The Best Sauces to Dip Your Pizza In, Ranked
Molly Wizenberg1/11Mayonnaise
We love mayonnaise beyond all reason (especially the extra-savory, MSG-dosed Japanese Kewpie kind). But that doesn't mean we see the logic in dousing pizza in it, like they do at Domino's locations in Japan.
2/11Ketchup
You're only permitted to do this if you're under the age of 11, or if you're on more than three mind-altering substances at once. All other offenses are unforgivable—even if you're Polish and a fan of the French bread pizza-variant called zapiekanki.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Christopher Barsch3/11Barbecue Sauce
Yes, this is a real-world phenomenon: At least 2,000 people) put barbecue sauce on pizza, and it's wrong on every level. The only reason barbecue sauce exists in the first place is to add some sweetness to super-rich smoked or grilled meats. Pizza already has a tomato-based sauce, thankyouverymuch. It does not need this.
4/11Italian Dressing
Dear author of this weird YahooAnswers PSA (and everyone else who's put Italian dressing on pizza): Just stop. Oil and herbs baked on pizza is fine by me. But putting anything called "dressing" on a pizza begs the question: why not eat a damn salad?
Christopher Baker5/11Blue Cheese Dressing
Sigh. This is why we can't have nice things. The point of pizza is moot if you're going to douse it in a pungent cheese sauce that completely overwhelms mild-mannered mozzarella. Ranch dressing, on the other hand, is another thing entirely..
Christopher Testani6/11Hot Sauce
Masochism never sleeps, not even when it comes to late-night pizza. If you're already partial to the gentle kick of pepperoni, what's to stop you from going further? There are even hot sauces specially designed to complement the, uh, nuanced flavors of pizza. I'll maintain that hot sauce is great on everything—in the wise words of Guy Fieri, "I'd eat it off a flip flop."
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop and Food Styling by Ali Nardi7/11Honey
Savory can't thrive without sweet, and vice versa. A drizzle of honey (even better, spicy honey) on top of a salty, cheesy, greasy slice is a surprisingly good idea.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Rhoda Boone8/11Chile Oil
Somewhere between hot sauce and good olive oil is chile oil, which definitely wouldn't make a slice of pizza any worse off.
Photo by Alex Lau9/11Marinara Sauce
Pizza Hut's been serving marinara as a dipping sauce since the beginning of time, and for good reason. If a pizza has the perfect sauce-to-crust ratio, there's not going to be enough to sop up with the last few bites. A side of marinara sauce is, for that reason, crucial.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele10/11Ranch Dressing
In a Goldilocks sauce scenario, ranch is just right: creamy, but loose enough for perfect dippage. Herbaceous enough to cut through the richness, but not so much that it masks the flavors of the pie. Some call it blasphemy, but those people are wrong. Keep doing your thang, ranch.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Anna Surbatovich, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson11/11Garlic Butter
This. Is. The. Holy. Grail. There is no living, breathing human on earth that could taste a doughy crust dipped in Papa John's garlic butter and say otherwise. I will defend this choice until my dying breath (which will probably creep up on me if I keep eating this).
