By Tracy Morin
If you’re looking to provoke passionate responses in the pizza world, certain questions are shoo-ins. One of these, of course, is the question of whether pineapple “belongs” on a pizza. Divisive debates have raged for years between pineapple proponents and naysayers—and perhaps they always will.
But, love it or hate it, plenty of pizzerias are cashing in on this tropical topping. Whether they’re designing fresh spins on the now-legendary Hawaiian or creating wild combos that elicit double-takes, creative chefs are proving that pineapple has carved out a place on pizza menus—and in customers’ hearts.
Case Study #1: A Traditionalist Converts
At Pizzeria Paradiso, which has four locations in the Washington, D.C., area, owner, founder and chef Ruth Gresser has always been a pizza traditionalist, inspired by the simplicity of Neapolitan-style pies. “So, for the longest time, we never had pineapple on top of a Pizzeria Paradiso pizza,” recalls Tony Strowd Hamilton, director of restaurant operations. “However, as pizza continued to evolve and more people craved unique and exciting creations, the team convinced Ruth to give pineapple a try for one of our monthly special pizzas.”
The pizzeria’s original Hawaiian debuted in the summer of 2015, featuring pineapple, prosciutto, red onions, Fontina and rosemary. “Simple but delicious, it was an immediate hit with our customers,” Hamilton says. “We made sure to keep it as part of our monthly-special rotations.”
Of course, the recipe evolved over the years, and Paradiso’s chefs immersed themselves even further into the divisive topping by crafting a pineapple sauce for the base. As a pizzeria known for high-end and seasonal toppings, they later added a unique ingredient that had proven popular in a different monthly special: ramps.
Therefore, the current iteration of the Hawaiian—which circulates in summer as a seasonal offering—is topped with housemade pineapple sauce, pineapple chunks, rosemary, ramps and Fontina, with prosciutto added after cooking. The pineapple sauce combines pineapple puree, rosemary, roasted onions, hot pepper flakes, olive oil, salt and black pepper.
“The sweetness of the pineapples, with a hint of spice from the hot pepper flakes in the sauce, combines with the salty creaminess of the Fontina cheese, plus the hearty prosciutto, finally balanced by the vegetal, aromatic notes coming from the ramps and rosemary,” Hamilton explains. “I think it’s inevitable that there will be purists who will still scoff at the idea of pineapple on a pizza, and we feel sorry that they won’t get a chance to experience such a quirky combination! But people seem to be much more adventurous with their dining experiences these days, so we’re happy to see more and more people embrace change and try new things.”
Of course, marketing helps: Pizzeria Paradiso pushes its Hawaiian on social media platforms, as well as through email marketing. One year, the pizzeria even partnered with a local Hawaiian-themed restaurant (Tiki Tako) and tried a different spin on the pie, combining mozzarella, Grana Padano, kalua pork from Tiki Tako, pineapple sauce and toasted coconut shavings. The collaboration allowed both restaurants to tap into each other’s customer base.
“It’s definitely a hit,” Hamilton says of the company’s seasonal Hawaiian specialty. “Each special we feature is exciting enough that we get strong demands from customers to make it a permanent menu item. But we like the idea of a special staying special, and people really do look forward to the return every year. Ruth never imagined that one day she would be putting a housemade pineapple sauce on a pizza, and now it’s one of our most popular specials!”
Case Study #2: Pineapple as a Founding Principle
Open since December 2023, Ananas Pizzeria in Seattle doesn’t just serve pineapple pies—it’s named after pineapple (ananas is the fruit’s name in many other languages, from Spanish to Arabic). The pizzeria even features the fruit in its name and branding: The A on its logo and exterior signage is formed by a pineapple.
“I went into the pizza industry thinking I wanted to open Pineapple Pizza Company or just Pineapple Pizza—that’s how obvious and blunt I wanted it to be,” owner Khampaeng Panyathong says with a laugh. “My business partner said, ‘Is there another way we can highlight our agenda without making it so abrasive?’”
His concept, though playful, was clear: create a safe haven for people who like pineapple on pizza. Still, not every pizza features pineapple—instead, it’s a thoughtful addition, thin-sliced for a light touch and incorporated with care. The Ananas pie, Panyathong’s take on a Hawaiian, combines smoked ham, pineapple, pickled jalapeño, togarashi, mozzarella and red sauce.
“I’m Southeast Asian—my family is from Laos—so we like spicy food, and spicy and pineapple really go well together with the fat in the cheese,” Panyathong explains. “We put pickled jalapeño for heat and tang, because sometimes the pineapple doesn’t bring enough tang. We cut our pineapple thin—we don’t want it to be overpowering. Even though we’re highlighting pineapple, we’re doing our best to balance flavors on a culinary level.
“Then we add an additional dry spice, which is togarashi seasoning—it has seven spices and creates another layer of heat,” Panyathong continues. “The jalapeño gives you heat at the tip of your tongue, but the togarashi gives you heat to the back of your palate, which is very interesting. And then with the pineapple’s sweetness and the jalapeño, you get flavors that remain in your mouth the whole time you’re eating, which is really cool. We add Grana Padano cheese as well. That’s our flagship pizza—and still my favorite pizza on the menu.”
Ananas’ other pineapple pie is a bit more outside-the-box: The Ananchovy features anchovy, pineapple, red pepper flakes, mozzarella and red sauce. It also includes a pineapple syrup, made by combining rum and brown sugar over heat, adding pineapple juice and reducing the mixture until it reaches a syrup consistency.
“It’s a little pineapple, a whole can of anchovies for a salty taste, flakes for heat, and then the rum pineapple syrup really brings it home,” Panyathong says. “That, in my opinion, is a really well-balanced dish.
Related: Anchovies: The Pizza Topping People Love to Hate Is an Underrated Umami Powerhouse
“It doesn’t get ordered much, because you kind of have to like anchovies, you have to like pineapple, and they’re not usually combined,” he admits. “But if you happen to like one or the other or both, and just never had them together before, I definitely recommend people try it, because it does work really, really well. That’s probably the least ordered pizza, because it looks the most disturbing when people are reading it!”
Call his approach unconventional, but Panyathong’s pineapple-forward pizza experiments have landed him mega media attention—including write-ups in Bon Appétit and GQ. Still, he advises pizzeria owners who want to play around with pineapple pies to keep it simple for optimal results.
“Make it a little bit more classic, and you’re more likely to have people try it,” he recommends. “It could be delicious, but if it reads too scary, they’re just not going to try it. You might not convert them at the first bite, but if you get them to try it, you could probably get them to try it a second or third time—and then you might convert them later.”
Tracy Morin is PMQ’s associate editor.
