When you saw the title of this post, what came to your mind? Several people had immediately some size fly into their head and thought….well that’s how many inches is a large pizza?
But life is not as straightforward as this, as you will know if you have ever ordered pizza from more than one location.
The problem is that you do not have a uniform scale by which a pizza suddenly moves from regular size to a large pizza. Sure there’s a ballpark figure, but it does provide the pizzeria with some scope for playing around with the actual number of inches.
So while you may have initially anticipated that this would be a very easy question to answer, that’s not the case. Instead, it has far more layers to the answer than people expect.
But that will not put us off trying to give you an answer.
The Difficulty of Answering the Question
Here is the huge problem. Some establishments will state that their large pizza is 14”. However, it doesn’t end there.
Other pizzerias will state their large pizza is 16”. You may find some that have a large pizza listed as 18”.
That makes life difficult. Those places where their large pizza is 14” would then class something at 18” as extra large.
So already, you can see the problem here as so much of it comes down to the individual marketing of the various pizzerias.
The General Consensus
We need to give you more of a consensus regarding pizza sizes. Remember that these sizes are not universal, so don’t be surprised if you come across something different.
The average large pizza will measure in at 14”. It will also be cut into ten different slices. If you then go up to a pizza that is 16” or 18” in size, you have managed to fall over into the extra large pizza.
Also, an extra large pizza will come with 12 slices instead of 10.
But Things Could Change
But we have one thing we need to mention, as it could very well affect you in the future or have already done so. According to food experts, the size of pizzas could be about to change.
The problem is the cost of different ingredients rising. Pizzerias don’t want to put prices up as much as they should, so that will only lead to one thing.
The average size of a pizza will drop. That means you may find a time when a large pizza refers to something 12” rather than 14” in the future.
Of course, that is a huge difference, but you may not even notice that it is happening or has happened in some cases.
All you know is that something appears different with your pizza as the number of slices has stayed the same, so you wonder what the difference may be.
Why the Difference?
The fact that variation does exist comes across as strange. After all, would you think that something as simple as pizza would just not have variation in something such as size? Well, that’s not the case.
But why does a difference exist? Well, it’s believed that it all comes down to one key thing, marketing.
Different pizzerias know they have to compete against many companies, so they try to do something different to stand out.
Offering a larger ‘large’ pizza makes people feel they will receive more for their money.
It just seems impressive to those with large appetites that their pizza delivers more crust and toppings for the price. Think about this for a second.
Where would you go if you had two pizzerias to choose from, one has a 14” pizza for $13, and the other has a 16” pizza for the same price. If you feel hungry, you would opt for the larger pizza for the same price.
In that case, the pizzeria offering the larger pizza would win the battle. They also hope you choose other things that are perhaps the same size as you get elsewhere.
But there could also be an issue of a pizzeria using slightly inferior products and ingredients to lower costs. This is not always ideal, but it can lead to this difference that you do see at various establishments.
How Many Does it Then Feed?
So let’s presume you go ahead and get that standard 14” large pizza. How many people would this feed?
If we say people have a standard appetite and are not speaking to anybody who could easily eat a 14” pizza on their own, this is the answer.
Generally, a large pizza divided into 10 slices will feed three people. However, that does mean a fight exists for the last slice.
But if people have small appetites, or are merely looking for a snack, then a 14” pizza could end up feeding up to five people. The only problem is whether or not everyone could stick to only having two slices.
Different Examples of Varying Sizes
Finally, let’s quickly look at what constitutes a large pizza at the various main chains you know about. Even here, we see some slight differences regarding the size of a large pizza.
Domino’s states their large pizza measures in at 13.5”. That does come across as an unusual size, but hey, it makes them stand out on their own in that sense.
But notice how it does fall slightly below that more common size of 14” for a large pizza.
If you look at Pizza Hut, you see that they stick to that 14” size for their large pizza. Also, they are not alone as Papa John also makes sure their large pizza measures some 14”.
But you then look at the likes of MOD Pizza. They don’t even have a ‘large’ pizza as such. Instead, they have a mega option where the crust ends up thicker rather than the actual size of the pizza becoming larger.
When you add in independent pizzerias fighting to compete against the big names, you start to see how they can begin to play around with sizes. They need to stand out from the crowd, or they will simply sink.
Is a Large Pizza Large Enough?
Finally, is a large pizza large enough? Earlier, we mentioned how the size of a large pizza could come down thanks to costs, but our appetite and desire for pizza is something that has grown.
That means we now consume larger portions than we did a couple of generations ago. In the past, the idea of eating a 14” pizza on our own would sound strange and out of this world. People wouldn’t even believe it would happen.
Now, we look at the idea of an extra large pizza, and we think it seems like a good idea as it means more pizza.
But there’s also the fact that pizza remains easy to store in the fridge. It lasts up to four days, depending on the toppings, so don’t stress if you cannot finish a large pizza at once.
A Quick Note on Storing Pizza Leftovers
If you do plan on storing some pizza leftovers, then make sure you put the slices in the fridge no later than two hours after either receiving it, or making it. Don’t put it in the fridge while it’s piping hot, as that’s not a good idea.
Also, we suggest putting those slices in something air-tight. Alternatively, it also works pretty well wrapping the slices up in foil or plastic wrap before putting them in the fridge. At least with that, you won’t find yourself wasting pizza.
Overall Conclusion
In general, a large pizza will measure in at 14”, but that’s not the answer for every pizzeria in the world. Instead, you may find a large pizza measuring 12”, or even up to 18”, and believe us when we say that’s a huge difference.
But most pizzerias accept that a 14” pizza cut into ten slices would be a large pizza. However, our point about the rising costs resulting in a reduction of size is very valid. We reckon that is something you need to pay attention to in the near future.
Perhaps the key is just to spend some time double-checking what the size of your pizza is before you go ahead and order. That way, you won’t think someone has short-changed you over your pizza.
Of course, you could make your own pizza, at which point you get to decide whether your large pizza is 14”.
