New York
The big, foldable slice. Thin in the middle, chewy at the edge.
NY Plain (cheese)
The corner-slice baseline. Uncooked New York–New Jersey sauce, low-moisture mozz, a dust of pecorino. Foldable. Greasy. Iconic.
Open recipe →NY Pepperoni (cup-and-char)
Use natural-casing pepperoni (Ezzo, Margherita Premium) — the small-diameter sticks cup up during baking, holding little pools of rendered fat. The greatest pizza topping ever invented.
Open recipe →White Pizza (bianca)
Garlic cream base, three cheeses, fresh herbs. No tomato. Best with a thin or NY-style crust so the cheese doesn't drown the bread.
Open recipe →Vodka
Vodka sauce, fresh mozz dollops, low-moisture mozz, hot honey to finish. The 'tiktok pizza' done right — and yes, the hot honey is non-negotiable.
Open recipe →NY Sausage & Peppers
The Italian-American classic on a slice: fennel sausage crumbled raw over the cheese, sweet peppers and onion softened first so they don't stay crunchy. The sausage fat does the seasoning.
Open recipe →NY Mushroom & Onion
The slice-shop vegetable pie that's actually good: mushrooms browned hard in a dry pan, onion sliced thin and softened, both under a little extra pecorino. Raw mushrooms on a pizza steam; cooked ones roast.
Open recipe →NY Supreme
Pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onion, mushroom and olive: the loaded pie, done so the crust survives. Vegetables cooked first, everything in a single layer, and less of each than you'd think.
Open recipe →NY Meatball & Ricotta
Sliced meatballs and dollops of ricotta on the plain pie, with a little extra sauce. The Sunday-gravy slice. Use meatballs you've already cooked; raw ones won't get there in the oven.
Open recipe →NY White Clam
New Haven's gift, on a New York base: chopped clams, garlic, oregano and pecorino on oil, no mozzarella and no tomato. Fresh clams if you can shuck them; canned chopped clams, drained hard, make a very good Tuesday version.
Open recipe →Butter Chicken
Indian flavours on a New York pie: makhani sauce in place of the red, chicken thighs marinated in yogurt and spices, and cilantro and green chile once it's out. Cook the chicken first; it won't cook through on the pie.
Open recipe →Buffalo Chicken
Wings on a pizza: chicken tossed in Frank's and butter over garlic cream and mozzarella, then blue cheese, a ranch drizzle and celery once it's out. The cool things go on last so they stay cool.
Open recipe →Spinach & Artichoke
The slice Artichoke Basille's made famous in the East Village, which is more or less spinach-artichoke dip on a pizza: cream sauce, spinach, artichoke hearts, mozzarella and pecorino. Squeeze the spinach really dry or the middle goes soupy.
Open recipe →Philly Cheesesteak
The cheesesteak on a slice: shaved ribeye, peppers and onions cooked first, provolone melted over the lot. Freeze the steak for 30 minutes and it slices paper-thin, or buy it already shaved.
Open recipe →Italian Combo
The Italian sub on a slice. Salami, capicola and provolone bake on the pie. Shredded lettuce, onion and pepperoncini go on cold, with a splash of oil and vinegar, the way a deli does it. Eat it straight away, before the lettuce wilts.
Open recipe →Honey Curry
The pie that put a small Utah curry-pizza shop on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: a sweet, buttery curry sauce in place of the red, with pepperoni and Italian sausage over the mozzarella. It sounds odd and tastes like it's always existed. Go easy on the sauce; honey scorches where it pools.
Open recipe →Tandoori Chicken
A staple of the Bay Area's Indian pizzerias: chicken thighs marinated in yogurt and tandoori spice, red onion and green pepper over a red sauce warmed with garam masala, and mint chutney once it's out. Char the chicken under the broiler first; that smoky edge is what the tandoor would give it.
Open recipe →Hellboy
The best seller at Paulie Gee's in Greenpoint: spicy soppressata, mozzarella and Parmigiano, with a heavy drizzle of hot honey after the bake. It's the pie that made hot honey a pizza topping. Slice the soppressata thin so it cups and crisps.
