing.

27. Potato and rosemary, Italy

This inexpensive double-carb delight is a Roman speciality that has become popular around the world. It usually takes the form of thin slices of potato laid over shredded cheese, often mozzarella or fontina, with chopped rosemary scattered over. Regional Italian variations include a version from southern Italy where the pizza dough includes even more potato in the form of mash.

26. Pugliese, Italy

This is a topping for the pizza purists out there, consisting of just tomato sauce, onion and mozzarella. It's named after Puglia on Italy's southern peninsula, where it was first created, and the simplicity of the topping reflects the pared-back culinary style of the region. Variations include local produce such as capers and olives, and provolone or pecorino cheeses are sometimes used instead of mozzarella.

25. Sardenara, Italy

Legendary English food writer Elizabeth David championed this lesser-known Ligurian-style pizza in her 1952 book Italian Food, in which she included a recipe for a cheeseless pizza topped with tomato sauce, salted anchovies, black olives and oregano. However, this historic pizza actually goes all the way back to the Middle Ages; the original incarnation featured onions, anchovies, capers, garlic, olives and oregano, but no tomatoes as they were only introduced to Liguria in the early 1700s.

24. The Aussie, Australia

Australia’s contribution to the pizza hall of fame has a distinctly breakfast vibe, featuring eggs, bacon, mozzarella and sliced red onions on a base of barbecue sauce. Other common ingredients might also include tomato sauce, ham, chilli, mushrooms and pineapple, but the eggs and bacon are non-negotiable. The dish was invented by the late Salvatore Della Bruna, the pioneer of Australia's pizza heritage who founded the country's first pizza parlour, Toto's, in Melbourne's Little Italy. These days the pizza is as popular as ever and remains a symbol of Australia’s diverse culinary culture.

23. Nutella, Italy

Nutella pizza sounds like a culinary fusion that would appal every right-thinking Italian traditionalist. In fact, it's a popular dessert served in pizzerias all over the country. And why not? After all, the hazelnut and cocoa spread was invented in 1946 by Italian baker Pietro Ferrero as a more affordable alternative to chocolate, which was in short supply after the Second World War. It couldn't be easier to make, either: pizza dough is baked and topped with the spread, plus a scattering of chopped hazelnuts. Sometimes sliced fruit like bananas and strawberries are added too.

22. Salami, Italy

It’s tricky to pin down what exactly a salami pizza is, because salami isn’t a single type of sausage, but a whole family of delicious Italian charcuterie. Usually unsmoked, salamis can be made from pork, beef or vitellone (young beef, similar to veal) with numerous varieties, ranging from mild, garlic-infused Genoa to spicy Napoli from Campania. What’s for certain, though, is that all varieties make excellent pizza toppings and can be paired with any number of other ingredients, including red peppers, capers or even a drizzle of honey.

21. Ladenia, Greece

Ladenia, also known as Greek pizza, has its origins on the Greek island of Kimolos, where locals have been serving a traditional olive oil–enriched flatbread topped with tomatoes, onions, oregano and olive oil for centuries. Nowadays you'll find Greek pizza all over the world, often with added feta and olives. Confusingly, Greek pizza is also a style of pizza invented in the 1950s in New England, USA, that's cooked in a shallow baking tray.

20. 'Nduja, Italy

Once the preserve of in-the-know foodies, this spicy, spreadable fermented pork sausage made with fiery Calabrian chilli was the hippest pizza topping around in the mid-2010s. Loved for its gooey, melty texture and punchy flavour, 'nduja is a winner combined with creamy cheeses, fragrant herbs and other cured meats. These days the topping has gone so mainstream that you can now get a pizza from high street chain Domino's topped with the stuff.

19. Spicy beef, UK

Spicy beef (ground beef flavoured with chilli powder, cumin and paprika) as a pizza topping likely has its roots in the Turkish snack, pide. This traditional boat-shaped flatbread is cooked in a wood-fired oven and topped with tomatoes, cheese and other ingredients, including ground beef. Spicy beef-topped pizza was popularised in the UK in the 1990s by the Pizza Express restaurant chain – its Sloppy Giuseppe (featuring spicy beef, tomato sauce, mozzarella, green peppers, red onion and oregano) is still one of Britain's most iconic pizzas. Today it's a common topping at many pizzerias.

