How Many Carbs in Pizza? (Chart)

Pizza is a savory, round Italian dish consisting of flattened wheat-based dough topped with cheese, tomatoes, and other ingredients as desired. The favorite pizza order in the US is one regular crust cheese pizza slice that contains approximately 26 g of carbs.

However, that value will significantly vary if you have some other favorite pizza type. Let’s see how many carbs in pizza Americans intake with each slice.

Carbs in Pizza

Even though most consumers believe that pizza is low in nutritional value, the truth is actually the opposite. This valuable energy food is an excellent source of proteins, complex carbs, vitamins, and minerals.

Carbs in an average 285 calorie pizza slice of 12 inches (30.5 cm) and 107 g
Carbs	Value
Carbs	35.7 g
Sugar	3.8 g

According to the US Department of Agriculture, one average 285 calorie pizza slice of 12 inches (30.5 cm) from a typical fast-food pizza chain contains 35.7 g carbs and 3.8 g sugar. These values will vary depending on the pizza type, its crust, and way of preparing.

Carbs in one slice of 12 inches (30.5 cm) pizza
Popular pizza types	Net carbs	Sugar	Total carbs
Cheese, regular crust	24.5 g	3 g	26 g
Cheese with vegetables, regular crust	29 g	2.5 g	31 g
Cheese, thin crust	20.5 g	2.5 g	22 g
Cheese with vegetables, thin crust	22 g	2.5 g	24 g
Cheese, thick crust	28 g	3.5 g	30 g
Cheese with vegetables, thick crust	37 g	2.5 g	39 g
Cheese with fruit, thick crust	41 g	4.5 g	43 g
Frozen cheese	53.5 g	7 g	58 g

You can find various pizza types with different carb levels. Your goal should be to avoid ingredients full of unhealthy sugars.

Freshly made pizzeria pizza

Pizzeria-made pizzas will significantly vary in preparation method and ingredients, directly affecting their nutrition content and carb levels.

Carbs in one slice of 12 inches (30.5 cm) pizza
Pepperoni pizza	Net carbs	Sugar	Total carbs
Regular	32.5 g	4 g	34 g
Thick	30.5 g	3 g	32 g

Most family-owned pizzerias use dough made from wheat flour, fresh cheeses, and olive oil. Some of them also use homemade sauces without additional sugar.

Fast-food pizza

You can consider pizza bought in fast-food restaurants the unhealthiest choice. It is high in calorie content and packed with unhealthy fats and carbs. Keep in mind that fast-food pizzas also contain fructose corn syrup, artificial colorings, monosodium glutamate, and high sodium levels.

Frozen pizza

Many people, particularly students, prefer consuming frozen pizzas. With few exceptions, most types are high in calories and contain too many artificial preservatives, sodium, and undesired fats and sugar.

An average frozen pizza contains 41.5 g total carbs, including 38.5 g net carbs and 3 g of sugar.

List of Carb Counts for Pizza

1. Crust

The carbohydrate levels in pizza will significantly depend on the crust. For example, Americans’ favorite regular crust cheese pizza contains 26 g of total carbs. However, this value will be only 22 g when you pick out a thin crust cheese pizza, plus its glycemic index is significantly lower.

Carbs in one slice of 12 inches (30.5 cm) pizza
Regular crust pizza	Net carbs	Sugar	Total carbs
Cheese	24.5 g	3 g	26 g
Vegetable and bean	25.5 g	2 g	28 g
Meat	26 g	1.8 g	28 g
Seafood	26.5 g	0.6 g	27 g
Meat and vegetable	28 g	2.5 g	29.5 g
Cheese and vegetable	29 g	2.5 g	31 g
Meat and fruit	29.5 g	4 g	31 g
Margherita	33 g	0.5 g	34 g
White	33.5 g	0.7 g	34.5 g
Marinara	38 g	0.45 g	40 g

On the other hand, you will enter up to 30 g of total carbs when choosing a thick crust cheese pizza made of white flour. The worst thing is that these carbs are only from the crust, and you need to calculate sugars from cheese, sauce, and toppings additionally.

Carbs in one slice of 12 inches (30.5 cm) pizza
Thin crust pizza	Net carbs	Sugar	Total carbs
Cheese	20.5 g	2.5 g	22 g
Vegetable and bean	25.5 g	2 g	28 g
Meat	19.5 g	1.5 g	20.5 g
Seafood	26.5 g	0.6 g	27 g
Meat and vegetable	21 g	2.5 g	23 g
Cheese and vegetable	22 g	2.5 g	24 g
Meat and fruit	23 g	4 g	24.5 g
White	33.5 g	0.7 g	35.5 g

Remember that blood sugar spike won’t be the same when you eat pizza with a crust made of whole grains or refined flour. Nowadays, you can find pizza with a cauliflower crust that additionally lower carb count.

