
Pizza. Just the word makes your mouth water, doesn’t it? It’s perfect for every occasion. You can dress it up or dress it down, keep it plain or top it with every spare ingredient under the sun. Summer, winter, beach, or mountains, you can eat it anywhere and everywhere, and on the go too.
Hailing from Italy (like so many other delicious foods!), the pizza has spread its wings and taken many forms. As a result, there are many different types of pizzas around the world – and if you’re a true fan, you’ll take a world tour and try them all!
We’re on a mission to cover some of the most delicious and unique pizza styles in the world, and here they are.
What is the definition of pizza?
Let’s get nitty gritty with it – what is a pizza? Well, most dictionaries define a pizza as being “a dish made typically of flattened bread dough spread with a savoury mixture, usually including typical toppings of tomatoes and cheese and baked”. That leaves things pretty broad and open for plenty of cultures around the world to create a version of their own.
1. Neapolitan
Italy is credited as the birthplace of pizza, but specifically Naples, and this is where the classic and iconic Neapolitan pizza is born. When you think of pizza, this is what you think of: a puffy crust, tomato sauce, ooey gooey fresh mozzarella, and a sprinkling of basil leaves. It’s simple and it’s beautiful – you just cannot go wrong!
Of course, you can top it however you like, but this pizza style is characterized by the soft thin dough and the high-edged crust.

Image source:Aurélien Lemasson-Théobald / unsplash
2. Roman
There’s a lot of diversity when it comes to pizza in Italy; most regions have their own variation. Rome’s pizza is rectangular in shape instead of circular, and it’s typically cut into slices and sold just like that, perfect as a street-side snack. Another characteristic of this pizza style is the thin and crispy crust made with olive oil – Neapolitan pizza dough does not use this ingredient!
3. Sicilian
Another variation within the capital of pizza, Sicilian pizza is made up of a thick crust. It almost resembles focaccia bread, actually, because of the fluffy and bouncy texture of the dough. Like Rome-style pizza, Sicilian pizza is also rectangular and sold in hearty slices. Typical toppings include fresh tomato sauce and pecorino romano instead of the traditional mozzarella cheese, with a few herbs scattered on top. Though, like all pizza, you can build it to your heart’s content!
4. Deep dish
Moving on from Italy, let’s now enter the world’s second largest pizza capital: the USA. Filled with all sorts of unique, and sometimes questionable, takes on world-wide dishes, the USA doesn’t disappoint or play around when it comes to pizza.
One of the most notorious regional styles is the deep dish pizza, aka the Chicago style pizza! It’s honestly more like a pie, and it’s characterised by having a very thick fluffy dough and a very high crust, which is then filled with meat and cheese on the bottom, and sauce on top. Venture out to Windy City for a taste, and spot some restaurants featured in The Bear as well!
5. New York Slice
A staple of buzzing New York City, the New York slice is simple and iconic. The dough is stretched so it’s thin and soft, and the pizzas typically end up huge, only to be cut and sold in very generous slices. These are perfect to pick up on the go, and you get a generous and gorgeous cheese-pull! Add pepperoni, extra cheese, or even some pineapple (we won’t tell) – you can’t go wrong with a classic New York style pizza.

Image source:Tabitha Turner / unsplash
6. Beach Pizza
A bit of a different addition, beach pizza is a hyper-local style of pizza served in Massachusetts, specifically the North Shore, specifically along Salisbury Beach. Square, thin, simple, and sweeter than most other pizzas, beach pizza is a warm hug on a cold New England winters day! On top of the traditional mozzarella, a slice of provolone is added and melted on top for some extra gooeyness.
7. Pizza Cupcake
As seen on Shark Tank, The Pizza Cupcake was launched in 2018 and it’s a gourmet snack which merges Italian flavours (delish!) and the adorable cupcake shape. You can purchase and devour this little bundle of joy in shops all over the USA! The pizza cupcake is bite-sized and convenient – it packs all the best bits of the Italian dish and a sourdough brioche hybrid dough into one flavourful chomp, and you can basically double or triple your pizza intake because they’re so cute and small they don’t really count!

Image source:The Pizza Cupcake
8. Fugazza
Moving from North America to down south, Argentina has a very unique and delicious pizza on offer called the Fugazza. This variation of the dish does not have tomatoes, and is instead topped with caramelised onions and sometimes olives. A layer of cheese can be added on top of the thick dough, though this isn’t always the case. It’s delicious, and it’s the creation of an Italian immigrant in the country – so, pretty legit! Just maybe have a breath mint or two after…
9. Tlayuda
Mexican food is beloved because of all the bright colours and flavours and the mix of fresh and spicy – so how about adding it to a pizza? The Tlayuda is a popular street food in Mexico, mostly found around Oaxaca. It’s made from a large corn tortilla which is baked, producing a dry and crispy base, which is then topped with a wide range of classic Mexican toppings like beans, salsa, cheese, your choice of meats, and avocados. Yum!
10. Nurungji
We’re approaching pizza-blasphemy territory a little here, but this South Korean dish still counts in our books. The reason Nurungji is such a unique pizza style is because the base is not dough, but rice!
A thin layer of rice is spread across a pan and cooked until it’s golden and crispy, and this is when you can add whatever toppings and sauces you want to make a pizza. Don’t knock it until you try it.
11. Okonomiyaki
Often called the Japanese pizza, though it can also be qualified as a pancake, Okonomiyakis are quite a unique entry to this list. It’s made using a flour batter which is cooked on a teppan grill. Shredded cabbage as well as green onion and pork or seafood meat fillings are cooked into the batter, and then the whole thing is topped – or rather coated – with an array of sauces, including Okonomiyaki sauce (red wine vinegar, sugar, garlic, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce, and hoisin sauce), Japanese mayonnaise, and more spring onion, nori, furikake and bonito flakes. Grab one or twenty on your next trip to Japan!

Image source:Thomas Boxma / unsplash
12. Flammkuchen
Back in Europe, the Flammkuchen is spread throughout a few different countries, though mainly found around France and Germany. It’s a speciality of the French region Alsace (which used to be German), and this savoury dish is made up of a thin and crispy rectangular dough which is slathered in white cheese and/or crème fraiche, sliced onions, and lardons. It’s baked and becomes a caramelised sheet of goodness!
13. Khachapuri
A speciality of Georgia, the Khachapuri is a sort of boat-shaped pizza which cheese lovers will totally adore! The dough is left to rise and moulded into a sort of hollow shape, and it’s then filled with a mixture of cheeses and an egg. You bake it, and out comes a heap of golden melted goodness! Not terribly healthy, but oh-so-delicious, and such a treat after trekking through Georgia’s peaks.

Image source:Contiki
14. Lahmacun
Found in many Middle Eastern countries like Türkiye, Lebanon, and Syria, Lahmacun is a mouthwatering take on Italian pizza. Instead of being sauce-heavy, Lahmacun is meat-heavy. Flatbread is topped with a mixture of minced meat and minced vegetables which are mixed together in a sort of paste and smoothed on top.
Onions, tomatoes, peppers, parsley, and other spices are usually used and the smell coming out of the oven when these are baking is divine.
15. Matzah
Last but not least, this Jewish pizza style is beloved world-wide, and it’s perfect for a meal or a snack in between! Matzah is a cracker-thin flatbread made of unleavened dough, and it’s traditionally eaten during Passover. Though not always made into a pizza, it certainly can be as the base is solid enough to support sauce and cheese. Top it however you like, and enjoy!