18. Pizza capricciosa, Italy

Originating in Naples, capricciosa may translate as capricious, but the super-savoury combination of mozzarella cheese, ham, mushrooms, artichoke and tomato makes perfect umami sense. The toppings are similar to a quattro stagioni and regional variations can include the addition of black olives and eggs, either hard-boiled or cracked on to the pizza raw, just before it's baked.

17. Pesto Genovese, Italy

This simple pizza eschews tomatoes as a base for a classic pesto Genovese, made with basil, extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano and/or pecorino cheese, pine nuts and garlic. In typically Italian less-is-more fashion, the only other classic topping is pieces of buffalo mozzarella, but you'll find plenty of chefs playing fast and loose with the recipe, including Jamie OIiver, who adds potatoes and peas.

16. Pizza primavera, USA

Pizza primavera owes its existence to a pasta dish of the same name. It was created in the mid-1970s by Sirio Maccioni, owner of storied New York City restaurant Le Cirque, who prepared the mixture of green vegetables, cream and spaghetti tableside. It didn't take long for canny chefs to realise that the fresh and vibrant concoction (minus the pasta) could be adapted as a pizza topping, and so the combination of asparagus, courgette, peas and spinach soon found its way onto pizza crusts all over the US.

15. Marinara, Italy

Marinara is a classic Neapolitan-style pizza topping which is thought to have been first served in Naples in 1735. Under the regulations of the Verace Pizza Napoletana trademark, a true marinara pizza includes just peeled tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and oregano, although the organisation concedes that 'the addition of a few basil leaves may be appreciated'.

14. Flammekueche, France and Germany

Flammekueche, also known as tarte flambée, is a traditional Alsatian dish from the Alsace region of France and parts of Germany. It features a thin, crisp pizza crust, traditionally baked in a wood-fired oven. The dough is topped with crème fraîche or fromage blanc, thinly sliced onions and bacon lardons. Historians date the dish all the way back to the 16th century, when Alsatian farmers would cook a flammekueche in their wood-fired ovens after their bread had been baked to make the most of the heat.

13. White clam, USA

White clam pizza is a beloved regional speciality of New Haven, Connecticut famously served at historic restaurant Frank Pepe Pizzeria since the 1960s. This iconic pizza features a thin, crispy crust topped with fresh littleneck clams, grated pecorino Romano cheese, garlic, oregano and olive oil. Unique for its lack of traditional tomato sauce, the white clam pizza is considered a culinary masterpiece by many and offers a briny, garlicky flavour profile that pizza fans travel far and wide to taste.

12. Barbecue chicken, USA

We have the late American chef Ed LaDou to thank for inventing this takeaway classic. It first appeared on the menu he created for restaurant chain California Pizza Kitchen in 1985, and the toppings included shredded chicken, homemade barbecue sauce, onions, coriander and fontina cheese. The pizza is still served by the international brand today, but now features smoked Gouda instead of the original fontina.

11. Fiorentina, Italy

As you might guess from the name, this fresh and light combination of spinach, ricotta and soft-cooked egg was invented in Florence. It's claimed that Fiorentina was originally intended to be a breakfast dish, but these days you're unlikely to find many restaurants serving it first thing in the morning. Variations on the traditional topping, which also features tomato and mozzarella, include swapping the soft-cooked eggs for hard-boiled ones.

10. Buffalo mozzarella, Italy

Using mild, creamy and slightly sour buffalo mozzarella in place of the regular variety is a deliciously easy way of elevating any pizza. On most menus, you’ll find this delicate cheese served very simply with just tomato sauce, basil and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. To make the cheese, water buffalo milk is heated and stretched during the cheesemaking process to produce that unmistakable springy, stretchy texture we know and love.