2. Cheese

Since food’s calories include protein, fat, and carbs, you can quickly conclude that the one with more protein and fat will contains fewer sugar levels. Therefore, adding low-fat cheese to pizza means that the final product may be higher in carbohydrates than you have planned.

The best options you have are brie and manchego cheeses that don’t contain carbs and mozzarella cheese with only 0.6 g of carbohydrate per 1 ounce (28 g) serving.

Carbs in one slice of 12 inches (30.5 cm) pizza
Thick crust pizza	Net carbs	Sugar	Total carbs
Cheese	28 g	3.4 g	30 g
Vegetable and bean	40.5 g	2 g	43.5 g
Meat	34 g	2 g	35.5 g
Seafood	42 g	0.9 g	43.5 g
Meat and vegetable	35.5 g	2.5 g	37.5 g
Cheese and vegetable	37 g	2.5 g	39 g
Meat and fruit	37 g	4 g	39 g
White	44.5 g	0.9 g	46.5 g

3. Toppings

Vegetables are healthy food packed with vitamins and fibers, but they also contain a certain amount of carbs you need to count on. It is necessary to make a wise choice and get the best from the ingredients you pick out.

For example, pineapple is packed with antioxidants, mushrooms are high in valuable potassium, while onion and peppers are rich in vitamin C. Always choose fresh veggies instead of salty and processed ones.

Carbs in one slice of 12 inches (30.5 cm) pizza
Other pizzas	Net carbs	Sugar	Total carbs
Veggie lover’s	15 g	/	23 g
Pepperoni	23 g	2 g	24 g
Italian sausage	24 g	2 g	25 g
Chicken supreme	24 g	2 g	25 g
Ham and pineapple	27 g	4 g	28 g

4. Sauces

Traditional pasta sauce is always less sweet than mass-produced pizza sauce. Most pizza sauces contain approximately 5 g of carbs per 0.25 cup and have high sodium levels.

Take care to use quality marinara sauce when preparing pizza at home. Always check the carbs levels when the product you buy contains fructose corn syrup full of sugar.

Be careful when choosing tomato sauces. All of them contain sugar to alleviate acidic fruit flavor, but you should try to buy the brand with the least sugar amount you can find.

Popular Pizza Chains

Pizza is inexpensive but delicious food that is often off-limits to people on a keto or low-carbohydrate diet. Many pizza lovers avoid eating it because of carbohydrate content.

However, you should be aware that the daily intake of carbs in grams is less vital than the carbs type in a particular food. In other words, your body will better deal with natural sugars from vegetables and fruits or the carbs from whole grains than with processed sugar from fast-food pizza.

Carbs in one slice of 12 inches (30.5 cm) pizza
Pizza Hut	Net carbs	Sugar	Total carbs
Pepperoni Thin’N crispy	20 g	3 g	21 g
Pepperoni and mushroom Thin’N crispy	20 g	3 g	21 g
Pepperoni hand-tossed style	23 g	2 g	24 g
Pepperoni and mushroom hand-tossed style	24 g	3 g	25 g
Pepperoni pan	26 g	2 g	27 g
Pepperoni and mushroom pan	26 g	3 g	27 g

Another thing you need to consider is the pizza brand you choose. Be aware that the most popular pizza chains offer you different options, and you can always select the pizza type with acceptable carb content.

Carbs in one slice of 12 inches (30.5 cm) pizza
Domino’s pizza	Net carbs	Sugar	Total carbs
Thin crust pepperoni feast	19 g	2 g	21 g
Brooklyn pepperoni feast	28 g	3 g	30 g
Hand-tossed pepperoni feast	33 g	2 g	35 g
Deep dish pepperoni feast	37 g	2 g	42 g

For example, Red Baron Barbecue Chicken pizza contains a huge 40 g of total carbs per slice. On the other hand, Pizza Hut types have uniform total carbohydrate quantity, from 21 to 27 g.

Domino’s pizza has different offers and lets you pick out the pizza type you enjoy the most. So, you can find their thin crust pepperoni feast with 21 g of total carbohydrate, while the deep dish pepperoni feast is a sugar bomb with 42 g of total carbs per slice.

Summary

Most pizza types are high in calories, carbs, and sodium, which makes them unhealthy food. On the other hand, they are rich in proteins and fats, and the most valuable ingredients can add to their nutrient value. Give your best to make a wise choice and eat healthy pizza with less carb content and nutrient-packed toppings.