America's Most Popular Pizza Toppings

From deep pan to New York style, cheesy to BBQ base, there are endless pizza options to enjoy. But which pizza toppings can truly be considered the nation’s favorites? We decided to find out!

What are Americans’ favorite pizza toppings?

From pepperoni to pineapple, which are officially the most popular pizza toppings in America? We took a break from reviewing casino sites to find out. Read on to find out!

1. Pepperoni

Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering its prominence and versatility, the classic and beloved pepperoni is the most popular pizza topping, taking gold in an incredible 29 different states. It’s also the second choice in a further 17 states, cementing pepperoni’s status as a serious player in the pizza game.

However - believe it not - not everyone’s a fan, with residents of Rhode Island actually ranking pepperoni fifth, behind the likes of ground beef, chicken, and peppers.

2. Bacon

Stealing second on our index, we have bacon, a humble choice that’s the favored topping in 11 different US states, including, perhaps peculiarly, the entirety of New England, with Massachusetts and Co. particular advocates for the porky pick.

Intriguingly, however, despite bacon’s significant popularity, the same can’t be said for ham, which is a low performer across the entire nation. There must be something about the crispy texture that gives bacon the edge!

3. Sausage

Taking bronze, we have another one for the meat lovers, with sausage taking top spot in five states (Georgia, Montana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas). Impressively, sausage is a consistently strong performer and popular pick across the board, with only Rhode Island, Delaware, Vermont, and Hawaii having a strong adversary to sausage as a pizza topping.

4. Peppers

Next up, with just two states citing it as their favorite pizza topping – New Mexico and South Carolina - we have our top-ranking vegetarian-friendly pick in peppers.

Analyzing the US as a whole, peppers aren’t universally loved or loathed, with consistent positioning as a middle-order item, suggesting Americans would quite happily accept peppers on a pizza, but would be unlikely to make a special request for them.

=5. Mushrooms

Another veggie option, mushrooms are the nation’s next-most popular pizza topping – though they’re only the official favorite in one state, with Oklahoma the lone advocates for the fifth-placed fungi. That said, just like peppers, very few states actively dislike or hate mushrooms, with only Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware, and Hawaii feeling strongly against the topping.

=5. Pineapple

In joint fifth, we have the ever-controversial topping that is pineapple, the principal ingredient of a Hawaiian pizza. And, coincidentally, the archipelago state is where the fruity topping is most-adored, taking top spot on the Pacific islands – though, it unfortunately ranks towards the bottom of the list for every other state.

=5. Chicken

Finally, also in joint fifth with mushrooms and pineapple, we have chicken, with just one state ranking it as the first-choice topping (Delaware).

Though this might come as a surprise to some readers, considering the otherwise popular status of chicken among Americans, it’s up against some big hitters in the meaty toppings department, with pepperoni, bacon, and sausage already claiming the first three places, so perhaps chicken is simply a meat too much.

What are Americans’ least favorite pizza toppings?

The results are in, and there’s a standout loser when it comes to the nation’s least favorite pizza topping.

Ranking bottom across all 50 states, anchovies are the most hated accompaniment of the lot, with Americans avoiding the salty fish at all costs! That said, although there’s a resounding sense of disgust around anchovies, our research reveals that New Jerseyans officially hate them the least.

Other toppings that rank lowly include onions, olives, and jalapenos, which don’t score well in any state, as well as basil and - interestingly – tomatoes. Meanwhile, ground beef suffers the same fate as chicken; despite being a common ingredient in a range of other dishes, it simply isn’t the meat of choice on a pizza, according to Americans.

So, there we have it: America’s most (and least) popular pizza toppings – have we listed your favorites? If you’ve found this interesting and got a taste for more, why not head on over to our blog for further insight from our experts.

Methodology

The average monthly Google trends data was gathered for 15 of the most popular pizza toppings in America on a state-by-state basis. This allowed us to reveal the most popular toppings in each state.