Cheese on pizza is pretty standard, whether it's torn mozzarella, a little grated Parmesan or four varieties heaped on the ooziest quattro formaggi creation. Now two French chefs have taken things a little further by piling an enormous pie with 1,001 different varieties of cheese – setting a new Guinness World Record in the process.
Click or scroll on to find out more about the record-breaking pizza, which is shown in this photo.
Pizza chefs Benoît Bruel and Fabien Montellanico used 940 French cheeses and 61 varieties from other parts of the world. To assemble their fromage feast, they pre-cooked a pizza base before adding a tiny 0.07oz (2g) cube of each cheese (pictured). They then placed a cookie cutter on top to hold everything together and prevent it from becoming a cheesy mess in the oven. The amazing creation smashes the previous record of 834 cheese varieties on a pizza, achieved by Morgan Niquet in 2021.
One of the chefs, Benoît Bruel, had broken the record once before, in 2020, when he made a pizza with 254 different cheeses. He has now almost quadrupled that number after spending five months scouring France for more varieties of cheese to cook with. His efforts also earned him an additional record for the largest display of cheese varieties, beating the previous record of 730 cheeses made in 2016.
This may be the cheesiest pizza but it's far from the quirkiest. Click or scroll through our gallery to discover our ranking of the world’s most outrageous pizza toppings.
If a classic Margherita is your go-to order, or you think that putting pineapple on pizza is pushing the boundaries, prepare yourself – we've scoured menus around the world to reveal the weirdest and wackiest pizzas out there. From monster pies to taco-topped crusts and expensive crustacean creations, we’ve ranked the world’s most outrageous pizza toppings, counting down to the strangest of them all.
When you can't decide what to have on your pizza, this San Antonio joint is ready to step in with a belly-busting 42-inch (107cm) pizza that offers options galore. Called the Super Topping, the enormous pie features nearly all the toppings the Texan pizzeria offers, including pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, olives, mushrooms and more.
The most popular seasonal pizza at Chicago joint Dimo's Pizza, Elotes pizza features fresh roasted corn, poblano peppers, cotija cheese, red chilli salt and an incredible house-made coriander lime mayo. Inspired by the popular Mexican street food snack, the pizza is only available during the summer corn season to ensure it's topped with the juiciest, sweetest kernels.
Pizza Pilgrims' Nutella Pizza Ring makes a strong case for pizza not just being a savoury indulgence. The British chain’s signature dessert brings happy fans a baked pizza dough ring stuffed with copious amounts of Nutella and salted ricotta. The pizza-based pudding is served with vanilla ice cream and a generous Nutella drizzle.
It may not be a new or particularly groundbreaking invention, but cheeseburger pizza deserves credit for combining two classic fast foods and totally conquering the world. It features on menus everywhere, from pizza parlours to Domino's, and has even found its way onto supermarket shelves in the UK. The Domino's version includes all the cheeseburger essentials – cheese, beef, sliced gherkins, onions and burger sauce.
This sweet creation is the signature dessert at Max Brenner. The chocolate bar has locations in New York and Philadelphia, and all feature the formidable Chocolate Chunks Pizza on the menu. In addition to the melted white and dark chocolate pieces, there’s a choice of two different toppings: crunchy hazelnut bits, bananas and peanut butter or roasted marshmallows.
Some might say you can never have too much pizza, and Vinnie's in Brooklyn, New York agrees. Its trademarked Pizza Box Pizza guarantees 'No waste, as it is all 100% pizza and 100% delicious', thanks to a small pepperoni pie being served in a custom pizza box – also made from pizza. Going strong since 2016, the pizza box comes with a traditional round pizza inside.
There’s nothing more quintessentially British than beans on toast (and of course, those beans must be Heinz). Now imagine a large-scale, pizza-focused version of that: enter the Heinz Beanz Pizza. The frozen meal, which was very popular in the UK in the 1990s, disappeared from shelves in 2003. However, almost 20 years later it made a comeback. A combination of sweet and tangy tomato sauce, Heinz Beanz, mozzarella and some good old British Cheddar cheese makes for one controversial yet nostalgia-inducing topping.
