Pizzas from Across the U.S. to Get You Excited for National Pepperoni Pizza Day
National Pepperoni Pizza Day is Sept. 20. This food holiday honors America’s favorite pizza topping, the pepperoni. It’s not just Pizza Today that says pepperoni is No. 1. Pizzeria operators across the country weighed in on our survey for the 2025 Pizza Industry Trends Report, indicating that pepperoni was once again crowned the No.1 selling pizza topping.
Pepperoni isn’t the only pizza topping to get a special holiday, find out 10 Can’t Miss Pizza Holidays.
What is Pepperoni?
John Gutekanst answers the question “What is Pepperoni?” in Pep Talk. He says, “The history of pepperoni is vague. There is no cured meat called ‘pepperoni’ in Italy. It is thought that the millions of Italian immigrants who landed here created this semi-spicy salami out of new-world ingredients. It could have been modeled on the Salame di Napoli, which is made with garlic, wine and chili. Or, perhaps it’s based on the Salsiccia di Calabria, which has fennel, chilies, wine and garlic.
While pepperoni is like a lot of salami, its beauty lies in the depth of flavor released when it is heated. The fat and spice content – along with the small circumference of each slice in modern pepperoni – react to heat unlike any larger salami. Almost all dry-cured, medium-fat salumi like soppressata, lonza, coppa, Calabrese, Prosciutto di Parma and cotechino tend to release more fat and flavor when you lay a thin slice on an oven-warmed pizza, but not under direct heat. Pepperoni’s inherent flavor concentration releases copious amounts of fatty flavor at high temperatures without burning the whole slice. There are some advantages that certain pepperoni types have above the others. Like all foods you buy for your customers, it all depends upon the price you are willing pay for quality.” Read the full article Pep Talk now!
Pepperoni comes in many forms. There are several pepperoni styles that give pizzas a different look from the standard round and cup and char pepperoni to large old world and cubed pepperoni.
8 Pepperoni Pizzas from some of the Hottest Pizzerias in the U.S.
Pizza Today travels the United States visiting some of best pizzerias in the nation. The pepperoni pizza is often one of the selected pizzas that pizzeria operators like to show off and have us try. Here is a collection pepperoni pizzas from our travels to U.S. pizzerias:
No. 1: Modern Apizza, New Haven, Connecticut
No. 2: Razza, Jersey City, New Jersey
No. 3: Metro Pizza, Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 4: Via Tribunali, Seattle, Washington
No. 5: Via 313, Austin, Texas
No. 6: Fine Folk Pizza, Fort Myers, Florida
No. 7: Paulie Gee’s, Brooklyn, NY
No. 8: Andolini’s Pizzeria, Tulsa, Oklahoma
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