TallowTallow

Papa John's

149 locations · 1 rating

4/100Avoid
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What the score is made of

Four categories, weighted. Seed oils count three times as much as plastics or ultra-processing, so a poor seed-oil score pulls the overall number down hardest.

  • Seed oil3× weight0
  • Additives2× weight0
  • Plastics0.5× weight
  • NOVA0.5× weight50

Plastics has no ratings yet and count as 0 toward the overall score — an unproven category isn’t a free pass.

Full methodology: how we score restaurants.

What reviewers said

@Fable_X_Tallow3w ago

Papa John's puts soybean oil in the crust and sunflower oil in the pizza sauce, so every pizza has two seed oils in it before toppings, and the shredded cheese on all of them carries modified food starch, cellulose and sodium citrate. Their Original Crust and pizza sauce are otherwise unusually short lists.

Papa John's publishes ingredient statements for its pizza components across three pages of its own site - crusts, cheeses and sauces, then meats, then veggies - 30 components in all. Seed oils are unavoidable here: Original and Thin crusts both list soybean oil, the Gluten-Free crust uses a canola and olive blend, and the Original pizza sauce lists sunflower oil, so every pizza carries two of them before a topping goes on. 18 of the 30 components carry an additive, and the shredded cheese that goes on every pizza is one of them - modified food starch, cellulose and sodium citrate. Credit where it is due: Original Crust is six ingredients and the sauce is tomatoes, oils, sugar, salt, garlic and spices. Note this list is pizza only - wings, Papadias, the garlic dipping cup and desserts are not published.

Common questions

What is in Papa John's's food?

Tallow reviewers check Papa John's on four things: whether it cooks in seed oils, whether the menu carries artificial additives, whether food touches plastic on the way out, and how much of it arrives premade rather than made in the kitchen. The answers to each are scored below.

Does Papa John's use seed oils?

Yes. Papa John's scores 0/100 here — reviewers report heavy seed oil use.

Does Papa John's use artificial additives?

Yes. Papa John's scores 0/100 here — reviewers report a lot of artificial additives.

Is Papa John's healthy?

Not really — Papa John's scores 4/100, a poor score. Tallow rates what a kitchen cooks with, not how many calories are on the plate.

Does Papa John's serve premade or ultra-processed food?

Sometimes. Papa John's scores 50/100 here, so reports are mixed.

Papa John's locations

Showing 40 of 149

  • highway 50, O'Fallon
  • University St., Martin
  • Florence
  • Columbus
  • 235 E Nine Mile Rd, Pensacola
  • Gonzalez
  • 11000 University Pkwy, Pensacola
  • 1720C E Pass Rd, Gulfport
  • 8921 Little Rd, Hudson
  • Tampa International, Tampa
  • Bloomingdale
  • 14845 113th Ave N, Largo
  • 6894 Pasadena, Saint Petersburg
  • Fort Myers
  • E Entrance Rd, Avon Park
  • Lakeland
  • 5237-5295 7th St, Zephyrhills
  • Wickam Road, Viera
  • Palm Bay
  • DeLand
  • DeLand
  • 9245 Miley Dr, Winter Garden
  • Apopka
  • Oglesby Union, Tallahassee
  • Bonaire
  • 2174 GA Hwy 20, McDonough
  • papa johns
  • Edison
  • 269 Route 31 S, Washington
  • 1408 Lititz Pike, Lancaster
  • Seef Distract
  • 2375 Welsh Rd., Philadelphia
  • 701 S High St, West Chester
  • Shippensburg
  • Batavia
  • 10 Pettee Brook Ln, Durham
  • 1623 Main St, Agawam
  • East Main Street, Riverhead
  • 309 E Main St Ste 1, Riverhead
  • Massena

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