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Za Za Za

A Definitive Ranking Of 17 Pizza Toppings

From worst to best (although it’s all still good).

THERE’S NOT REALLY such a thing as a bad pizza, let’s face it.

What you decide to put on it though, can lead to the decimation of relationships, friendships, and lives.

Here’s our controversial ranking of toppings, from 17 to one…

17. Anchovies

Anchovie pizza Allerina & Glen MacLarty Allerina & Glen MacLarty

Certainly not to everyone’s taste – and there is a reason for that. Toppings should complement the others on the pizza, but anchovies just go ahead and dominate things with their overpowering flavour. Thumbs down.

16. Pineapple

Ham and Pineapple Pizza IMG_7621.JPG stevendepolo stevendepolo

Leaving aside the debate to end all debates about whether this should even exist as a topping option, pineapple always divides people up and down the country when it is served up. If you’re sharing a pizza, it’s probably best if you don’t have pineapple on there, unless you want a row.

15. Ground beef

4783432793_597c858d54_b flickr flickr

There are much, much better meat options that you could be indulging in. Ground beef is bland and hardly adds that much flavour – plus its texture is a bit, well, ew.

14. Olives

pizza stu_spivack stu_spivack

Their salty-sweet flavour has no place on any pizza worth eating. Some adore them though, but that doesn’t necessarily make it OK.

13. Tuna

Tuna and Onion Pizza Accidental Hedonist Accidental Hedonist

Again, you must really love seafood to want to put tuna on to your pizza. The overpowering taste of tuna can ruin the other flavours trying to break through from the other toppings.

Word.

12. Chicken

Chicken Pizza Cut Pieces Iwan Gabovitch Iwan Gabovitch

In theory, chicken should really work on a pizza. It’s the go-to meat for so many dishes and versatile enough to complement many a gorgeous dish. The fact is that it’s more functional that flavourful on a pizza, which gets it a lowly ranking on this list. Nothing bad about it per se, but it doesn’t inspire much either.

11. Spinach

Take-Out @ Singas Famous Pizza wEnDaLicious wEnDaLicious

Spinach might be great (well, tolerable) in a salad, but when you cook it up and slide it over a pizza, things do not end well. One for those who have a serious spinach commitment.

10. Ham

Mmm... bread crust pizza jeffreyw jeffreyw

Again, not the most exciting topping but can provide a nice meat core if that’s your thing (and certainly better than any version of ground beef).

9. Sweetcorn

Mushroom, sweetcorn and olive Double Decadence Domino's pizza Ben Sutherland Ben Sutherland

Just about scraping into the top 10 on this list, plenty out there love sweetcorn as a way to sweeten up their pizza. It’s hardly a game changer, though, and is usually down the list of toppings that will get you excited before you tuck in.

8. Green Peppers

green peppers jimw jimw

A solid and dependable choice. Not packing quite the flavour of their red cousins, but certainly won’t take away from a pizza.

7. Salami

tuscan salami pizza stu_spivack stu_spivack

Better than just regular sausage in flavour, salami adds a lot of bulk to your slice and is so much nicer than many of the meat options available to your hungry paws.

6. Onions

white pizza ginnerobot ginnerobot

Like with many dishes, onions add crucial flavour and a bit of a bite to your slice. Red onions would probably be your best bet, but the regular will do a job as well.

5. Bacon

potato pizza stu_spivack stu_spivack

One of Ireland’s most loved meats, so surely deserving of a place in the top 5. Little pieces of bacon scattered around the pizza will add crucial bursts of beautiful, rasher-y flavoured goodness.

4. Chorizo

Chorizo Pizza - Abbotsford Slow Food Convent Cafe avlxyz avlxyz

Pipping ahead of bacon, purely based on its cured-meat spiciness. A few chunks of this on the pizza, and you’ll be seriously happy with that flavour (if that’s your thing, of course).

3. Red Peppers

Mmm... pizza night jeffreyw jeffreyw

So much superior to the green peppers, adding the red ones to your pizza will give it a nice boost and seems to be universally popular.

2. Mushrooms

Mushroom Pizza La Piazza Pizzeria La Piazza Pizzeria

That distinctive mushroom taste could be added to any combination of za and it would enhance it immeasurably. They work with everything, and it’s that versatility that brought it all the way to the top, but not quite…

1. Pepperoni

Mushroom and Pepperoni Pizza Canadacow Canadacow

The classic pizza topping – and there’s a good reason for that. It provides the bedrock for many of the tastiest pies. It might not be the flashiest of toppings, but where would pizza be without it? Probably still really popular, but still. Pepperoni is inextricably linked to pizza now, and we should be happy with that situation.

Of course, pizza toppings are a subjective business. Do you think pineapple should be higher up? Or not on the list at all? Perhaps you think sweetcorn should be riding high into the Top 10. Let us know your thoughts on this important issue. 

More 17 pizzas to try in Ireland before you die>

More Quiz: Which Fast Food Chain Is Your Spirit Animal?>

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