Restaurants Pizzerias Little Caesars
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ByEllie Barbee/
We can all hear the famous "Pizza! Pizza!" slogan playing in our heads whenever that signature Little Caesars orange is visible. The snappy catchphrase has been playing out on television sets for years, proudly announcing the pizza chain's products via its memorable commercials. From the ExtraMostBestest Round Pizzas to the Crazy Puffs to the Detroit-Style Deep Dishes, Little Caesars has been spreading saucy, cheesy goodness since 1959when its very first location was opened up just outside of Detroit, Michigan.
Since then the franchise has grown in presence exponentially, its catchy, commercialized slogan and little white Caesar mascot now recognized by millions of consumers throughout the United States and the world. And while there is plenty of good to be found in the company's list of mouth watering pizzas, wings, and cheese-stuffed breads, there are also a few questionable tidbits regarding its menu that you should be aware of prior to placing your next order. From store-bought sauce to frozen dough to bizarre app activity, here are some shady things about the Little Caesars menu.
The chain's celebrated buffalo sauce is actually just Frank's RedHot
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Ahh, buffalo sauce. This popular, spicy dressing made with cayenne peppers and butter is a popular condiment for chicken wings, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, vegetables, and yes ... sometimes pizza. Franchise Little Caesars keeps dipping cups of the coveted sauce ready in the backs of its kitchens for consumers wanting to give their pizza slices or chicken wings a bit of a fiery kick — and overall, the chain's buffalo sauce harbors positive feedback by those who've sampled it. However, there's a bit of a disappointing, lesser-known truth regarding the doted-on Little Caesars condiment. As it turns out, it's far from being a signature concoction.
According to numerous employee admissions inonline discussions, Little Caesars does not, in fact, have its own housemade buffalo sauce. The chain simply usesFrank's RedHot buffalo wings sauce — the same familiar brand found in grocery stores nationwide. While this may steal a bit of the excitement away from your meal, there is, at least, some good to be taken from this truth. Since Frank's RedHot sauce can be found at a store near you, you can very easily harness the flavor of Little Caesars for your homemade pizza or chicken wings by buying your very own bottle to douse them in. You're welcome.
The dough used for the pizza is made fresh daily ... or is it?
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If there's one thing that Little Caesars prides itself on, it's its dough. "Ours is made fresh in-store each day with a mixer," the company claimed on its official Facebook page in 2013. "While some other places use factory-made or frozen dough." Now, a freshly-mixed base is an undeniably attractive quality in a pizza, but we aren't 100% convinced that the claim rings true in every case where Little Caesars' dough is concerned.
The internet is littered with conflicting statements, claims, and videos shared by employees of Little Caesars which cast doubt on the always-fresh claim. While many workers enthusiastically uphold that dough is exclusively mixed daily at their locations, others oppose this, stating that frozen dough is sometimes defrosted for pizza making. "It's both," claimed one user on Reddit, responding to a question about whether dough is frozen or fresh. "We make it in the building but then we freeze it." In addition, it has also been suggested that smaller, express Little Caesars(such as those found in shopping malls or grocery stores) use frozen dough exclusively — perhaps because they do not possess the standard mixing equipment that the regular locations do. Either way, this seeming lack of standard procedure surrounding Little Caesars' dough reads just a little shady in our book.
The Crazy Bread Spread isn't made with real butter
Why order plain garlic bread sticks from any old restaurant when there's Little Caesars' celebrated Crazy Bread up for grabs? A standard order of eight of the franchise's Parmesan-sprinkled bread sticks doused in the famous Crazy Bread Spreadgoes for around $3.99 ... and according to satisfied consumers, it is worth every penny. But despite Little Caesars' website declaring the product as buttery in taste and texture, the truth is, the savory spread which is dumped atop the bread sticks isn't buttery at all. Numerous alleged employees divulgethat the spread for the Crazy Bread is made up of artificial ingredients ... none of which are real melted butter.
"It's not butter, what it is idk," an alleged worker told another user on Reddit when they brought up the Crazy Bread liquid spread. "But it's definitely not butter or anything natural." When pressed further about specific ingredients, the employee answered simply: "A whole bunch of stuff I can't pronounce." Yikes. Unfortunately, this employee is hardly the first to relay similar information regarding the Crazy Bread spread, with other alleged workers describing a type of oil and fat mixture. While perhaps not buttery in a true sense, the Crazy Bread is still considered remarkably delicious by many ... so you'll have to decide if this nugget of information is offensive enough to stop you from indulging, or not.
