Pizza Chains That Never Use Frozen Dough

If there was one unifying food in the U.S., it would likely be pizza. It makes sense: Pizza is simple, comforting, and easily customizable. It can be loaded with meat or it can be entirely plant-based. It can include fruit or it can be a strictly pineapple-free zone. It can be enjoyed in a restaurant or delivered straight to your door (to be enjoyed on the couch in front of Netflix, of course). Frozen pizza is a firm favorite for many, but when you are buying from a delivery chain or a restaurant, expertly-made, freshly prepared dough can elevate pizza to top tier status.

Pizza originated in Italy, of course. There, pizza is nearly always made with freshly made dough. In fact, most of the ingredients used to make Italian pizzas are fresh, from the marinara sauce to the mozzarella. This ultimately improves the taste, because they have not been processed with extra ingredients like preservatives and additives, which can alter the flavor.

So, if you are searching for pizza in the U.S., arguably, fresh is best. The good news is there are plenty of pizza chains in the country offering pizzas that are always made with fresh dough, never frozen. Keep reading to learn more — there is something for everyone, from classic Neopolitan to Chicago deep-dish to Detroit-style.

Since 1985, pizza chain Cici's Pizza has been supplying the U.S. with freshly made pizzas served in a buffet-style format. It was founded in Texas, but has since expanded significantly, and now has more than 270 locations in 22 states across the U.S.

All of its pizzas are made with fresh dough, and its menu includes everything from familiar classics like veggie and pepperoni to more creative specialty options, like Spinach Alfredo, which comes loaded with Alfredo sauce, mozzarella, fresh spinach, and a garlic butter crust. There is also Mac & Cheese, which, of course, combines two American favorite dishes in one: Macaroni and cheese and pizza.

In October 2024, Cici's even teamed up with Kellanova to launch a new Eggo Waffle pizza. It is made with the chain's signature fresh dough, as well as crispy chicken, Eggo waffles, and maple syrup. As well as pizza, Cici's all-you-can-eat buffet also includes a fresh salad bar, pasta, and sweets like brownies, cinnamon rolls, and dessert pizzas.

All of Blaze Pizza's artisanal pizzas are made with fresh pizza dough, which consists of simple, chemical-free ingredients like unbleached flour, extra-virgin oil, salt, and sugar. The chain — which was founded back in 2011 — currently offers menu classics like four cheese pizza, Herbivore pizza, and Spicy Pepperoni pizza in its restaurants across 38 states in the U.S. It also has locations in Canada, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Soon, more people will be able to get their hands on pies made with Blaze Pizza's fresh dough. In November 2024, the chain announced it was planning to open more locations in West Los Angeles in 2025. These new restaurants will be located in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and the Upper San Fernando Valley.

All will offer the chain's standard menu, as well as customizable options with its extensive topping selection. The latter includes plant-based chorizo, dairy-free cheese, roasted garlic, Italian sausage, and much more.

The clue is in the name, but everything served at this popular California pizza chain is made fresh, and the dough is no exception. Unlike some of its competitors, Fresh Brothers — which was founded in 2008 and has 25 restaurants across California, in Los Angeles, The Valley, Orange County, and San Diego — does not openly reveal its dough recipe, instead claiming it is a "family secret."

The chain offers several different pizza base options, all of which are made with fresh dough. These include: gluten-free, original, Skinny, and deep dish. There is even a cauliflower-based option, which is gluten- and grain-free, and a low-carb keto crust option, too.

Fresh Brothers is committed to catering to as many dietary preferences as possible. It offers an extensive vegan menu, which includes Vegan Pepperoni and Vegan Da Works pizzas, as well as a dedicated gluten-free menu. There are also plenty of salad choices, kid-friendly options, and sliders. Both of Fresh Brothers knot options, which include fresh knots with butter, Parmesan, and garlic, and sweet knots with icing and cinnamon, are also made with fresh dough.

Uno Pizzeria & Grill (often referred to as simply Uno's) has been making Chicago-style pizzas since the 1940s, when it was founded by former athlete and restauranteur Ike Sewell. Legend has it that Sewell was the first to invent and serve deep-dish pizza in Chicago (although historians have poked a few holes in that story).

Regardless of whether he invented deep-dish pizza or not, the fact remains that Sewell did found a successful pizza chain. Uno Pizzeria & Grill now has multiple locations across 15 states in the U.S., as well as restaurants in Saudi Arabia and India, too. And all of these restaurants always use freshly prepared dough, just like Sewell and his chef did back in the 1940s.

Today, customers can choose from popular menu items like Four Cheese & Pesto, Prima Pepperoni, and Numero Uno, which features the pizzeria's signature chunky tomato sauce, alongside plenty of mozzarella, Romano, sausage, pepperoni, onions, peppers, and mushrooms. There are vegan and gluten-free options on the menu, too. If you are not a fan of deep-dish, Uno's also offers thin-crust pizza options, which again, are always prepared with hand-stretched freshly made dough.

Every day, Pieology makes the dough for its Original Thin Crust, Pierise Thick Crust, Cauliflower Crust, and Gluten-Free Crust pizzas from scratch, alongside its signature tomato sauce. This means that you can always rely on the chain — which has more than 120 locations across the U.S., Mexico, and China — for quality. While you can access information about how Pieology's dough is made from its website (its thin crust is always proofed slowly, for example), the actual dough recipe is kept top-secret.

While you can always select from Pieology's menu, which includes favorites like the Veggie Pesto Pizza and the Fiery Buffalo Chicken Pizza, the popular chain prides itself on its extensive selection of ingredients for its make-your-own pizza options. There are a number of different ingredients on offer, including banana peppers, olives, pineapple, two varieties of plant-based meats, ricotta, Daiya mozzarella, gorgonzola, chicken, bacon, sausage, and so much more.

If you love the mountains and pizza, then, you guessed it, Mountain Mike's Pizza is the destination for you. While it offers the classic toppings like pepperoni and simple cheese, its specialty pizzas — all of which are made with fresh ingredients, including freshly prepared dough — are inspired by some the world's highest, most impressive peaks.

There's The Everest, of course, which is topped with ingredients like pepperoni, salami, linguica, black olives, and mushrooms. But for those who want to honor the Himalayas without the meat, there is also the Vegetarian Spicy Himalayan Pizza, which comes loaded with tomato and Tikka Masala sauce. Other options include Snowy Alps and Pikes Peak — the latter is named after one of the highest summits in the Rocky Mountains.

The pizza chain also offers plenty of sides, including wings, loaded fries, mozzarella sticks, salads, desserts, sandwiches (one of which is called the Cliff Hanger) and Garlic Not-Knots. The latter is also made with fresh dough every day.

Sbarro was founded in Brooklyn back in the 1950s by Italian immigrants Carmela and Gennaro Sbarro. Both founders were originally from Naples, the home of pizza, so it's safe to say they knew a thing or two about creating delicious pies. Initially, the Sbarros ran a delicatessen and only made their pizza for New York's busy workers, but their slices were so popular, they had no choice but to open more pizza-only locations.

To this day, Sbarro the chain upholds the legacy of its founders by delivering delicious pizzas, always made with freshly prepared dough, to its multiple locations across the U.S. and beyond. In fact, today, this popular chain has more than 700 locations in total.

Classic options include pepperoni and cheese, of course, both of which are available New York-style on a hand-stretched 17-inch base. Best-sellers also include the chain's Greek salad, breadsticks, and garlic cheesy bread, as well as roasted potatoes with salt, pepper, and garlic.

Today, Papa Johns is one of the biggest pizza delivery chains in the world (although there are some signs its crown might be slipping). But it actually started from humble beginnings in Indiana, when (its now controversial) founder John Schnatter opened the first restaurant in Jeffersonville in the 1980s.

Local diners just couldn't get enough of the food, and the popularity propelled Papa Johns to more locations. The chain kept growing and growing until it reached juggernaut status. Today, there are more than 5,900 Papa Johns restaurants in the world. Schnatter, however, is no longer associated with the brand.

One of the reasons why customers loved Papa Johns pizzas so much was because they were always made with fresh ingredients, including freshly baked dough. That is still the case today, even though the menu has grown significantly since the 1980s. Now, the chain even offers gluten-free choices and vegan pizza crust, which is also made with fresh, hand-tossed dough.

The Domino's name is basically synonymous with takeaway pizza. The international chain, which was founded in Michigan in the 1960s, now has more than 20,590 locations worldwide. In the U.S., in 2023, it had the highest sales of all of the country's biggest pizza chains (it was closely followed by Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Papa John's).

One of the biggest reasons why Domino's pizzas are so popular is because of the quality of ingredients. Its dough, for example, is always made fresh in its own factories, before being shipped out to stores every single day.

In the U.S., Domino's has 18 factories. The factories don't just make fresh dough, but they also prepare the chain's most popular pizza toppings, like peppers, onions, meats, and cheeses. These factories have the capacity to produce monumental amounts of dough.

Jet's Pizza has locations in 20 states across the U.S., but the majority of its restaurants are located in its home state of Michigan. The pizza chain is incredibly loyal to its roots — it was founded in Detroit in the 1970s, and to this day, its speciality is Detroit-style pizza. Similar to Chicago-style deep dish pizzas, Detroit pizza have a much thicker crust than traditional Italian-style pizzas. They are often square-shaped, as well as a little chewy and spongy with a crispy edge, and this is all because of the way the dough is prepared.

At Jet's Pizza, for example, the dough is made fresh every day with the chain's own proprietary blend of ingredients in thick steel pans. This ensures the texture and consistency is always spot on to that specific Detroit style.

Jet's Pizza offers a range of toppings for its signature hand-made dough. Its menu includes Buffalo Ranch Chicken, Veggie, and Aloha BBQ Chicken, all of which are available with a range of different crusts. You can choose from options flavored with garlic, cajun, sesame seeds, butter, and Romano. There is also Jet's Turbo Crust, which consists of a combination of garlic, butter, and Romano.

Despite the name, this popular pizza chain was not actually founded in Chicago. In fact, in the 1970s, its first restaurant actually opened nearly 1,000 miles away in Boulder, Colorado. The pizza, however, was firmly Chicagoan. In fact, that was the aim: To bring the flavors of the Midwest to diners in Colorado. And it was a success. Old Chicago (the full name is Old Chicago Pizza and Tap Room) now has locations in more than 20 states across the U.S.

The dough for its popular pizza menu — which includes unique favorites like Farmer's Daughter (a vegetarian pizza loaded with fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and pesto sauce) and Thai Pie (which features sweet Thai chili sauce) — is always freshly made in its restaurants every day.

As well as traditional pizzas, Old Chicago also offers a range of calzones, salads, pasta dishes, and desserts, including the Cookizza (an oven-baked, cookie-loaded dessert pizza). Of course, you can also wash it all down with the chain's extensive beer selection — it is also a taproom, after all.

Whether you are in the mood for a classic pizza or a calzone-style sub, Hungry Howie's Pizza has got you covered. The chain has more than 530 locations across 21 states, all of which pride themselves on serving delicious Italian-inspired menu items, and all are made with freshly-prepared dough.

According to the chain, there are many benefits to always choosing fresh dough. The first is the taste, of course, but ingredient transparency is also a big plus (there are no hidden preservatives, for example). Fresh dough is also often healthier than frozen dough because it contains fewer processed ingredients. Hungry Howie's also claims its fresh dough has more antioxidants, protein, and fiber than frozen options.

Most people don't choose takeaway pizza for health reasons, but if you are looking for more nutritious options, Hungry Howie's Pizza offers a range of salads, as well as a vegetable-topped pizza and a Veggie Sub. Of course, there are also classics like pepperoni pizza and BBQ chicken. For something a little different, check out Secret Menu options like the Tie Dye Pizza (which features edible glitter) and The Greektown (which is loaded with olives, pepper rings, red onion, and feta cheese).

Grimaldi's Pizzeria is one of the most famous pizzerias in New York City (it is even included on some Brooklyn Bus Tours). The restaurant, which started in Brooklyn and has since expanded to more than 40 locations across the U.S., serves traditional Neapolitan-style pizza. This means there are no deep-dish crusts or square shapes (looking at you Chicago and Detroit), but instead, the base is thin and crispy, just like it is in the restaurants of Naples.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria makes all of its iconic pizzas using its own secret dough recipe, which is freshly prepared every day. After that, each and every pie is fired in a coal-powered brick oven to get that signature traditional Italian taste and texture.

Grimaldi's offers several different menu options, including the traditional pizza, which comes topped simply with tomato sauce (again, made with its own secret recipe), mozzarella, and basil, and White with Garlic, which is tomato-free. Other options include Quattro Formaggi, Garden Pesto, and Barbecue Chicken.

Like many pizzerias in the U.S., Rosati's Pizza's story began in the 20th century. The chain was started in the 1920s, when a restauranteur called Sam Rosati decided to open his own pizza spot in downtown Chicago. In the 1960s, he retired, and his sons took over and started Rosati's Pizza as it is known today.

Needless to say, the chain experienced huge success. Rosati's Pizza is, of course, still serving up pizza today in not one, but in nearly 200 restaurants across the U.S. Just as they were in the beginning, all of the pizzas at Rosati's are made with freshly made dough, which consists of a signature blend of flour and spices. Rosati's menu varies from location to location, but most encourage customers to create their own style of crust and mix of toppings. Ingredient options include meats and vegetables, as well as a "gourmet" selection, which includes options like pineapple, pepperoncini, and ricotta.