America's Favorite Pizza Chains

This family-owned Indiana chain is a certifiable cult favorite in its native state, where there are nearly 100 locations. Square-cut pizzas are loaded with toppings edge-to-edge, and other favorites include pretzel bread sticks, roasted beef and cheese sandwiches, and "sausage boats," sandwiches with sausage, cheese, onions, green peppers, and homemade sauce. 

A Chicago staple since 1947, Home Run Inn has only eight locations but also made its mark due to its frozen pizzas that are available in supermarkets in more than 20 states and also shipped nationwide. Their classic Chicago thin-crust pizzas are still made with the recipe devised by founders Mary Grittani and Nick Perrino. Home Run Inn's ingredients are all-natural with no fillers or preservatives, their Italian sausage is made from scratch daily, and mozzarella is shredded in-house daily as well. 

The first Pizza Inn was opened in 1958 by two brothers near Southern Methodist University's Dallas campus. Today, there are more than 300 locations, most in the southern U.S. The buffet-style approach allows guests to sample many different types of pizza, including the chain's crackery trademark Original Thin Crust in varieties like Bacon Cheddar Ham and Chicken Fajita.

This West Coast chain has more than 130 locations, most of which are in Northern California. Offerings range from a 10-inch to a 20-inch pie, with toppings that go from end to end and include the McKinley (pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, olives, peppers, onions, and tomatoes); the Sizzlin' Bacon Classic (bacon, ham, garlic sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, olives, and green onions); and the Pike's Peak (sausage, pepperoni, ground beef, salami, linguiça, and ham). Gluten-free crusts are available, and most locations have a salad bar. 

Family-owned since 1964 with recipes dating back to the 1800s, Rosati's specializes in Chicago deep-dish pizza, and also offers thin-crust, "double dough," and stuffed pies at their 50-plus locations in Illinois, Arizona, Wisconsin, Texas, Nevada, North Carolina, and Arkansas. The sauce and sausage are made using old family recipes, the cheese is a proprietary blend, and dough is made fresh daily, never frozen, and baked on a rotating deck oven instead of a conveyor belt. The expansive menu also includes a selection of pastas, salads, and sandwiches, including "The Cheef," home-cooked Italian beef smothered with melted cheese on French bread. 

Every pizza made at Bertucci's, which got its start in Somerville, Mass. in 1981, is cooked in a brick oven, one of which is on display at each of their 90 locations along the East Coast. (The chain belongs to Vera Pizza Napoletana, the Italian organization that recognized pizzerias whose ingredients and practices conform to the Neapolitan ideal.) You can craft your own pizza or try one of their unique topping combinations, like Balsamic BBQ Shrimp and Blue Cheese, Roasted Mushroom and Asiago, and the Ultimate Bertucci, where each quarter has a different topping: sweet Italian sausage, meatballs, rosemary ham, and chicken. Calzones, Roman-style long pizzas, and a whole slew of starters, salads, and pastas are also available. 

Established in Sacramento, Calif., in 1954, Shakey's has locations worldwide but the highest concentration is in Southern California. There's an emphasis on fun as well as pizza, and all locations have a game room for kids. The pizza is also quite good: go for the Shakey's Special, with salami, pepperoni, Italian sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, and black olives. And don't forget to get some of their battered and fried Mojo Potatoes. 

Round Table Pizza was founded in 1959 in Menlo Park, Calif., and today there are about 500 locations nationwide. Dough is made from scratch in-house daily, and their three-cheese blend contains aged Cheddar, whole milk mozzarella, and provolone. They're known for applying toppings all the way to the edge of the pie, as well as for their wide selection of innovative combinations, like the King Arthur's Supreme, with pepperoni, Italian sausage, Italian dry salami, linguiça, mushrooms, green peppers, yellow onions, black olives, three cheeses, and red sauce.

This Texas-based chain is renowned for its reasonably priced buffet, which boasts nearly 30 varieties of fresh-baked pizza as well as pastas, soups, salads, and desserts. The first location opened in Plano in 1985, and today there are more than 500 locations in 34 states, with a rapid expansion plan in place. 

In Chicago, Lou Malnati's is synonymous with deep-dish pizza, and today there are 39 locations in the Chicago area. The buttery crust recipe has been passed down to Malnati's sons, who run the business today, the mozzarella comes from the same dairy that's supplied their cheese for more than 40 years, the sausage blend is made according to a family recipe, water is shipped to each location from Lake Michigan, and every pizza is handmade from scratch. In the mood for one but nowhere near Chicago? They'll ship anywhere in the country. 

