Pizza Hut Just Released 4 First-Of-Their-Kind Pizzas, and I Tried Them First

Plus, eight new toppings and sauces for any pizza!

Pizza Hut has always been a trendsetter. From its iconic lampshades to its old-school pizza and salad buffet, it might actually be true that no one can out pizza the hut.

We know from its heyday in the ‘90s and early ‘00s that Pizza Hut loves getting creative with new menu items—who else could have thought of the Dippin’ Strips Pizza? And it’s one of the only national chains to offer regional styles of pizza nationwide. It’s offered the New York-style Big New Yorker, Detroit-style, and even a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza at select restaurants. Now, Pizza Hut is releasing a new style of pizza for the first time ever: Tavern style.

Pizza Hut Launching 4 Tavern-Style Pizzas

Tavern-style pizza also hails from Chicago, but it’s about as far from deep-dish as you can get. The pizza is cracker-thin and crispy, yet still chewy thanks to the “curing” process, and typically features a “party cut” in smaller squares to easily feed a bar crowd.

Pizza Hut is unveiling its Chicago Tavern-Style Pizza with four recipes—Pesto Margherita, The Ultimate, Spicy Chicken Sausage, and Double Pepperoni—though you can select the crust on any one of Pizza Hut’s existing pizzas, too. The new pizzas can be ordered with your favorite existing crust, as well.

To dress up the new pies, Pizza Hut needed eight new toppings and sauces—including Spicy Marinara Sauce, Pesto Sauce Swirl, Chicken Sausage, Fresh Diced Garlic, Grape Tomatoes, Caramelized Onions, Fire Roasted Peppers, and Crispy Cupped Pepperoni. While these ingredients will automatically come on the new recipe pizzas, they’ll also join Pizza Hut’s regular menu to adorn your go-to order.

If you’re ready to give the new recipes a try, here's a breakdown:

• Pesto Margherita with sweet marinara, grape tomatoes, garlic, basil pesto, and Parmesan-oregano seasoning.

• The Ultimate with sausage, pepperoni, fire-roasted peppers, onions, grape tomatoes, and Parmesan-oregano seasoning.

• Spicy Chicken Sausage with spicy marinara, chicken sausage, fire-roasted peppers, caramelized onions, and Parmesan-oregano seasoning.

• Double Pepperoni with sweet marinara, classic pepperoni, crispy cupped pepperoni, and Parmesan-oregano seasoning.

The restaurant is the first global pizza chain to offer tavern-style pizza on its menus nationwide. Typically, you can only find this style at local pizza joints or more regional chains, like Donatos Pizza. While Pizza Hut used to sell a thin-crust pizza called The Edge, which was cut into squares and topped with a mountain of toppings all the way around it, this is the first true tavern-style offering the pizza chain has ever had.

This is Pizza Hut’s biggest toppings menu overhaul in over a decade, and it’s definitely paying off. I was among the first to try the new tavern-style pizzas—here are my thoughts.

My Honest Review of Pizza Hut's Tavern-Style Pizza

Normally, I'm not one to order a thin-crust pizza, but I've enjoyed a few Donatos pies in my day. Pizza Hut's new tavern-style pizzas tasted just like that—a nice, crisp crust with toppings that go all the way to the edge. To me, the best thing about tavern-style is the "party cut" because you can eat a dozen mini squares and still not feel like you ate half of a pizza.

Personally, I love the crispy outer pieces with the crackery crust and a little bit more sauce. However, the beauty of tavern-style is there's something for everyone, because those people who are just there for the toppings can really dig into the middle.

I tried all four of Pizza Hut's new recipes and I found them all to be tasty, but by far my favorite was the Pesto Margherita. The pesto swirl on top is so fresh and delicious, I'd even order it as a topping on other Pizza Hut pies.

Typically, I'm opting for pepperoni and a ton of veggies—like mushrooms, peppers, and tomatoes—on my pizza, so I did find The Ultimate to be a little overwhelming with all the meat. The Double Pepperoni is pretty standard for pepperoni, but everyone knows crispy cupped pepperoni is the best kind, so that's a fun treat. And, the Spicy Chicken Sausage is good, but I just wanted a bit more sweetness from the onions and peppers to balance out the meat. It does pack a delightfully spicy punch, though.

Overall, I'm not changing out my traditional pizza order for good, but I'd certainly enjoy Pizza Hut's new tavern-style Pesto Margherita every now and again.

Read the original article on All Recipes.