Open recipe →Tie-Dye
Rubirosa's signature on Mulberry Street: vodka sauce, red sauce and pesto swirled together on one thin crust, with fresh mozzarella. Every bite is a little different. Swirl the three loosely and stop before they blend into one colour.
Open recipe →Chicken Parm
The hero sandwich as a slice, the way plenty of New York slice shops sell it: a breaded cutlet in strips over red sauce, mozzarella melted on top, parm and basil after. Fry the cutlet ahead and let it cool, or it steams the crust.
Open recipe →Baked Ziti
A slice-shop standard from Staten Island to Long Island: baked ziti in red sauce on a cheese pie, ricotta dotted through and mozzarella over the lot. It's carbs on carbs, and that's the appeal. Cook the pasta two minutes short so it finishes in the oven without going soft.
Open recipe →Eggplant Parm
Eggplant parmigiana on a slice: fried eggplant rounds layered with sauce and mozzarella, pecorino and basil to finish. It's the vegetarian pie that doesn't feel like a compromise. Salt the slices and fry them golden ahead of time; raw eggplant turns to sponge on a pizza.
Open recipe →Chicken Bacon Ranch
The delivery-menu favourite done properly: garlic cream, chicken and crisp bacon under mozzarella, with ranch drizzled on once it's out. Ranch bakes into a greasy film if it goes in the oven, so save it for the end.
Open recipe →Bacon, Egg & Cheese
New York's bodega breakfast sandwich as a pie: bacon, American cheese and mozzarella, eggs cracked on part-way through, then salt, pepper and ketchup. Crack the eggs into the gaps between the bacon so they don't slide off when you open the oven.
Open recipe →Chopped Cheese
The Harlem bodega sandwich, born at the deli on 110th and First: ground beef chopped on the griddle with onion, American cheese melted through it. On a pie, the cold lettuce, tomato and ketchup-mayo go on at the end, the way they go in the roll. Brown the beef hard first and pour off the fat.
Open recipe →Frango com Catupiry
One of Brazil's favourite pizzas, on every menu from São Paulo to the Brazilian bakeries around Boston: shredded chicken over tomato and mozzarella, with catupiry, a soft cream cheese, piped on in swirls. It warms into creamy pools rather than melting. Season the chicken well; it's most of the flavour.
Open recipe →Portuguesa
Brazil's other classic, named for Portugal: ham, sliced hard-boiled egg, onion, peas and olives over mozzarella. It reads like a fridge clear-out and works far better than it should. Boil the eggs nine minutes so the yolks are set but not chalky.
Open recipe →Bulgogi
Korea's pizza chains have had bulgogi on the menu for decades: thin-sliced beef marinated in soy, pear, garlic and sesame, with onion and green pepper over mozzarella, then gochujang mayo and scallions. Marinate the beef at least an hour, and sear it before it goes on.
Open recipe →Jerk Chicken
A Caribbean pie in the spirit of the Jamaican spots in Flatbush and Crown Heights: smoky allspice-and-scotch-bonnet chicken with sweet pepper, red onion and pineapple, then scallions and a little jerk sauce. A jarred jerk paste is fine; Walkerswood is the one Jamaican cooks reach for.
Open recipe →Al Pastor
The taco al pastor as a pizza, a favourite at pizzerias all over Mexico: chile-and-achiote pork, roasted pineapple and onion over mozzarella, then cilantro, raw onion, lime and salsa verde. Sear the pork in a very hot pan until the edges crisp; that's the char the spit would give it.
Open recipe →Kebab Pizza
Sweden's favourite pizza, on the menu of almost every pizzeria in the country: doner meat, onion and pepperoncini over tomato and mozzarella, then shredded lettuce and a cool garlic yogurt sauce. Buy sliced gyro or doner meat and crisp it in a pan before it goes on.
Open recipe →Teriyaki Chicken
A best seller at Japan's delivery chains for decades: teriyaki-glazed chicken with onion and sweet corn over mozzarella, then Kewpie mayo zigzagged across and a scatter of shredded nori. Reduce the teriyaki until it's sticky; a thin sauce runs off and soaks the crust.
