Move Over, Pepperoni! Pickle Pizza Is Having a Moment

Denver’s pizza scene is impressive these days, spanning styles ranging from charred Neapolitan pies to rectangular Detroit-style pizzas, thin tavern pies, traditional by-the-slice offerings and more. Topping choices seem endless, too. While many places stick to the expected, there are plenty of creative pies to dig into. And one topping choice is particularly popular at the moment: pickles.

In 2023, pineapple seemed poised for pizza-topping rebrand as spots like the Greenwich eschewed boring plain pieces of the fruit in favor of more interesting variations. The pickled pineapple pie is no longer on the menu at the Greenwich, but some spots are still having fun with the tropical fruit, like Pizzeria Lui in Lakewood, which uses roasted pineapple puree on its Hawaiian pie, and the PZA on Santa Fe Drive, which offers the B.I.G. Island, with bacon, jalapeño and pineapple jam.

The PZA is also where you can find one of the three best pickle pies in town. Here are all the spots where you should try this trending topping:

The Best Pickle Pizzas in Denver

The PZA
644 Santa Fe Drive
Jake Rothy opened the brick-and-mortar version of the PZA in January, and it quickly amassed a lot of fans. Some equipment issues put it on pause for a bit, but now it’s back full force, and so is its pickle pizza. The Dillmatic ($18 for a 12-inch or $28 for an 18-inch pie) is topped with mozzarella, dill ranch and pickle chips. What we love is the herby punch of the housemade ranch and the impressively light yet chewy crust, which Rothy describes as a mix of Neapolitan dough techniques with East Coast-style execution. It first ran as a special when the PZA was located in the kitchen at Tight End bar, but it was so popular, it debuted as a menu staple at his new spot.

Outside Pizza at Cerebral Brewing
3257 Lowell Boulevard
Before setting up shop at Cerebral last month, Outside Pizza served pies from a retro camper. A cheeseburger pizza special morphed into its pickle pie, which used to only make occasional appearances. Now that Outside has a permanent home, you can order the pickle pie ($18 for an 11-inch) anytime. It comes with housemade crème fraîche, minced garlic, mozzarella, provolone, pickles (which are made in-house in the spring and summer, though right now Outside is using a sourced, thick-cut deli pickle) and a sprinkle of fresh dill, all on the joint’s soft and chewy naturally fermented crust. Recently, Outside Pizza added a version with spicy pickles and hot cherry peppers that costs a buck more. Another smart move: bringing locally made Lottie’s Meats sausage to the party.

Cart-Driver LoHi
2239 West 30th Avenue
We love the original Cart-Driver in RiNo, but we celebrated when the LoHi location reopened in January — more than a year after it was forced to close for repairs and renovations — because it’s a little different from its smaller sister eatery. Having more space means an expanded menu — right now, you can get options like broiled oysters, rigatoni bolognese and a must-try grilled blue oyster and maitake mushroom fish with whipped tahini and Calabrian chile crisp, all of which aren’t available in RiNo.

Also exclusive to the LoHi outpost is its slightly elevated take on pickle pizza. The soft and chewy, wood-fired Neapolitan-style crust is topped with an herby ranch made with yogurt, adding a little more tang than traditional ranch. The house-made pickles are bread-and-butter style, though they’re far less sweet than a typical store-bought bread-and-butter pickle and have plenty of tang. The cheese is Gran Cacio Etrusco, an Italian sheep’s milk cheese that’s nutty and more complex than mozzarella; a sprinkle of dill finishes off this pie.

These three pickle pizzas are different enough that we recommend trying them all. It’s pickle-pie fall, and we’re here for it!