Whether or not you'll be charged extra for sauce cups depends on your location
Ranch, BBQ, Chipotle, Cheezy Jalapeno, Butter Garlic, or Crazy Dipping– these are just a few of the available Little Caesars sauces waiting to accompany your next extra-large pizza order. But if you thought a cup of delicious dipping sauce might be thrown into your pizza box for free in much the same way ketchup is included in orders at most burger joints, it appears you may have thought wrong.
As evidenced by conflicting statements made by employees on Reddit, there appears to be no concrete policy on charging for sauce ... making whether or not you'll be slapped with an upcharge after asking for that cup of creamy ranch unpredictable. While some workers maintain that sauce is free at their stores, others claim that all, or at least some, sauces come with a price tag attached at their locations. In addition, the costs of the sauces at the locations that do charge appear to vary greatly — and this seemingly wild inconsistency between restaurants stands to make things confusing for patrons. Prior to adding any sauce to your cart the next time you order from Little Caesars, we'd recommend checking with your specific location beforehand if this potential charge concerns you.
Managers at stores can hide select menu items from consumers on the mobile app
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Mobile apps have replaced phone calls as the preferred method when it comes to ordering take-out from restaurants for the majority of modern consumers. Therefore, developing a reliable, user-friendly app has become a priority for many eateries ... and this includes food industry giant Little Caesars. However, some significant confusion has been reported among consumers regarding the pizza chain's mobile ordering system — most namely, the strange occurrence of vanishing menu items.
Multiple eaters have taken to online platforms such as Reddit to inquire as to why their favorite products have suddenly disappeared from the list of available items. According to numerous employees online, a discontinuation isn't generally to blame for this, it's an app feature. On a thread titled "Thin crust not an option" in which a poster questioned why they suddenly couldn't place an order for their favorite pizza, one alleged worker explained that managers at each store have the ability to black out select items on the app if they choose — and this claim is supported in other discussions, as well. While this action appears only to be taken occasionally — primarily, when a store is running low on a product — it has led to some major confusion and consistency issues for users.
The beloved pretzel crust is allegedly made from the exact same dough as the regular crust
It was 2014 when Little Caesars first debuted its pretzel crust, and the popular, crispy pizza base has been resurrected by the chain multiple times over the years. In 2023, the pretzel crust pizza was brought back yet again after a prolonged period of hopeful wishing by craving consumers, and in 2024 it remains, providing millions of consumers with a satisfying taste and a crunchy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside texture. But while you may have previously believed you were receiving an extra-special, top-secret recipe in the Little Caesars pretzel crust pizza, unfortunately, the reality is a little less dazzling.
Numerous online discussions between Little Caesars employees and curious consumers reveal that the famous pretzel crust pizzas are, in fact, made from the exact same dough as the regular crust ones. The only difference? They are brushed with a baking soda solution prior to baking, which promotes further browning and gives the pretzel crust its signature crackle. After emerging from the oven, workers outline, the crusts are then finished off with a sprinkle ofmargarine and sea salt to create that shiny pretzel-like finish. Though this may not be the classified vessel for your sauce and cheese that you were hoping for, the product's popularity stands as a testament to its deliciousness. The pretzel crust pizza is tasty — whether it has a real pretzel base, or not.
Consumers say the chicken wings are suspiciously small
Chicken wings have become a popular staple for dining Americans over the years. While traditionally associated with sports bars, these juicy poultry snacks can now be found in many different types of restaurants ... pizza chain Little Caesars included. But when it comes to the franchise's chicken wings (aptly named Caesar Wings, of course) consumers have a bone to pick — a very, very small bone, that is.
Reddit is littered with threads drawing attention to the questionable size of the Little Caesars chicken wings. Consumers consistently call them out for being oddly tiny, and some eaters have gone so far as to suggest (jokingly or not) that the meat is perhaps sourced from baby chickens. Photos taken by patrons comparing their matching-sized thumbs to the wings, as well as jesting comments referring to the product as battery-sized,are certainly enough to make us wonder. "Why they cuttin the wings off them lil baby chickens man," said one consumer on a post under r/LittleCaesars, "it aint right." Whether or not chick wings are actually utilized by the franchise, we can't say for certain ... but you should prepare yourself for some bite-sized wings if you plan to get your chicken fix from Little Caesars.