At Buddy's 11 locations in the Detroit area, it's all about the square pizza, which the company claims to have first introduced to the area in 1946. Double-stretched and topped with Wisconsin brick cheese, it's light and crunchy while at the same time able to hold up to any number of toppings. Homemade minestrone soup, oven-baked meatballs, antipasto platters, and a variety of burgers and pastas round out a menu that has something for everybody. 

The recipe for Giordano's famous stuffed pizza dates back nearly 200 years, to a double-crusted Italian Easter pie served every year in Turin, but the recipe didn't make its way stateside until 1974, when Italian immigrants Efren and Joseph Boglio opened the first location of this chain in Chicago. Today there are more than 40 locations in Chicago and its environs, as well as three in Florida, and their massive, deep-dish pies are a Chicago must-eat. 

Hungry Howie's, founded in Taylor, Mich., in 1973, prides itself on being home to "the original flavored crust pizza," and this unique twist has helped it to expand to more than 545 locations in 21 states. Those crust flavors include Butter Cheese, Cajun, Garlic Herb, and Onion, and pizzas are made to order using dough made in-house daily and real mozzarella. Oven-baked subs, salads, and "Howie Breads" topped with cheese, Cajun seasoning, or cinnamon-sugar are also available. 

This Oakhurst, Calif.-based chain has been hand-tossing its pizzas since 1978, and today there are more than 100 locations on the West Coast. Dough is made fresh in-house daily, only 100-percent mozzarella is used, and the secret-recipe sauce is bright and tangy. Pizzas range in size from eight to 16 inches and come in varieties like Western-Style BBQ Chicken, Pesto & Garlic, Meat Lovers', and Fajita Chicken, and sandwiches, calzones, seasonal soups, and appetizers like Pizza Bread, wings, and "Breadstix" are also available. 

Formerly Pizzeria Uno, this chain's origin story is probably the best-known of the bunch. Ike Sewell opened Pizzeria Uno in Chicago in 1943, and it's there that he essentially invented the Chicago-style pie, with a buttery crust piled high with cheese, sauce, and toppings and baked for more than an hour, and it blew people away. Today there are more than 140 Uno locations in 24 states and around the world, spreading the deep-dish gospel. Along with pizza, they also serve appetizers, steaks, sandwiches, burgers, seafood, and even (gasp!) thin-crust pizza.

Founded in 1985 in Beverly Hills, Calif., by attorneys Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, the casual dining chain is renowned for its innovative pizzas, including the barbecue chicken pizza, which is now ubiquitous but was basically invented there. They're constantly expanding and also do a lot of community outreach and fundraising, and the menu is loaded with gourmet pizza offerings like Thai Chicken, Habanero Carnitas, and California Club, and seasonal offerings take advantage of what's in season. Small plates, wine flights, and salads like caramelized peach with pecans, cranberries, and gorgonzola have a distinctly fine-dining feel, but the approach is always casual and fun. 

With more than 300 locations in Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and several other states, this chain, started by brothers Eugene and John Jetts in 1978, has become famous for its signature square deep-dish pizza. Go for the Jet 10, topped with mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, hamburger, Italian sausage, bacon, and black olives, or the 8 Corner Pizza, where every slice has a corner. 

The largest pizza chain in the country also happens to be America's favorite. The first Pizza Hut was opened by brothers Dan and Frank Carney in Wichita, Kan. in 1958, at a time when pizza parlors in the region were still a rarity. It took off, and soon the trademark red roof, which has since been retired, was sprouting up all across the country. Never afraid to experiment with new "pizza-esque" products like the P'Zone, the Cheesy Bites Pizza, and the much-missed, two-crusted Priazzo, they've occasionally hit gold, like with their now-ubiquitous Stuffed Crust Pizza. In 2014 they really went outside of the box by introducing their "Flavor of Now" menu, with nearly a dozen new pizzas utilizing new ingredients like Peruvian chile peppers, premium salami, and fresh spinach, and new sauces like honey sriracha and balsamic reduction. If there's one chain that's not afraid to reinvent itself or get a little silly sometimes, it's Pizza Hut, and it's a philosophy that's obviously served them quite well. So congratulations, Pizza Hut, you're America's favorite pizza chain!