Review: Papa John's - XL Monster Topping PIzza

Papa John's XL Monster Topping Pizza features a 16" extra-large pizza topped with over-sized pepperoni and Italian sausage plus regular Italian sausage.

I bought one for $12, which is the same price as their 14" large limited-time pizzas.

The big deli-style pepperoni offered a bit more coverage than the regular version but a fairly mild taste. Most of the pizza's flavor came from the Italian sausage, which offered a surprising, but welcome, spicy kick. There's a notable heat but not so much that it ever gets uncomfortable. Beyond the spice there was a deep herby quality to go with the general meatiness. With all the flavor from the sausage, the pizza was salty but never got too salty.

The cheese was very mild but provided decent coverage and not a bit of stretchiness (as is typical of chain pizza). The sauce was thick and tended toward the sweet side of things.

The pizza itself was a good deal larger than Papa John's large (I included the last picture for comparison) although local pizzerias tend to use the 16" size for their "large" pizzas.

The crust was fairly thick all around with a definite chewiness and didn't crisp up much. The end crust doesn't hold up all that great if you have leftovers as it was already pretty dry on day two.

Overall, Papa John's XL Monster Topping Pizza was pretty good due to all the spicy Italian sausage you get. With all the crust, it gets pretty filling, pretty fast.

Nutritional Info - Papa John's XL Monster Toppings Pizza
Serving Size - 1 slice (156g) / 10 slices per pizza
Calories - 390 (from Fat - 170)
Fat - 18g (Saturated Fat - 7g)
Sodium - 1010mg
Carbs - 41g (Sugar - 5g)
Protein - 15g