Pizza restaurant chains always work on creative and outlandish pizza innovations to stay relevant, and Little Caesars got on the bandwagon by creating the pretzel crust pizza in 2014. The reviews were good back then, so it returned for a bit in 2021. Let’s do a Little Caesars pretzel pizza review and see what the fuss was about.
The Little Caesars pretzel pizza tasted good, but it felt more like bread with cheese. The pretzel crust wasn’t too different from their original crust recipe, but the texture felt like I was indeed eating a pretzel. It was a bit too salty but cheesy enough to get me full for the day. It wasn’t the best, nor the worst I ever had.
What Is Little Caesars Pretzel Pizza?
In 2014, Little Caesars went all out and created the pretzel crust pizza. You could get it with stuffed crust ends as a bonus. The recipe was basic – there was a lot of white cheddar cheese and pepperoni. The most interesting part may have been the lack of the staple tomato sauce we usually have on almost every pizza.
When it first came out, this pizza had mixed reviews. Some people really enjoyed the cheesiness and pretzel-ness of the dish, while others found it, to quote a few comments, “an abomination.” Considering they’ve given it a couple of comebacks, every time they made it again, the recipe seemed to have improved compared to the last time.
This Pizza Recently Made a Comeback
The first run of the Little Caesars pretzel crust pizza was good; great, even. But, they needed to work on its look and presentation a bit more. The first time they discontinued it, people complained about it and demanded that it returns for the second time.
Little Caesars listened (and saw a petition from a fan,) and they made a comeback with the pizza in 2020. It was on their menu until March 2021, and it seemed like the recipe for the crust and the pizza’s general appearance took a turn for the better. People hopped on the pretzel crust train as soon as its comeback was announced.
The Little Caesars Pretzel Pizza Review – How Did It Fare on the Taste Test?
When the pizza came back, I thought – I should get into this. I tried it once before when it came out, but I was kind of drunk, and it was post-party food that I couldn’t remember that well. I told myself I’d be a serious pizza reviewer this time.
The return of the pretzel pizza was my sign to do a taste test. I won’t lie, when it arrived, it looked amazing. Cheesy, topped with a generous amount of pepperoni, and that glistening pretzel crust with salt minerals was calling my name.
I kind of went the other way and decided to take a bite of the crust first. I couldn’t wait since it’s the dish’s highlight, essentially. And a highlight it was – the taste of the dough together with the salt felt like I was eating a soft pretzel; it was excellent.
The Texture of the Pizza Was Nice, and There Were Plenty of Toppings
While the crust was a winner, the entire doughy base felt pretty much like eating pizza dough, which was essentially good. It’d have felt too heavy on the stomach if the whole base was pretzel-tasting. Texture-wise, cheese, pepperoni, and the crust went together perfectly.
The toppings were aplenty, but perhaps at times a little too heavy. I love cheese, but there is sometimes too much of it. It’s hard to admit, but it’s true. Overall, it felt like I was eating cheesy bread with pepperoni instead of pizza (although isn’t pizza precisely that? Up for debate).
There was no tomato sauce on this pizza. For me, the tomato sauce is a must very often because it contradicts the heaviness of the cheese. The sauce tends to be sweet and tangy, and dairy can feel quite heavy and greasy; the sauce would have given it some lightness and more of a pizza vibe.
Salty, Salty, Salty – Not for the Faint of Heart (Literally)
As I said, the salt minerals on the crust made it seem like a soft pretzel ultimately, but those salt minerals went a bit haywire and flew all over the rest of the pizza, making the entire thing super salty. I don’t mind a salty flavor here and there, but I drank tons of water well into the rest of my day because of this pizza.
Salt contains sodium, which in large amounts causes heart problems. People with high blood pressure often get to that condition because of excess sodium consumption, and they generally have to take it down to a minimum when watching over their heart health.
If you have high blood pressure, this pizza won’t be that good for you. The salt minerals can be brushed off fairly easily off the crust, but whatever else lands on those toppings will melt from the pizza’s heat and change its flavor and consistency.
Little Caesars Pretzel Pizza Wasn’t the Worst, nor the Best Pizza I Had
Little Caesars had great intentions when they created the pretzel pizza, no doubt. However, the execution was a little sloppier than expected at first. They fixed the pizza’s consistency later on, but it was still too salty for some consumers. It’s good to indulge in occasionally, but it might be good they don’t have it on the menu anymore.
If you really want to eat at Little Caesars, I’d recommend their stuffed crust pizzas instead. Just buy a soft pretzel and eat it on the side, and you’ll get a similar experience, if not completely the same.