Review: Papa John's - Chipotle Chicken & Bacon Pizza

Papa John's Chipotle Chicken & Bacon Pizza features creamy chipotle sauce, sliced Chicken Poppers, smoky bacon, diced Roma tomatoes, and grated cheddar cheese in addition to the standard mozzarella.

It's promoted at $11 for a large pizza but I picked one up for $8.99 during the Early Week Special.

Out of the box, the pizza looks... very orange. The chipotle sauce is smoky and savory but not very tangy nor sweet. There's a slight bit of a kick to it as well as a southwestern bit of seasoning; it's a little like taco sauce without the tanginess. As I ate it, I found myself wishing Papa John's had gone the more conventional route with a chipotle barbecue sauce as that would have gone better with the chicken and bacon.

The breading on the chicken is wasted here as it's soft all the way through; it'd be better off with some grilled chicken like what Pizza Hut and Domino's offer. The bacon is decent but also lacked in the crunch department.

The cheddar cheese doesn't add anything other than more orange to the color scheme.

The tomatoes add a bit of tartness and makes the pizza look a little like a giant Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell. If they were going for a southwest influence, maybe some onions and/or green peppers have helped it play out better?

Overall, Papa John's Chipotle Chicken & Bacon Pizza was just okay for me. It's nice that they tried a different flavor profile but it just wasn't working for me and I would have rather just had a standard cheese and tomato sauce pizza instead.

Nutritional info not available.