Time for a Food Delivery Makeover: The 7 Tastiest Artisan Toppings for Gourmet Pizza

Is there anything more satisfying than a good slice of pizza? Gooey cheese stretching from slice to pie as you lift it away to your plate, a few scattered slices of pepperoni, and maybe a light sprinkling of red pepper flakes on top… perfection. There’s a reason this comfort food is a food delivery staple at the office, especially when employees are working late nights.

But sometimes we can get burnt out on pizza, and the old favorite becomes totally expected. Inject some creativity into your next pizza order by taking advantage of the latest food trend: artisan pizza.

That’s right — pizza is getting a gourmet makeover. From fresher ingredients to artisan cheeses to gourmet toppings, pizza restaurants focusing on handcrafted, high-quality pies are opening to great success across the country. Some create individual pizzas to order along their counters, Chipotle-style, while others are concocting menus of elaborate pizzas with unusual — yet delicious — ingredients.

Just a warning: your health-conscious coworkers may love the trend, but the plain-cheese crowd may not. At a recent pizza party at my office, my boss opened a delivery box, wrinkled his nose, and said, “When did they start putting salad on pizzas?”

It wasn’t salad, exactly — it was arugula, just a handful, scattered across the top of a thin-crust pie… and it’s the perfect place to start with our introduction to some of the tastiest artisan toppings you might be inspired to add to your next handcrafted pizza!

1) Arugula: This peppery green is usually placed fresh (that is, raw) atop an otherwise cooked pizza, occasionally tossed with a little olive oil. Yes, it might look  at first glance like someone put a salad on your pizza, but it’s actually a refreshingly flavorful complement to the rich cheeses and meats.

2) Soppressata: Think of this dry Italian salami as an alternative to pepperoni. Sliced thin and usually quite spicy, it adds tons of flavor and a bit of heat to your pie.

3) Fennel sausage: Many sausages contain some fennel, but when a menu specifically calls out “fennel sausage”, you’re in for a mouthful of that distinctive, licorice-like fennel flavor.

4) Buffalo mozzarella: Made from the milk of a water buffalo, which has considerably more fat than cow’s milk, this cheese is incredibly creamy and rich. Thick, round slices of buffalo mozzarella will melt across your artisan pizza, and you’ll be a convert in no time.

5) Quail eggs: It may sound strange, but small quail eggs (less than a quarter of the size of chicken eggs) cracked over a piping-hot pizza will cook just enough so that the outside will set, providing you with a deliciously runny egg yolk when you poke it with your fork. The same effect can be achieved with a chicken egg, but it’s not as cute (and the smaller size of quail eggs makes them a little sturdier, which is handy when trying to survive the food delivery trek).

6) Brussels sprouts: Even if you think you don’t like Brussels sprouts, this unique topping is worth a try. Oven-roasted to bring out their best flavor (and remove the bitterness that can plague undercooked Brussels sprouts) they’re especially tasty on white-sauce pies, or when paired with a rich cheese and wild mushrooms.

7) Honey: Yes, honey on pizza is a thing now. Salty and sweet are a classic combination, and when honey is drizzled over a cooked pizza, it adds a subtle contrast to spicy, salty meats (like soppressata).

Liven up the classic food delivery order and try an artisan pizza at your next Friday lunch (or even a late-night hackathon). With plentiful menus and easy online ordering, it’s easy to have your dream pie delivered right to your office from Waiter.com!