Irene Jiang / Business Insider
We tried Pizza Hut's new pan pizza recipe to see if it lived up to the hype.
- Pizza Hut on Tuesday unveiled its new Original Pan Pizza, the first change to its classic recipe in nearly 40 years.
- The chain claims that the new recipe features a crispier, buttery crust complemented by cheese and sauce with improved flavor.
- We tasted the new pan pizza to see if it lived up to Pizza Hut's claims. The verdict? Kind of.
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Pizza Hut's Original Pan Pizza recipe carried the brand through the birth of the internet, the rise of delivery, and the reign of Instagram.
But no further - the chain has finally updated its nearly 40-year-old menu item.
In recent years, Pizza Hut has faced competition from a surging Domino's and younger, sleeker competitors like Blaze and Mod Pizza, which deliver a more personalized experience and more customization options. Newer fast-casual pizza chains also cater to evolving customer tastes with their chic branding, artisanal ingredients, and healthy options.
Pizza Hut's new recipe, which was unveiled on Tuesday, is the culmination of three years of research and a welcome change for an otherwise relatively stagnant brand.
According to a press release from the company, the new recipe is cooked in a "newly engineered" pan that makes for a crispier crust. The sauce and cheese have also been revamped to complement the dough.
To test those claims, I decided to head to one of the few Pizza Huts in Manhattan to give the new recipe a try. Here's what it was like: