Our top 10 list of Pizza Hut sides is chosen on what makes the best companions to go with your pizza order. When Dan and Frank Carney started their humble little pizza shop in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958, little did they know at the time it would grow into a franchise that now has over eighteen thousand locations worldwide. While pizza usually is the main reason why customers keep coming back for more, sometimes there are other items on Pizza Hut’s menu they have a craving for. Of course, the meaning behind the name sides can change depending on the restaurant. In most restaurants, sides usually mean french fries, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese. Yet in Pizza Hut, the word “sides” has a bit of a different meaning when pizza is the main dish.
Speaking as a person who once upon a time worked as a cook for Pizza Hut, I know first-hand the ingredients and recipes that went into some of the sides mentioned in the list provided. I also know since WingStreet became part of the Pizza Hut menu, the chicken wings have become almost as popular as the pie-shaped classics themselves. What’s featured in the list includes bygone sides many foodies are begging to be returned, as well as sides I know are slated for removal as Pizza Hut once again revamps its menu.
Top 10 Pizza Hut Sides
# 10 – Dips
As much of a fan people are of pizzas, they’re not always so eager to eat the crust after devouring a tasty slice that held the toppings they ordered. Pizza Hut came up with solutions such as its infamous Stuffed Crust pizza in order to combat this problem. They also came up with a variety of dips with the intent to entice customers to chow the entire pizza slice down, crust and all. The option between Cheddar Jalapeno, Creamy Garlic, Marinara, and Peppercorn Ranch offers consumers a tasty add-on to their favorite slice of pizza. Among garlic lovers, Creamy Garlic does the trick for them just about every time. Among pizza fans who like some kick, the Cheddar Jalapeno is too good to resist.
There’s also Marinara and Peppercorn Ranch, both of which tend to be chosen the most often as a side to go with their Pizza Hut order.
# 9 – Breadsticks
Usually, when Pizza Hut has a meal deal in place, their infamous breadsticks often come as a side of choice to go with whatever main dish has been ordered. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these are chosen the most often whenever diners opt for pasta over pizza when they place their orders. Breadsticks are commonplace among most restaurants that serve Italian-style dishes. Pizza Hut’s breadsticks are simply made from the same dough it uses for its signature Pizza Pan dough. That’s partly what makes them so popular, especially with marinara sauce. Personally, I like to switch it up and go with some of the other dips Pizza Hut offers.
# 8 – Fries
As odd as it may sound for some foodies to pair up fries with pizza, this isn’t as uncommon as one may think. For some, they’re even better when seasoned with the blend of spices that come with the Cajun seasoning. If that seems a bit too spicy for the palette, there’s also lemon pepper seasoning. The fries are crispy enough on the outside and fluffy enough on the inside to be just as enjoyable on their own.
#7 – Mozzarella Sticks
Some restaurants bake their mozzarella sticks while companies like Pizza Hut opt to deep fry them. Crisp on the outside and wonderfully gooey on the inside, this is a cheeseaholic’s dream sidekick to go with their pizza order. This is a highly addictive food item that seems to taste even better when dipped into the marinara sauce. Fans of mozzarella sticks have also been known to use some of the other dips Pizza Hut has to offer.
#6 – Boneless Bites
While chicken wings have been an all-time favorite side to go with pizza, not everybody is necessarily a fan of dealing with those little bones. As a solution, Pizza Hut came up with breaded chicken pieces known as Boneless Bites. These breaded bites are easy enough to pop into the mouth, either as the perfect companion to go with that pizza order or on its own. Much like Pizza Hut’s infamous chicken wings, this popular side dish comes with the sauce of your choice between buffalo, cajun, garlic Parmesan, honey barbecue, lemon pepper, spicy garlic, and sweet chili. If you’d rather enjoy boneless bites without sauce of any kind, that works too.
#5 – Caesar Salad
As an ideal starter, Caesar salads always seem to go well with pizza. This side option from Pizza Hut is no exception. The creamy Caesar dressing, plus the croutons and Parmesan cheese, mixed with the romaine lettuce have been a fan favorite for years. Customers can never seem to get enough of this extremely popular food item. If you’re not in the mood for Caesar specifically, you can always substitute it with ranch dressing. This twist to one of Pizza Hut’s most popular side items isn’t uncommon.
#4 – Tuscani Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Some Pizza Hut fans will either order the Tuscani Chicken Alfredo Pasta as a side or as an entree to consume as part of their meal choice. Speaking from the experience of someone who used to work at a Pizza Hut location, whenever we had the salad bar open, sometimes the Tuscani Chicken Alfred Pasta emptied out even faster than the pizzas did. What makes this cheesy dish so tasty is the creamy alfredo sauce that adds so much flavor to it. Some may argue this doesn’t qualify as a side but I beg to differ. Several customers often ordered this particular pasta dish with their pizza order. Among those who sat in the restaurant I worked at, this would sit right next to a slice of pizza on a customer’s plate whenever these two items were ordered together.
#3 – Cheesesticks
When I used to work for Pizza Hut, one of the most common side items ordered to go with pizzas was the Cheesesticks. These are breadsticks that have been improved upon by adding a generous dose of mozzarella cheese, as well as some garlic butter and Parmesan. This tends to be ordered far more often by customers than any other bread product Pizza Hut has to offer. On many occasions, the desire for dips of any kind doesn’t seem to be a requirement by many customers who enjoy the cheesesticks enough on their own.
#2 – Stuffed Garlic Knots
Wonderfully stuffed with cheese, Pizza Hut’s Stuffed Garlic Knots make the perfect sidekick to any main course meal featured on its menu. Highly addictive, this twisted-up dough of goodness is brushed with garlic butter and decorated with grated parmesan cheese. Unfortunately, not all Pizza Huts carry them, and are often treated as a limited-time special. Fans of this product are known to dip either these little beauties into marinara sauce or eat them plain. Among those who feel they need more garlic in their diet, there’s the Creamy Garlic dipping sauce that also works well with this. Speaking on a personal note, I wish this became a regular feature on all the Pizza Hut menus as it is popular enough to keep the customers coming back for more.
#1 – Chicken Wings
Pizza Hut fans are likely to be familiar with WingStreet. In 2003, under the Yum! corporation, both of these entities became one. By 2010, the international success of this pair-up resulted in more than four thousand new Pizza Hut locations popping up across America alone. Chicken wings were already growing in popularity as a favorite menu item with so many bars and restaurants that it only made sense Pizza Hut would capitalize on an opportunity to serve them up to go with that pizza. Between breaded or traditional, customers can choose their favorite flavoring. As buffalo wings with the infamous Buffalo sauce, there are three degrees of spice customers can choose from, namely mild, medium, and hot. The other sauces the chicken wings are offered to come in cajun, garlic Parmesan, honey barbecue, lemon pepper, spicy garlic, and sweet chili. There’s also the option to have them completely naked. For years, chicken wings and pizza have gone together in perfect harmony as a pair of food items that’s been such a huge fan favorite.
Top 10 Pizza Hut Sides article published on BigCityReview.com© 2023
BigCityReview.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either Amazon affiliate photos in which we make a commission on any products purchased from Amazon, public domain creative commons photos or photos licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with BigCityReview.com. All photo credits have been placed at end of the article.
We are not responsible for any items purchased or locations visited based on our recommendations as we do not sell or manufacture any of the items we have reviewed. All health and beauty reviews are for entertainment purposes only and are not a substitute for medical advice.