9. Hawaiian, Canada

Hawaiian pizza doesn’t have quite the exotic origins its name suggests. It was actually created thousands of miles away from Honolulu in the Canadian province of Ontario – and its inventor was not Hawaiian, but Greek. Sam Panopoulos ran a diner and in 1962, was inspired by a trip to Naples to add pizza to his menu. Influenced by the tiki craze of the time, he came up with the still divisive combination of ham and pineapple, naming his invention after the brand of tinned fruit he used to make it.

8. Lahmacun, Turkey

One of the world’s most delicious street food dishes, lahmacun is often referred to as Turkish pizza, though it was invented over 4,000 years ago, making it significantly older than its Italian counterpart. It’s the rich and flavour-packed topping that makes this flatbread popular all over the Middle East – minced meat, usually lamb or beef, is mixed with finely chopped vegetables such as onions, tomatoes and peppers, along with a blend of herbs and spices. The mixture is spread over a thin dough base, which is then baked until crispy and delicious.

7. Frutti di mare, Italy

A speciality of the coastal towns on Italy's Adriatic coast, fruitti di mare pizza features a variety of seafood such as mussels, clams, prawns and squid baked on a base topped with tomato and garlic sauce. As is often the case in Italian cuisine where seafood is concerned, cheese is not involved in the traditional recipe, though it is sometimes added in more modern restaurants. The topping has caught on in many other Mediterranean countries too, including Croatia, where it is particularly popular.

6. Meatballs, USA

Like primavera, meatball pizza takes its inspiration from a pasta dish – the classic Italian American combination of meatballs and spaghetti. According to YouTube chef and cookbook author J. Kenji López-Alt, you'll find the best examples in New York City, including the version at Neapolitan pizza chain Motorino that features pork meatballs with tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella, basil and pecorino.

5. Quattro stagioni, Italy

A close relation of capricciosa, quattro staggioni shares similar toppings of mushrooms, artichokes, olives and prosciutto but divides them into 'four seasons', with each topping taking up a quarter of the surface of the pizza, rather than being equally distributed. The segregation of the topping ingredients, sometimes marked out with strips of dough acting as a barrier between them, allows each to be enjoyed on its own.

4. Meat feast, USA

It's not clear where and when the idea of loading a pizza with a combination of meats first appeared, but what we do know is that the term 'Meat Lover's' was trademarked by Pizza Hut in 1989. The chain’s legendary version includes pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, bacon, seasoned pork and beef. Since then, variations on the idea have popped up on menus all over the world. A survey conducted in 2023 found that the meat feast pizza was the most popular topping ordered by Australian consumers.

3. Quattro formaggi, Italy

Believed to have been created in Central Italy (either Lazio or Campania) in the early 18th century, there is no hard and fast rule about what four cheeses should top this popular pizza, although a common combination is mozzarella, gorgonzola, fontina and Parmesan. The pizza may or may not include tomato sauce. However, quattro formaggi is not the cheesiest pizza ever made. That award goes to the novantanove formaggio pizza, which was created by Australian chef Johnny di Francesco, and topped with an artery-clogging 99 different cheeses.

2. Margherita, Italy

The iconic topping of tomato, mozzarella and basil first adorned a pizza in 1889. Pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito created it in honour of an official visit by King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Italy to Naples. The royal seal of approval for the toppings (which famously mimic the green, white and red of the Italian flag) helped establish pizza as a national dish of Italy.

1. Pepperoni, USA

Whisper it, but one of the most popular pizza toppings in the world wasn't invented in Italy. Pepperoni – a spiced, cured, smoked and air-dried sausage usually made from a blend of beef and pork – first appeared on a pizzeria menu at The Spot in New Haven, Connecticut, sometime in the 1950s. Since then, it's become the USA's favourite, with hungry Americans consuming over 250 million pounds of pepperoni on pizzas every year. It's also globally adored, available as a pizza topping at fast food chains and pizzerias all over the world.

Now learn more about the incredible history of pizza