When I heard that Papa Johns was debuting a new pan pizza, I was intrigued. I hadn’t eaten pizza from there in probably a decade or more, as it had really gone downhill from its heyday in the early 2000s, if you ask me. But my favorite pizza at Domino’s is also the pan style, so I wondered how the results of a taste test would pan out — pun absolutely intended.
Never one to turn down an impromptu pizza party, I ordered a pan pizza from both Papa Johns and Domino’s, picking them up within minutes of each other. I fully expected to hate the Papa’s pizza, but life’s full of surprises, I guess. Here’s how the new Papa Johns pan pizza stacks up to its biggest competition, Domino’s.
Papa Johns New Pan Pizza Is All About the Crust
Price: $11.99 for a 1-topping pan pizza
Look, I’ll be honest with you: the Papa Johns I went to smelled like crap. It was super busy though (and the wall of three-deep empty pizza boxes was a sign they usually are), so I ignored that and got out of there with my pizza ASAP.
Thankfully, the pan pizza tasted nothing like the smell of that place. The new crust was the star, and it was thick and pillowy throughout the whole pie. Garlic sauce and parmesan cheese are baked onto the bottom of the crust, and it turns out that it is a magical combination. The cheese baked up into a crispy lace under the crust, keeping it crunchy and giving every bite that unmistakable caramelized cheese flavor.
This wasn’t a slam dunk pizza thoug, because let’s face it — it’s still fast food. The cheese and sauce on top were skimpy, and despite it being too greasy, it was somehow also dry. I wished the cheese had gone all the way to the edge of the pizza for more caramelized goodness; judging by official photos, it’s supposed to. Still, that wasn’t anything a little pepperoncini juice and a dip in the infamous garlic sauce can’t help, and this pizza was MUCH better than the Papa Johns I remembered from years ago. (Yes, that’s relief you’re sensing.)
Domino’s Pan Pizza Is All About the Toppings
Price: $10.99 for a 2-topping pan pizza
If you want a big, messy pizza full of toppings and sauce, Domino’s pan pizza will make all your dreams come true.
Due to proximity, I’ve had many Domino’s pan pizzas over the years, and they’re always on the “juicy” side. That’s why I normally order them well done, but in the interest of fairness and comparing apples to apples, I didn’t do that here. That was a mistake.
This thing had so much sauce and cheese on it that the crust — which was much thinner than Papa Johns — couldn’t stand up to all that weight. It needed a much sturdier crust. But hey, at least you got a cheese pull on this one.
Domino’s pan pizza is also cheaper than Papa Johns. Not only is it a buck less with the chain’s long-running pan pizza deal, but you get a second topping, too. Sometimes, you just want as much as you can get for as cheap as you can get, and for those times, there’s Domino’s pan pizza.
Verdict: Papa Johns Pan Pizza Is a Better Value Than Domino’s
Despite my bias against Papa Johns, it was the better pan pizza. This is a pan pizza, which is all about the crust, and the Papa’s crust was light years better than Domino’s.
So even though the Papa Johns new pan pizza was more expensive than Domino’s, I say it’s still the better value. Plus, you really can’t ignore the added value that the free garlic sauce (and pepperoncini pepper) gives Papa Johns pizza. If you wanted to add that to your Domino’s pizza, you’d have to pay an extra buck, according to the stupid upsell popups when I was checking out.
If you’re on the fence about trying Papa Johns new pan pizza, I say go for it — before it’s not new anymore and they jack up the price. At that point, well, you might as well stick to the king of cheap pizza, Little Ceasars.
More From Cheapism
- The Best Hole-in-the-Wall Pizza Joints Across America — Despite the lack of ambiance, these hole-in-the-wall pizzerias are worth seeking out for the food.
- 15 Best Places to Get a Cheap Slice of Pizza on the East Coast — From classic New York slice shops to buzzy Florida favorites, here are 15 of the best cheap pizza slices on the East Coast, according to diners who’ve actually been there.
- We Tasted 13 Frozen Pizzas — This Is the Best — We went straight to the source (the grocery store), and taste-tested a ton of options to find the best frozen pizza.