Whoever had the idea of topping a pizza pie with mac 'n' cheese is a genius, and Pizzanista! in Los Angeles has turned it into a signature dish. Available only on Sundays, the sourdough pizza crust is topped with generous amounts of classic homemade mac 'n' cheese before the whole thing is baked to bubbling, oozing perfection.
With several outposts in New Jersey, Tony Baloney's has an extensive menu of crazy pizzas (including one with a pink vodka-based sauce), yet nothing beats its Taco Taco Taco. The pizza crust is topped with three types of tacos – mezcal-marinated steak, chicken and brisket – and it's all finished with a pool of guacamole and a light drizzle of both sour cream and horseradish crema.
Mashing up popular comfort foods is a huge trend and Crazy Pedros in Manchester, England is all over it. The Mac Daddy (pictured) sports a Big Mac-inspired topping of mini burger patties, burger sauce, gherkins and shredded iceberg lettuce, the Chippy Tea features sausage, chips, mushy peas and curry sauce, and the Got The Muncheese is topped with red onion marmalade, pesto and beef-flavoured Monster Munch.
If you’ve ever fantasised about tucking into a pizza loaded with all your favourite bar foods, then feel seen; frozen pizza brand Tombstone Pizza made that dream a reality for a limited time in 2023. Its Bar Snack Pizza (sold online) brought all the bar bites to the party – gooey mozzarella sticks, pickles, crispy fried onions, spicy jalapeño slices and nacho cheese sauce included. Sadly, it’s yet to be made a permanent feature.
Created by Pizzeria Lola owner Ann Kim, the Lady Zaza celebrates Ann's Korean heritage and ingredients she remembers from her childhood. As a result, this pizza is a mouth-watering, umami-rich combination of Italian red sauce, Sakura pork, kimchi, gochujang, spring onions and sesame.
Available every Friday during Lent, the Fish Fry pizza at Ian's Pizza in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is inspired by the Catholic tradition of abstaining from eating warm-blooded animals during the month of Lent. The pizza has a tangy tartare sauce and mozzarella base, with French fries, fried fish and a homemade coleslaw topping.
With the traditional dough base swapped for one made from deep-fried rice, and toppings including tuna, salmon, crab, avocado, spicy mayonnaise and a soy-wasabi sauce, this is no ordinary pizza. Sushi pizza is believed to have been created in 1993 by Japanese chef Kaoru Ohsada, at the prestigious Toronto restaurant Nami (where it is still served). These days you can tuck into the popular dish all over Canada.
Singapore's Da Paolo Pizza Bar is known for its innovative monthly pizza specials, including a Christmassy concoction with Brussels sprouts and a carbonara-inspired option that was so popular it made its way onto the permanent menu. More controversial though is a sweet-savoury pizza pie that comes topped with pan-seared duck liver, redcurrant jam, fresh tomatoes, rocket and a scattering of raspberries.
Fong’s Pizza has a reputation for out-the-box pizza toppings and culinary mash-ups. The Chinese-inspired Crab Rangoon Pie is a case in point, topped with cream cheese, surimi, green onions, crispy wonton strips, asiago and mozzarella. Further fusion offerings include the Ramen Pizza, which comes loaded with ramen noodles, edamame, mushrooms, water chestnuts, red onion, mozzarella, fresh coriander and crushed peanuts.
When the only US outpost of the South Korean pizza chain Mr. Pizza closed, Koreatown Pizza Company took over the Los Angeles location, keeping the wacky menu vibes going without missing a beat. Its Sweet & Savory pizza sees a hash brown crust spread with a condensed milk base, then topped with pineapple, sweet potato and mozzarella and finished with streusel and almond flakes.
South Korean chain Mr. Pizza offers an array of unusual pizza toppings. The limited-edition offerings here are worth a mention, and have previously included a shrimp and sweet potato pizza complete with a cookie dough-stuffed crust and blueberry dipping sauce. Regular menu choices are just as kooky, though; the Seafood Island pizza features shrimp, squid and deep-fried coconut prawns served on a signature crust (choose between hash brown, cream cheese, egg tart, gold-stuffed or the no-edge crust).
The topping – a pretty common combination of two-tone cheese, pepperoni, peppers and pizza sauce – is not what's outrageous about this pizza. It's all about the base, which is made from a boneless KFC chicken fillet. The limited-edition dish first launched in Singapore and is still available in Vietnam, the Philippines and a handful of other Asian countries from time-to-time. Sadly (or, perhaps, luckily) there are currently no plans to bring it to Europe or the US.
One for the seafood lovers, the Serpent pizza at Steveston Pizza Co. is topped with a whole medley of crustaceans. There are prawns, smoked salmon and four impressive Canadian lobster tails jutting out of the middle. Want additional seafood and even more extravagance? The C6 pizza, pictured, combines tiger prawns, lobster ratatouille, smoked steelhead and Russian Osetra caviar, and is finished with shavings of white truffle.
Guimaras Island in the Philippines is home to breathtaking beaches, stunning waterfalls and arguably the world's sweetest mangoes. And while it's no surprise to find those mangoes in smoothies, shakes and fruit salads, it's a little more unusual to find them on a pizza. The Pitstop Restaurant does just that, though, alongside green peppers, cheese, cashews and chilli sauce.
Every year a countdown appears on the Fellini's Pizzeria website (which has locations in Providence and Pawtuxet, Rhode Island) marking the days and hours until its famous Thanksgiving Pizza returns. Only available for the 24 hours before Thanksgiving, the pizza really is the full works; it's topped with roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing, with cranberry sauce served on the side. In short, a pizza to be thankful for.
Another meat pizza with a difference can be found at the outposts of Nordic chain Koti Pizza. Its popular reindeer pizza sees a pie topped with chunks of reindeer meat and finished with reindeer dust. It also often goes by the alternative name of Pizza Berlusconi – a blatant dig at the former Italian Prime Minister who, after visiting the country in 2005, said Finnish people only ate marinated reindeer. Three years later, the smoky topping beat an Italian entry in an international pizza competition, giving the Finns the last laugh.
Fruit on pizza has been a hot topic of debate for years, but the Swedes have taken it a step further with their banana curry pizza. While the combination of sweet bananas, smoky ham and cheese dusted with curry powder might sound unusual, it’s a staple that can found in the ‘Classic’ section at pizza parlours across the country. If you’re tempted, one of the top places to try this particular pie is Formaggio Pizzeria in Stockholm.
Pixza, a social enterprise that supports homeless youth, is all about serving '100% Mexza' pizzas, which are inspired by local dishes. As a result, pizzas are loaded with chilaquiles, corn esquites with cheese and chapulines – a Mexican delicacy made from toasted and marinated grasshoppers (pictured). Pixza’s thin and crispy baked crust uses a mix of wheat and corn, giving it a deliciously different purple hue.
A very different take on a meat feast pizza, the Coat of Arms at the Australian Heritage Hotel in Sydney combines two unusual proteins: emu and kangaroo. The pizza is then finished with dried tomato, lemon myrtle mayo and red peppers. The pizza's name refers to the fact that an emu and kangaroo both feature on the Australian 50-cent coin. There's also another decidedly Aussie pizza on the menu: the Saltwater Crocodile, which pairs crocodile meat with coconut red curry sauce and spinach.
Back in 2021, on National Pizza Day, Twitter was flooded with images of a pizza topped with mopani worms (a traditional ingredient in Tsonga cuisine) that quickly went viral. While the pizza in question was posted by a food and lifestyle blogger as a stunt, the idea gained unexpected traction. South African company Matomani, who sell the worms as a sustainable, protein-rich alternative to meat, seized on the idea, creating a Mopani pizza recipe for those brave enough to try it.
Now discover the fascinating history of pizza, and who really invented it