Pizza toppings tier list
This pizza toppings tier list ranks toppings from S to F on one criterion: what they do to the rest of the pizza, not how good they taste on their own.
An editorial ranking by TierSort - our opinion, with the reasoning shown. Disagree? Make your own food and drink tier list.
How this list is judged
Almost every topping argument is really an argument about moisture. A topping that tastes excellent and turns the centre of the pizza to soup is a bad topping, however good it is on a fork. Ranking on effect rather than flavour reorders the standard list considerably, and it settles the pineapple question on technical grounds rather than tribal ones.
The reasoning, tier by tier
- SPepperoni, Basil
- Pepperoni renders fat into the cheese while crisping at the edges - it improves the pizza underneath rather than sitting on it, which nothing else here does as completely. Basil adds aroma and zero water, the cheapest possible upgrade.
- ARed onion, Chilli, Anchovy
- All three are seasoning disguised as toppings. Red onion sweetens as it cooks and stays structurally dry. Chilli adds a dimension without adding mass. Anchovy is the most unfairly maligned entry on the list - it dissolves into salt and depth, and most people who dislike it have only had it in excess.
- BMushroom, Olive, Sausage
- Good with a caveat each. Mushrooms are excellent if pre-cooked and a drainage problem if not. Olives are strong enough to dominate everything around them. Sausage is genuinely great and heavy enough that it costs you a second slice.
- CHam, Sweetcorn, Pineapple
- Pineapple sits in C on the technical grounds this list is using, not the cultural ones - the flavour pairing works, the water content does not. Ham is inoffensive and adds little. Sweetcorn contributes texture and nothing else.
- DFresh tomato, Rocket, Prawn
- Fresh tomato on top of tomato sauce is redundant and wet. Rocket added before baking is destroyed, and added after is a salad on a pizza. Prawns overcook in the time a pizza takes, every time.
What the ranking shows
Judged on structural effect rather than flavour, the winners are the toppings that give something to the pizza and take nothing away. It is also the only framing where the pineapple argument has an answer rather than a side.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best pizza topping?
- On this ranking, pepperoni - it is the only common topping that actively improves the pizza underneath it, rendering fat into the cheese and crisping at the edges rather than simply sitting on top.
- Does pineapple belong on pizza?
- On flavour, it works - sweet against salt is a standard pairing. The real objection is water content, which softens the base. That is why it sits mid-table here rather than at either extreme.
- How should you rank pizza toppings?
- By what they do to the whole pizza rather than how they taste alone. Moisture, weight and how they behave in a hot oven separate the tiers far more usefully than personal preference does.
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