Review: Papa John's - Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Papa John's limited-time Buffalo Chicken Pizza has returned for a second run on Papa John's pizza rotation and features ranch sauce, sliced, breaded chicken strips, bacon, onions, and mozzarella cheese, plus a rather artistic swirl of buffalo sauce.

As with most Papa John's limited-time promotion pizzas, the Buffalo Chicken is available at $10 for a large.

Among the Big Three pizza chains, Papa John's pizza crust is the least gimmicky and no-nonsense of the bunch. It tastes like warm bread and has a thickness that holds up the toppings rather well. It's mostly there to keep your hands clean and to dip in garlic sauce.

The breaded chicken strips were tender enough, but the breading is a waste since it doesn't crisp up from baking; I didn't get the texture I was looking for. I'd rather they forgo the extra calories and carbs and just go with regular chicken strips.

The bulk of the flavor comes from the bacon, onions, ranch, and buffalo sauce.

The ranch sauce was lightly applied, but supplied a nice, flavored creaminess to complement the bland mozzarella. The buffalo sauce was just spicy enough for just the slightest of kicks and provided a tangy counterpoint to the ranch. I liked the swirl, which looked like it was drawn by freehand and managed pretty good coverage of the pizza.

The bacon gives off a decent smokiness and the occasional crispy bit; I've been finding that pizza bacon tends to be a lot more flavorful than burger bacon lately. I wonder if it's different smoking techniques or just added flavor. The onion slices also add a nice texture and definite flavor that goes well with the other toppings.

Overall, I liked the Buffalo Chicken Pizza quite a bit (better than the Chicken Parmesan Pizza). I thought the toppings were well presented and meshed together to a nice result.

Nutritional Info - Papa John's Buffalo Chicken Pizza (Large Original Crust)
Serving Size - 1 slice (146g)
Calories - 370 (from Fat - 160)
Fat - 17g (Saturated Fat - 6g)
Sodium - 1050mg
Carbs - 39g (Sugar - 4g)
Protein - 15g

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