Motivated Monday – Healthiest Chain and Delivery Pizzas

Finding the Healthiest Delivery Pizzas

UPDATED November 15, 2023

I hope I’m not the only one that occasionally will cheat on a diet to indulge in a little bit of pizza delivered to my doorstep. An impromptu party or dinner craving doesn’t need to give you an achy belly and fill you with guilt.

I’ve looked at the biggest pizza chains across the country to get an idea of what two slices of thin crust pizza will set you back, calorie-wise. Part of my research involves taste, not just calories, so I referenced The Daily Meal’s “America’s Best 25 Pizza Chains” taste ratings.

Criterion

Thin crust pizzas almost always have less calories than a standard hand-tossed crust. And we all know that a deep dish or Chicago-style pizza will have the most calories of all. So to compare the pizzas, I used thin crust where possible. One serving of pizza, as I describe here, consists of 2 slices of a medium (12″) thin-crust cheese pizza. I included some take-out pizza chains as well.

Strategy

The strategy for getting through pizza-time without heaps of regret may be to order a salad, eat some of that first, and then consume 1-2 slices. You are also able to order a lighter portion of cheese in order to cut down on fat and calories from the cheese. Hopefully it’s obvious not to fill up on high calorie soda, breadsticks, and dipping sauces.

CPK’s Tricky Menu

One of the most popular pizza chains in the country (and number one on The Daily Meal’s list) is California Pizza Kitchen. I have a problem with their menu because it seems like it would be healthy, given the abundance of thin-crusted pizzas and salad options. But the calories in a “personal-sized” pizzas starts at 1100 calories. So even if you have a half of the lowest calorie pizza, you’re looking at 500+ calories. Most of the half salads are also over 500 calories. So watch out! I did find a cool blog called Eating Rules that has a two-part series specifically on what to order at CPK. I would recommend the half roasted veggie salad or the half Chinese chicken salad. And get your dressing on the side for dipping.

Top Thin-Crust Pizza – Domino’s

With two slices of medium thin-crust pizza setting you back only 300 calories, and a rating of #2 in the top 25 pizza chains for flavor, Domino’s may be your best option. Other more waistline-friendly topping combos to order are Hawaiian or Veggie, as they describe on their lighter options page. The nutritional data for two slices of a medium thin-crust cheese pizza are: 300 calories, 23g carbs, 14g fat, 12g protein.

Hungry Howie’s has 20 fewer calories than Domino’s so it’s also a great option for calorie counters at 280 calories, 26g carbs, 14g fat and 12g protein. It doesn’t earn the top spot because Dominos has higher quality and flavor.

Papa John’s doesn’t make a medium sized thin-crust so they lose out a bit, you could two slices of either the regular crust or the thin crust large for 420 calories. They offer you some a lighter choice in the form of Garden Veggie Papa Bowl at 380 calories. Yes, it has more fat but it skips the crust altogether by baking the ingredients in a bowl. 380cals, 24g fat, 21g carbs, g fiber, 22g protein.

Top Take-Home Pizza – Papa Murphy’s

Papa Murphy’s doesn’t offer delivery like most of the competitors do, but they do have a huge variety of pizzas, and rank as #10 out of the top 25 pizza places according to DailyMeal. They also don’t make medium pizzas in the thin-crust size but here I’ve compared to two slices of “Family size” thin crust pizza (1/3 of a 16″ pizza). The breakdown for two slices is: 320 calories, 33g carbs, 14g fat, 16g protein. Other lower-calorie pizza options include Veggie, Hawaiian, and Chicken Mediterranean.

Fun fact, Little Caesar’s thin crust pizza actually has more calories than the regular crust! Strange!

Top Pizza Chains with Healthy Options – MOD Pizza, Mellow Mushroom

My favorite pizza chains that have other tasty options are Mellow Mushroom and MOD Pizza. Both of these offer fresh ingredients and tasty salads, so that you can have some healthy veggies alongside your pizza. Mellow Mushroom also has not only gluten-free crusts available but also a complete Vegan menu. It’s perfectly possible to enjoy a very healthy meal at either of these locations, by perhaps splitting a small pizza and a salad with a friend.

Compare Top Pizza Delivery Chain Nutrition Data

Brand	Type	Size	Fraction	Slices	Cals	Carbs	Fat	Protein
Hungry Howie’s	Thin Crust	Medium 12″	1/4	2	280	26g	14g	12g
Hungry Howie’s	Thin Crust	Large 16″	1/4	2	400	36g	20g	18g
cici’s pizza	Regular	Medium 12″		2	380	24g	9g	16g
marco’s pizza	Lite Crust	Medium 12″	1/4	2	370	38g	15g	14g
marco’s pizza	Thin Crust	Medium 12″	1/4	2	360	32g	17g	12g
marco’s pizza	Philly Pizza Bowl	1	1	1	340	8g	21g	24g
Papa Murphy’s	Thin Crust	Large 16″	1/4	2	320	33g	14g	16g
Papa Murphy’s	Regular Crust	Large 16″	1/4	2	410	47g	16g	12g
Domino’s	Thin Crust	Medium 12″	1/4	2	300	23g	17g	12g
Domino’s	Hand Tossed	Medium 12″	1/4	2	400	44g	16g	16g
MOD	Mod Crust	Mini 6″	1		320	41g	11g	16g
Papa John’s	Thin Crust	Large	1/4	2	420	40g	22g	20g
Papa John’s	Regular	Medium 12″	1/4	2	420	54g	14g	16g
Papa John’s	Garden Bowl	1	1		380	21g	24g	22g
Godfather’s	Thin Crust	Medium 12″	1/4	2	320	30g	16g	14g
Pizza Hut	Thin Crust	Medium 12″	1/4	2	370	44g	13g	18g
Round Table	Regular	Medium 12″	1/4	2	500	44g	22g	26g
Little Caesar’s	Thin Crust	Large	1/4	2	495	56	27	25
Little Caesar’s	Regular Crust	Large	1/4	2	488	62	16	24
Sbarro	XL NY Pizza	XL 17″	1/5	1	550	68g	19g	26g
CPK	Five Cheese		1/2		570	67g	21g	27g
Mellow Mushroom	Thin Crust	Medium 14″	1/4	2	320	50g	14g	12g
Mellow Mushroom	Regular Crust	Medium 14″	1/4	2	490	86g	16g	19g
Jet’s Pizza	Thin Crust	Small	1/2	2	450	44g	20g	26g
Jet’s Pizza	Cauliflower Crust	Small	1/2	2	340	32g	13g	20g
Donato’s	Thin Crust	Medium 12″	1/7	2	260	22g	14g	22g
Donato’s	Thin Crust	Medium 12″	1/4		355	34.5	16	16g
Donato’s	Cauliflower Crust	10″	1/2		395	44.5	17	16g
Blaze	Regular Crust	11″	1/2	3	320	44g	9g	15g
Blaze	Cauliflower Crust	11″	1/2	3	400	47g	16g	18g