Open recipe →Pierogi
The Polish-American pie from Pennsylvania and Buffalo, where pierogi are church-supper food: mashed potato and sharp cheddar on a garlic oil base, with caramelised onion and bacon, then sour cream and chives. Keep the potato loose and well seasoned; stiff mash bakes into paste.
Open recipe →Hawaiian
Ham and pineapple, invented in 1962 by Sam Panopoulos at his diner in Chatham, Ontario, and argued about ever since. The trick is dry pineapple: pat it down well with paper towels, or the juice pools and the middle never crisps.
Open recipe →Meat Lover's
Pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham and meatball on one pie, the way Pizza Hut sold it from 1993 and every slice shop copied. Go light on each meat; five of them add up fast, and too much fat turns the cheese to soup.
Open recipe →BBQ Chicken
The pie California Pizza Kitchen opened with in 1985, on a thin New York crust: BBQ sauce in place of tomato, mozzarella and smoked gouda, chicken and red onion, cilantro at the end. Spread the sauce thin; it's sweet and it burns where it's thick.
Open recipe →Garden Veggie
The vegetable pie off every pizzeria menu: peppers, mushrooms, onion, black olives and tomato. Slice everything thin and don't pile it high; vegetables give off water, and a heavy hand gives you a soggy middle.
Open recipe →Fresh Mozz
The slice-shop Margherita: the regular red sauce, rounds of fresh mozzarella instead of the grated kind, and basil once it's out. Cut the mozzarella an hour ahead and leave it on paper towels; wet cheese makes a wet pie.
Open recipe →Sausage & Broccoli Rabe
A white pie from the Italian-American sandwich counter: sweet sausage, bitter broccoli rabe and garlic, with ricotta to soften it. Blanch the rabe for a minute before you sauté it; it takes off the harshest edge without losing the bite.
Open recipe →Reuben
The deli sandwich on a pie: corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss over a little garlic oil, with Russian dressing drizzled on once it's out and caraway to stand in for the rye. Wring the sauerkraut out hard in a towel; it's the wettest thing on the pie.
Open recipe →Mac & Cheese
A slice-shop favourite with kids and anyone who's been out late: creamy macaroni and cheese baked onto a pie, with cheddar browning on top. Make the mac a little loose and slightly underdone, because it keeps cooking in the oven.
Open recipe →Shrimp Scampi
The red-sauce restaurant's scampi on a white pie: shrimp in garlic and butter, mozzarella and pecorino, then lemon and parsley at the end. Use raw shrimp cut in half lengthwise; they cook through in the bake and stay tender.
Open recipe →Chicken Pesto
Pesto in place of the red sauce, with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella: a pizzeria-menu staple since the nineties. Spread the pesto thin and keep the chicken moist; both dry out fast in a hot oven.
Open recipe →Chicken Alfredo
The Italian-American pasta dish as a white pie: garlic cream, chicken, a lot of parmesan and black pepper, with a little broccoli if you want something green. Grate the parmesan fine so it melts into the cream instead of sitting on top.
Open recipe →Chicken Caesar
Half pizza, half salad: a garlic white pie with chicken and parmesan, then cold romaine tossed in Caesar dressing piled on once it's out. Dress the lettuce at the last second and eat it straight away, while the crust is hot and the salad's still crisp.
Open recipe →Sausage & Cherry Peppers
A Jersey and Long Island slice-shop classic: hot Italian sausage with chopped pickled hot cherry peppers, the vinegar cutting right through the fat. A spoonful of the pepper brine over the top is the move if you like it sharp.
Open recipe →Pepperoni & Ricotta
Cupped pepperoni and cool spoonfuls of ricotta on the red pie, with basil once it's out. The ricotta catches the pepperoni's chili oil, which is why every slice counter in Brooklyn sells one. Drain the ricotta in a sieve for an hour first.
Open recipe →Honey Pistachio
After The Emily, the white pie that made Emily in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn famous: mozzarella, truffle cheese and pistachios, finished with honey. Buy the pistachios unsalted and toast them first. If you can't find sottocenere, a few drops of truffle oil after the bake gets you close.
Open recipe →