Pizza is a near-perfect fast food. It’s transportable, customizable in ways that speak to almost everybody, easily shared, and can be reheated simply and effectively (hell, some people swear by eating it cold). It offers everything we want out of fast food — it’s cheap, delicious, and covered in melted cheese. But it’s lacking in one increasingly important aspect — it’s just not spicy.
Sure, you’ve got your red pepper flakes (often stale and flavorless after months in a shaker with holes on top) and a few local independent shops probably have some sort of spicy pie (often featuring pickled jalapenos or pepperoncini, neither of which is a good fit), but from the big national brands, the ones you’re most likely to eat as we approach Super Bowl Weekend? They don’t bring the heat. Seeing this gap in the market, Pizza Hut jumped into action, adding a new entry to their Lover’s line of products — The Spicy Lover’s pizza.
Beginning today for an unspecified “limited time,” Pizza Hut locations nationwide will be offering up the Spicy Lover’s pizza, which is available in three forms: Spicy Hawaiian, Spicy Veggie, and Spicy Double Pepperoni. All three of the pizzas feature a new spicy marinara recipe, chopped red chilis, and come pre-loaded with a blend of red pepper flakes and herbs (normalize oregano at pizza chains, we beg you).
We sampled the Spicy Double Pepperoni to see if Pizza Hut can deliver the heat and create the spicy pie we’ve all been hoping for.
Spicy Lover’s Pizza — Double Pepperoni
Pizza Hut’s Double Pepperoni Spicy Lover’s Pizza features multiple layers of spice. You’ve got the spicy marinara base, sliced red chilies, a generous shake of red chili flakes, and, as we mentioned before, two types of pepperoni. To which, we have to ask: why the two types of pepperoni Pizza Hut? Just phase out the old pepperoni. The small crispy and spicier cups taste way better than the old flat floppy slices.
The first thing that stood out to me about this pizza was how pungently spicy it smelled. I was getting wafts of spicy chilies from the closed box. Be warned, this pizza will stink up the surrounding area. It has that sort of stomach-churningly dangerous aroma that comes with ultra spicy food. It’s appetizing in that you know it’s spicy, but it’s not something you’d want to smell if you weren’t eating pizza. Something to keep in mind if you have roommates or you’re one of those weirdos who sneaks pizza into movie theaters.
As far as the taste, this pie delivers. First, let’s start with the spicy marinara — it’s an improvement over Pizza Hut’s normal pizza sauce. The OG sauce is overly sugary and dominates the entire pie regardless of toppings. The spicy marinara on the other hand doesn’t suffer from this problem. It is a bit sweet, likely to counterbalance the spiciness, but the overall sauce is brighter without being distracting.
The double serving of pepperoni is appreciated, the pizza is very meaty and since the pepperonis are of two different sizes they never pile on top of one another, which helps to keep each slice crispy instead of sweaty, a real problem with meat-piled pies.
But the real star of the show is the spicy chopped chilis. They’re red jalapeño peppers so they aren’t out-of-this-world spicy, but if you can’t tolerate heat this is going to make your mouth feel like it’s caught fire. For the spicy fan, this is a great thing. I didn’t struggle to eat this (my tolerance is very high) but I did experience some light brow sweat. The multiple heat sources compound together and cause your tongue to crackle with pleasing spicy sensations throughout the entire experience and I found myself reaching for more slices not out of hunger, but for that spicy sensation. This is easily my favorite pizza from the Hut.
The Bottom Line
It’s delicious and delivers the heat. It’s not so spicy that eating it is a challenge, but it’s the spiciest pizza you’re going to find from a national chain and hopefully, it kicks off a trend that the other brands follow.
FInd your nearest Pizza Hut here.