You may be charged more for requesting light sauce on your pizza
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Asking for light sauce when ordering from a pizza place shouldn't equate to a higher bill ... right? You are asking for less of a product, after all. However, in the case of Little Caesars, less is literally more when it comes to ordering a lightly sauced pizza. According to employees, any and all customizations at the pizza chain come with an upcharge — and this includes the light sauce option.
"It costs [$2] more for light sauce?" asked a confused user on Reddit. "So a thin crust pep is [$]7.99, if you customize one and just change it to light sauce it now costs [$]10. Really? Charging [$]2 more for less sauce?" One alleged worker hopped on the discussion to clear things up, confirming that if a customer selects light sauce, it will immediately ring up in the system as a custom order. A few additional employees, however, took to the platform to divulge a lesser-known way to avoid this default. When using the mobile app, there is an alleged "modifiers" button under the standard pizzas that allows for one to select light sauce without having to create a custom order — thus, avoiding the upcharge. However, based on the employees' exchange, it appears that not all locations have the modifier option set up — so you may want to look into your particular store's mobile ordering system prior to developing your next pizza.
With each additional topping ordered, smaller amounts are added to the pizzas
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One topping, two toppings, three toppings, four ... who doesn't love a pizza loaded with every one of their favorite things? But what if those toppings are disproportionately present atop each steaming slice? On Reddit within an r/LittleCaesars discussion, one alleged employee shared an extremely interesting truth regarding the topping-sprinkling process at the franchise. All toppings are measured out using a measuring cup, they stated, for consistency in the amount used. However, once more than two toppings are ordered, smaller-sized cups are used to measure out the additional selections.
"Don't go over four toppings," they wrote. "We use smaller cups for each added topping. If you want true value don't go over two toppings when making a custom pizza. After two is when we start changing the topping cup sizes." Another assumed worker appeared to confirm this, praising the user's comment with: "This ... this is perfection." While we can't confirm whether or not this method is employed at every single Little Caesars location, the use of measuring cups for toppings has been brought up by employees on additional platforms. It stands to reason that after so much cheese, peppers, ground beef, and more, a pizza might start to become overly heavy ... so we guess the reality of this one isn't too hard to imagine. Still, it may make you consider honing in on your top two favorite toppings the next time you order.
Previously-cooked pizzas waiting in the Hot-N-Ready warmer are the ones pushed out to consumers first
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Unlike pizza places that exclusively cook their creations after consumers place an order, Little Caesars takes a slightly different approach. The chain bakes many of its pizzas in advance, storing them in a heated Hot-N-Ready rack once completed — thus reducing wait times for hungry consumers. But while handing out previously-cooked pizzas certainly cuts down on the length of time it takes for eaters to get their meals, it may not be the best as far as ensuring freshness.
If getting a newly-cooked pizza prepared individually for you is of primary concern, workers of the franchise advise that you place an order for a custom pizza on the app. Ordering extra sauce, another layer of cheese, or extra pepperoni, for example, will force employees to whip up a brand new pizza on the spot with the specified customizations, instead of opting for one of the completed standard pizzas waiting in the warmer. However, even if you do end up with a standard Hot-N-Ready pizza, take heart. The products in the warmer are only supposed to remain in waiting for around 30 minutes, according to worker admission, before they are discarded — so the pizza should still be relatively fresh by the time you eat it, whether it was made just for you or not.
You can't cancel an order on the app once it's placed
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It's the day of the big game, and with only minutes to spare, your guest lets you know that they have fallen ill and won't be able to come over and watch with you, after all. You hop onto the Little Caesars app intent on canceling the pizza order you made earlier that morning ... only to find there's no cancellation option to be found. It's not in your head — mobile orders at Little Caesars can only be canceled in person, or via a telephone call.
While this certainly qualifies as inconvenient, you may not think of it as shady ... at least, not initially. The sketchy piece regarding this policy, according to consumers, is that it's extremely difficult to get through to someone in time. "The mobile app seriously needs a cancel order/modify button," said an irritated customer on Reddit."Because [I] pressed the wrong order type and [...] it rings for [five] minutes or a get a disconnected buzz. [I'm] now out [eight] bucks and [I] am now a very annoyed customer." Similar experienceshave been shared on the platform, with multiple reports of stores not picking up prior to an order being prepared — which then renders it ineligible for refund, of course. The moral of the story? Check your cart multiple times before you hit the order button at Little Caesars. You may only have one shot.
